Learning the Details of Attacks

 

 a. What is the vulnerability?

 

 A vulnerability is a weakness or flaw in a system, application, network, or process that can be exploited by a threat actor to gain unauthorized access, disrupt operations, or compromise data.
 

Key Characteristics of a Vulnerability

• Technical Weakness: Errors in software code, misconfiguration, or outdated systems (e.g., buffer overflows, SQL injection flaws).
• Process Gaps: Poor security practices, weak policies, or lack of monitoring (e.g., not enforcing strong passwords).
• Human Factors: Social engineering risks, such as phishing susceptibility or lack of training.
• Exposure: The vulnerability must be accessible to an attacker (e.g., an open port, unpatched web server).

Examples

•     A web application that doesn’t sanitize user input → SQL Injection vulnerability.
•     An IoT device shipped with default admin credentials → Authentication vulnerability.
•     A network service running with outdated encryption protocols → Cryptographic vulnerability.
 

Why It Matters

Vulnerabilities are the entry points for cyberattacks. Identifying and mitigating them through patching, configuration hardening, monitoring, and user awareness is central to cybersecurity.