Cyber Threat Types

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Compromise of accounts for espionage

A cyber adversary gains access to user accounts / services for espionage purposes.

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Denial of service to disrupt

A denial of service attack which disrupts the victim's operations.

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Disk wiping or encryption for disruption

An attacker wipes disks or deploys encryption against target computers solely for disruptive or destructive purposes.

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Distribution of malware for financial gain

Adversaries distribute malware such as infostealers or banking trojans in order to profit financially.

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Exploitation for future access

Exploitation of vulnerabilities in order to obtain initial access to victims for potential future use - such as strategic compromise or onward sale.

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Hack and leak for infamy

Attacking an organisation or individual and publishing details or data for infamy or personal pride.

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Hack and leak for influence

Attacking an organisation or individual and publishing details or data to achieve political or personal aims.

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Manipulation of industrial control systems for disruption

An adversary interacts with industrial control systems or operational technology in order to adversely affect operations.

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Network compromise for espionage

Attackers gain access to a network or infrastructure to enable espionage operations (typically including theft of data) in the short or long term.

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Phishing for theft of credentials

Use of phishing emails to obtain victim credentials.

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Public impact for embarrassment

An attack with a public impact (such as website defacement or social media account takeover) intended to damage the reputation of the victim.

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Ransomware for Extortion

Ransomware deployed by financially motivated actors in order to extort a victim for financial gain.

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Service provider supply chain compromise for customer access

Compromising a supplier to enable onward access into their customers' environments.

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Social engineering targeting businesses for financial gain

Use of social engineering (for example, through 'phishing' or 'vishing') against employees in order to get the victim organisation to transfer money.

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Social engineering targeting individuals for financial gain

Use of social engineering (for example, through 'phishing' or 'vishing') against individuals in order to get the victim to transfer money or share financial details.

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Software supply chain compromise to access customer environments

Modifying distributed software to gain access to the environments of its users.

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Theft of data for financial gain

An attacker steals data in order to extort the victim or sell it on.