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Information System Attack Methods & Techniques
This episode of the ISACA Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam prep series covers the landscape of information system attacks — from the psychology that motivates fraud to the technical mechanics of malware and ransomware. Understanding attack methods enables auditors to spot the missing control behind each threat rather than simply working from a checklist.
What this episode covers
- Fraud triangle — motivation, rationalization, and opportunity, and why opportunity is the element organizations can actually close.
- Attacker profiles — the range of threat actors from script kiddies and hackers to insider threats, contractors, and nation-state actors.
- Attack families — grouping denial-of-service, social engineering, interception, redirection, and application-abuse techniques so the matching controls become clear.
- Passive and active attack phases — the quiet reconnaissance phase (eavesdropping, traffic analysis) followed by the active strike (brute force, unauthorized access).
- Malware types and defenses — viruses, worms, spyware, rootkits, and the two-part defense of policy procedures plus up-to-date antimalware tools.
- Ransomware mechanics and response — how ransomware infiltrates, encrypts, and extorts, and the recommended containment and recovery steps.
Watch the full episode above for the worked examples and detailed explanations of each concept.
Frequently Asked Questions
What three elements make up the fraud triangle and which one can auditors control?
The fraud triangle consists of motivation (a real or felt need such as debt or a grudge), rationalization (the story the perpetrator tells themselves to justify the act), and opportunity (the actual chance to commit the act created by weak controls and poor oversight). Opportunity is the side that auditors and organizations can directly control by tightening access, separating duties, and closing the openings that make fraud possible.
What are the main families of information system attacks?
Attack families include those that overwhelm a target (denial-of-service, flooding, botnets), those that deceive a human (social engineering, phishing, spear phishing, whaling, smishing, vishing), those that impersonate or intercept (eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle, spoofing, packet replay), those that redirect to fake destinations (pharming, domain spoofing), and those that abuse applications and code (injection attacks, cross-site scripting, zero-day exploits, Trojans, logic bombs). Specialist techniques include cryptojacking, juice jacking, and the salami technique.
What is the difference between a virus and a worm?
A virus attaches itself to another program and relies on that host program to spread from system to system. A worm does not attach to anything — it travels independently by exploiting weaknesses in networks or operating systems, making it capable of spreading much faster without any user action.
How does ransomware work and what should you do if it is already running?
Ransomware enters a system (typically through a phishing link), encrypts files and retains the only decryption key, then demands payment — often in cryptocurrency. If ransomware is already running, the recommended steps are to quarantine the machine without powering it down (to preserve volatile memory), check for a free decryptor, identify the entry point, wipe and restore from a clean backup, and report to authorities. Most guidance advises against paying the ransom because it funds criminal activity and the key may not work.
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Reference: This article is based on concepts discussed in Information System Attack Methods & Techniques.