14 Common Cyber Attacks — What They Are, How to Spot Them, and How NordBridge Can Help
As attackers diversify their playbook, defenders must understand each class of threat and apply layered defenses. Below we walk through 14 common cyber attacks—how they work, how to spot them, and concrete steps (technical and organizational) you can take. At the end of each section I outline how NordBridge helps you build effective, practical protections.
1. Malware
What it is: A broad category for malicious software—viruses, worms, spyware, adware, cryptominers, etc.—designed to damage, steal, persist, or otherwise exploit systems.
Indicators: Unexpected CPU/network spikes, unexplained outbound connections, new files/processes, disabled security tools, user complaints of odd behavior.
Mitigations: Strong endpoint detection & response (EDR), anti-malware, application whitelisting, regular patching, least-privilege accounts, network segmentation.
How NordBridge Helps: We run EDR/AV assessments, deploy tailored endpoint protection, design containment playbooks, and provide incident response retainer services so a skilled IR team can quickly identify and neutralize infections.
2. Phishing
What it is: Social engineering delivered via email, SMS, voice (vishing), or messaging apps to trick users into revealing credentials, downloading malware, or taking harmful actions.
Indicators: Suspicious sender addresses, urgent/pressure language, unexpected attachments or links, credential prompts on unusual domains.
Mitigations: Multi-factor authentication (MFA), email filtering and sandboxing, domain anti-spoofing (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), simulated phishing training, and verified reporting workflows.
How NordBridge Helps: We provide phishing simulation programs, design and implement DMARC/SPF/DKIM, integrate cloud email security, and train staff with role-based scenarios so people become an effective detection layer.
3. Ransomware
What it is: Malware that encrypts systems or data and demands payment for decryption—often combined with exfiltration and “double extortion” threats.
Indicators: Rapid file read/write spikes, volume of file renames/encryption, contact from threat actors, extortion notes, backup failures.
Mitigations: Immutable/air-gapped backups, network segmentation, EDR with rollback capability, offline backup verification, and practiced recovery runbooks.
How NordBridge Helps: We assess backup architectures, design resilient recovery plans, implement ransomware-resistant backup and segmentation strategies, and run tabletop exercises and live incident response drills.
4. Zero-Day Exploit
What it is: An exploit for a software vulnerability unknown to the vendor—no vendor patch exists at the time of attack.
Indicators: Unexplained, targeted behavior; unusual application crashes; indicators correlate with threat-actor activity; detection by heuristic/behavioral tools.
Mitigations: Defense-in-depth (EPP, EDR, network monitoring), virtual patching (WAF rules, IPS signatures), application allowlists, rapid patch management when vendor updates are available.
How NordBridge Helps: We run proactive vulnerability testing and virtual patching layers (WAF/IPS rules), monitor threat intel feeds for emerging zero-days, and maintain a rapid response pipeline to contain and remediate exploitation.
5. Password Attack (Brute Force / Credential Stuffing / Password Spraying)
What it is: Attempts to obtain valid credentials by repeatedly guessing, reusing leaked credentials, or trying a small number of common passwords across many accounts.
Indicators: Multiple failed login attempts, logins from unusual geolocations, multi-account lockouts, logins at odd hours.
Mitigations: Enforce strong password policies + MFA, use account throttling/lockouts, anomaly detection for auth events, password vaults and rotation.
How NordBridge Helps: We implement and tune authentication protections, integrate MFA broadly (including adaptive MFA), deploy monitoring for credential stuffing patterns, and provide password governance guidance.
6. Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS)
What it is: Flooding resources (network, application, or server) to render services unavailable.
Indicators: Large volumes of traffic, degraded performance, saturated bandwidth, floods of requests to a single endpoint.
Mitigations: DDoS mitigation services (scrubbing), rate limiting, redundant architectures, autoscaling with autoscale-backoff, and traffic filtering.
How NordBridge Helps: We partner with edge/CDN/DDoS providers, design resilient network/topology architectures, run DDoS preparedness tests, and implement on-call playbooks for attack mitigation.
7. Insider Threat
What it is: Malicious or negligent actions by employees, contractors, or partners that lead to data loss, sabotage, or policy violation.
Indicators: Abnormal access patterns, bulk data downloads, use of unauthorized storage, policy violations, disgruntled behavior.
Mitigations: Least privilege, role-based access control (RBAC), data loss prevention (DLP), user behavior analytics (UBA), exit-process controls, and strong HR/IT collaboration.
How NordBridge Helps: We build RBAC models, deploy DLP and UEBA solutions, design employee lifecycle controls, and create insider risk programs combining technical controls and policy enforcement.
8. Rootkits
What it is: Software that hides the presence of malware by modifying OS/kernel behavior—extremely stealthy and persistent.
Indicators: Subtle system anomalies, hidden processes, root/administrator access that can’t be explained, integrity checks failing.
Mitigations: Secure boot/TPM, kernel integrity monitoring, EDR with kernel detection, regular system integrity scanning and reimaging when compromise suspected.
How NordBridge Helps: We design host hardening with secure boot and trusted platform modules, deploy kernel integrity and EDR solutions, and run forensic capability checks to detect and remove rootkits.
9. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM)
What it is: An attacker intercepts and possibly alters communication between two parties (e.g., over insecure Wi-Fi, compromised routers, or via ARP/DNS/IP spoofing).
Indicators: Certificate warnings, unexplained TLS/SSL termination, traffic to suspicious proxies, unusual DNS results.
Mitigations: Enforce TLS/HTTPS, certificate pinning where applicable, DNSSEC/DNS filtering, VPN usage on untrusted networks, strong network segmentation.
How NordBridge Helps: We audit TLS usage and certificate hygiene, configure secure DNS (DNSSEC / DoH options), recommend VPN and secure remote access solutions, and test for MitM vectors during assessments.
10. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
What it is: Web application vulnerability where attackers inject malicious scripts into pages viewed by other users, enabling session hijacking or content manipulation.
Indicators: Unexpected client-side scripts, complaints of cookie theft, suspicious HTTP responses containing script injections.
Mitigations: Proper input validation/encoding, use of Content Security Policy (CSP), secure web frameworks, regular web app scanning and secure SDLC practices (SAST/DAST).
How NordBridge Helps: We perform web app security testing (DAST/SAST), implement WAF tuning and CSP guidance, and help development teams adopt secure coding practices and automated testing.
11. Trojan Horses
What it is: Malware disguised as benign software; once installed it provides attackers with backdoor access, data theft, or additional payload delivery.
Indicators: Unexpected installed applications, outbound connections to suspicious hosts, unusual service creation.
Mitigations: Application whitelisting, EDR/behavioral analysis, signed software policies, user training on installing software only from verified sources.
How NordBridge Helps: We deploy application control and EDR, conduct software inventory and allowlisting programs, and run user training and software policy enforcement programs.
12. SQL Injection
What it is: Injection attack targeting application databases by manipulating input fields, enabling data exfiltration, modification, or administrative control.
Indicators: Unexpected database queries, unusual query patterns, app behavior changes, discovered RCE or data dumps.
Mitigations: Parameterized queries (prepared statements), ORM usage, input validation, principle of least privilege for DB accounts, web app firewalls.
How NordBridge Helps: We perform application security testing, review and remediate database permissions, implement parameterized query checks, and configure WAF rules specific to injection patterns.
13. Birthday Attack
What it is: A cryptographic attack that exploits collision probabilities—most often relevant to hash functions (finding two inputs with same hash).
Indicators: Crypto collisions, certificate issues, or weak hashing algorithms in use.
Mitigations: Use modern cryptographic primitives (SHA-256+, AES-GCM), avoid deprecated hash functions (MD5, SHA-1), implement proper randomization/salting.
How NordBridge Helps: We audit crypto usage in applications and certificates, recommend algorithm upgrades, and assist with migration planning to modern cryptography and key-management practices.
14. DNS Spoofing (aka DNS Cache Poisoning)
What it is: Attackers corrupt DNS resolution to redirect traffic to malicious servers (e.g., banking site redirected to credential harvesters).
Indicators: DNS responses pointing to unexpected IPs, users complaining about fake sites, certificate mismatches.
Mitigations: Use DNSSEC, secure and monitor DNS resolver configurations, enable DNS over TLS/HTTPS for clients, use reputable DNS providers and DNS filtering.
How NordBridge Helps: We review your DNS architecture, implement DNSSEC where appropriate, recommend secure resolver configurations (DoT/DoH), and deploy DNS filtering to block known malicious domains.
Putting it together: defense-in-depth and convergence
No single control will stop every attack. The most effective programs combine multiple layers:
Preventive controls: MFA, patching, segmentation, application whitelisting, secure SDLC.
Detective controls: EDR, NDR (network detection), SIEM/UEBA, threat feeds, packet inspection.
Corrective/response controls: IR playbooks, immutable backups, containment rules, legal/PR plans.
People and process: Training, phishing simulations, vendor/third-party risk controls, and incident tabletop exercises.
NordBridge’s Converged Model brings physical security, network security, identity, and incident response together—from perimeter controls and building access to the vault of digital assets—so you get coordinated detection, a single playbook for response, and continuous improvement.
Practical starter checklist (do these now)
Enforce MFA everywhere (especially on VPN, email, privileged accounts).
Audit and close unnecessary open ports and services.
Run EDR on endpoints and enable centralized logging.
Verify backups are immutable and test restores.
Implement DMARC for email and run phishing simulations.
Inventory IoT and shadow IT; put them on segmented networks.
Schedule web app scans and fix input validation issues.
Harden DNS and adopt DNS filtering + DNSSEC where possible.
How NordBridge can help you — top services
Threat assessments & tabletop exercises (covering malware, ransomware, insider, DDoS, MitM).
Vulnerability scanning & penetration testing (network, web, cloud, application).
EDR/EDR tuning, SIEM/UEBA deployment, and SOC augmentation.
Incident response retainers + ransomware readiness & recovery planning.
Secure DevOps guidance (SAST/DAST), web app remediation, and WAF tuning.
Phishing simulations & user awareness training.
Network architecture and segmentation design (including IoT strategies).
Cryptographic health checks and DNS hardening.
Final thoughts
Understanding the attack types is the first step—protecting against them requires layered controls, continuous monitoring, and practiced response. The threats listed above are real and evolving, but they respond to well-designed defenses and disciplined operations.
If you’d like, NordBridge can:
Run a prioritized risk assessment, or
Start with a focused tabletop (ransomware, insider, or web-app breach), or
Deploy a rapid detection stack (EDR + network visibility) to find undetected threats.
Want to schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to discuss which of these attacks presents the greatest immediate risk to your environment? We’ll recommend the best next steps tailored to your size, industry, and threat profile.