Recognize and react to the signs a hacker is preparing to attack your network

Overview The list provides valuable information that will help you recognize, detect, and react to five common signs that a hacker is preparing to attack your network.

Before an individual executes a serious attack against your network, he or she will likely spend time preparing for the event--just as traditional thieves often "case" their intended targets. Cybercriminals conduct pre-attack activities designed to identify the attack's goal, determine the attack's target, and detect the target's exploitable weakness. Being able to detect and appropriately react to attack precursors will increase your ability to recognize, defend against, and potentially prevent actual attacks. But even if you aren't the explicit target of an attack, there can be signs that a general probe for systems open to newly discovered vulnerabilities is in progress. This list gives valuable information to help you recognize, detect and react to the following attack precursors: increase in port scan activity; unauthorized access attempts; application scanning; discovery of malicious software or hardware, social engineering attacks.

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