Inside Network Security Assessment: Guarding Your IT Infrastructure

What Do Attackers Do?

Attackers can do many things to an unprotected IT infrastructure and its assets, but first must assess who they want to attack in the first place and why. How do attackers select a target and how do attackers carry out an attack? These are questions that only the attacker can answer, but essentially, an attacker must first conduct a risk and vulnerability assessment on the designated target IT infrastructure and IT assets. Depending on the results of the assessment and the degree of the IT infrastructure’s security, the attacker may change targets if the target was found to be well protected and secure.

If the motivation is personal and intended to cause embarrassment or financial damage, the target is likely to be highly ...