How attacks actually start.

Phishing

Deceptive emails or messages that trick people into clicking malicious links, opening infected attachments or handing over passwords and other sensitive information.

Spear Phishing

A targeted form of phishing aimed at specific people, using researched personal and business details to make the message far more convincing.

Business Email Compromise

Criminals take over or impersonate a business email account to redirect payments, request sensitive data or deceive staff, clients and suppliers.

Invoice Fraud

Fake or altered invoices and payment change requests that trick your accounts payable team into sending money to accounts controlled by criminals.

CEO and Gift Card Fraud

Scammers pose as a senior leader and urgently ask staff to buy gift cards or send money, counting on deference and pressure to skip verification.

Vishing (Voice Phishing)

Phone calls from fraudsters posing as banks, government, vendors or IT support to pressure staff into revealing information, granting access or sending money.

Smishing (SMS Phishing)

Fraudulent text messages that lure people into tapping malicious links or replying with personal, financial or login information, often on personal phones.

Deepfake Voice Fraud

Criminals use AI to clone a trusted person's voice, then call staff with convincing instructions to transfer money or share confidential information.

Help Desk Social Engineering

Attackers impersonate employees when contacting the help desk, persuading support staff to reset passwords or MFA so they can take over accounts.

MFA Fatigue Attacks

Attackers who already have a password flood a user with sign-in approval prompts, hoping they will tap Approve out of confusion or annoyance.

Insider Threats

Current or former staff, contractors or partners who misuse their legitimate access, whether deliberately for gain or revenge, or through careless mistakes.

QR Code Phishing (Quishing)

Malicious QR codes in emails, posters or parking signs send people to fake websites, often bypassing email filters and moving the attack to phones.

Layer 7: Application

Ransomware

Malicious software that encrypts your files and systems, then demands payment for a decryption key, often while threatening to leak stolen data.

Credential Stuffing

Automated attempts to log in using usernames and passwords leaked from other breaches, exploiting the common habit of reusing passwords across sites.

Password Spraying

Attackers try a few common passwords against many accounts at once, staying under lockout limits while hunting for anyone with a weak password.

Infostealer Malware

Malware that quietly harvests saved passwords, browser cookies and session tokens from a device, giving criminals ready-made access to accounts.

Malicious OAuth App Consent

Users are tricked into granting a malicious cloud app permission to their mailbox or files, giving attackers persistent access without needing a password.

Supply Chain and MSP Compromise

Attackers breach a trusted software vendor or IT provider, then use that trusted access or update channel to reach many customers at once.

Malicious Browser Extensions

Browser add-ons that appear useful but secretly read web pages, capture data or steal session cookies from everything you do online.

SEO Poisoning and Malvertising

Criminals place fake websites high in search results or buy ads that impersonate popular software, leading people to download malware.

Cryptojacking

Attackers secretly use your computers, servers or cloud accounts to mine cryptocurrency, driving up costs and slowing systems while signalling a deeper compromise.

Data Exfiltration via Personal Cloud

Company files copied to personal Dropbox, Google Drive, email or other unapproved services, putting sensitive data outside your control and visibility.

DNS Hijacking

Attackers change how your domain names are resolved, silently redirecting your website, email or staff traffic to servers they control.

Layer 6: Presentation

Medium

Typosquatted Domains

Lookalike domain names that mimic your business or trusted partners, used to send convincing fraud emails or host fake websites.

Layer 5: Session

Adversary-in-the-Middle Phishing

Advanced phishing that relays your real login and MFA through a hidden proxy, stealing the session so attackers can bypass multi-factor authentication.

Layer 4: Transport

Exposed Remote Desktop (RDP)

Remote Desktop services left open to the internet give attackers a direct login screen to target with stolen or guessed passwords.

Layer 3: Network

Unpatched VPN and Firewall Exploitation

Attackers exploit known security flaws in internet-facing VPNs, firewalls and gateways that have not been updated, often gaining access without any password.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

A flood of traffic from many sources overwhelms your website, internet connection or online services so legitimate customers and staff cannot reach them.

Layer 2: Data link

Medium

Rogue Wi-Fi Access Points

Unauthorized or impostor wireless networks that trick devices into connecting, letting attackers intercept traffic or bypass your network security.