Ubuntu Unleashed 2014 Edition: Covering 13.10 and 14.04,Ninth Edition

Understanding Computer Attacks

There are many ways in which computer attacks can be divided for classification. Perhaps the easiest dichotomy is to separate attacks as internal, which are computer attacks done by someone with access to a computer on the local network, and external, which are attacks by someone with access to a computer through the Internet. This might sound like a trivial separation to make, but it is actually important: Unless you routinely hire talented computer crackers or allow visitors to plug computers into your network, the worst internal attack you are likely encounter is from a disgruntled employee.

Hacker Versus Cracker

In earlier days, there was a distinction made between the words hacker and cracker. A hacker was ...