I was just doing some reading on the various types of attacks that can be made on information systems. The networked world has become so complex and everyday new types of attacks are being devised and are causing millions of dollars of losses. I have put down my understanding of the various types of attacks and a brief explanation on the same. Several methods of attack exist to compromise access control mechanisms. Some of the more common attacks include brute force, denial of service, dictionary, spoofing, and spamming.

Each type of attack has been described so that even a layman can understand it. I will discuss one method of attack on information system daily. I hope sharing this knowledge will be useful. Please leave your comments in case you have more information on the subject

Brute Force Attack

In a brute force attack, the attacker tries all possible words and character combinations to try and find the correct password, passphrase, or PIN.