1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,650 In this lesson, we are going to cover 2 00:00:01,650 --> 00:00:03,270 unskilled attackers. 3 00:00:03,270 --> 00:00:05,400 In the world of cybersecurity, not all threat 4 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,250 actors are going to be highly skilled or well-funded. 5 00:00:08,250 --> 00:00:09,450 At one end of the spectrum 6 00:00:09,450 --> 00:00:12,030 you will find unskilled attackers often referred 7 00:00:12,030 --> 00:00:13,440 to as script kiddies. 8 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:14,973 Despite their limited technical ability 9 00:00:14,973 --> 00:00:17,880 these individuals can still pose a significant threat 10 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,460 to organizations and individuals alike. 11 00:00:20,460 --> 00:00:22,560 An unskilled attacker or script kiddie 12 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:23,580 as they are often referred 13 00:00:23,580 --> 00:00:25,440 to within the cybersecurity industry 14 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:27,810 is an individual who lacks the technical knowledge to 15 00:00:27,810 --> 00:00:30,570 develop their own hacking tools or exploits. 16 00:00:30,570 --> 00:00:33,420 Instead, these low-skilled threat actors need to rely 17 00:00:33,420 --> 00:00:36,630 on scripts and programs that have been developed by others. 18 00:00:36,630 --> 00:00:39,270 These script kiddies often have a very basic understanding 19 00:00:39,270 --> 00:00:40,770 of how these tools work 20 00:00:40,770 --> 00:00:42,570 and they don't have the skills to create 21 00:00:42,570 --> 00:00:44,850 or modify these tools themselves. 22 00:00:44,850 --> 00:00:47,040 Despite their limited technical skills 23 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,980 unskilled attackers can still cause significant damage 24 00:00:49,980 --> 00:00:52,560 using readily available tools and exploits to 25 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,190 victimize systems with unpatched known vulnerabilities. 26 00:00:56,190 --> 00:00:58,890 For example, many script kiddies have used ready to 27 00:00:58,890 --> 00:01:01,920 use tools to launch distributed denial of service attacks 28 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,980 against organizations, as well as defacing their websites 29 00:01:04,980 --> 00:01:07,200 and spreading malware across the internet. 30 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,930 While their attacks are usually less sophisticated 31 00:01:09,930 --> 00:01:11,385 they can still be quite disruptive 32 00:01:11,385 --> 00:01:13,680 particularly for organizations 33 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,800 or individuals with weaker cybersecurity postures. 34 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:18,330 Moreover, the sheer number 35 00:01:18,330 --> 00:01:21,390 of unskilled attackers can make them a pretty sizable threat 36 00:01:21,390 --> 00:01:22,950 since they can launch a large number 37 00:01:22,950 --> 00:01:25,260 of attacks against your organization. 38 00:01:25,260 --> 00:01:27,930 Many unskilled attackers are motivated by a desire 39 00:01:27,930 --> 00:01:30,310 for recognition or the thrill of causing some kind 40 00:01:30,310 --> 00:01:32,880 of disruption to an organization's network. 41 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,150 These unskilled threat actors may seek to gain notoriety 42 00:01:36,150 --> 00:01:39,030 amongst their peers or the wider online community 43 00:01:39,030 --> 00:01:40,770 by defacing a corporate website 44 00:01:40,770 --> 00:01:43,140 or taking down an organization's networks. 45 00:01:43,140 --> 00:01:46,470 Some of these actors are also simply motivated 46 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:48,250 by curiosity and use hacking 47 00:01:48,250 --> 00:01:51,900 as a means to explore and better understand digital systems. 48 00:01:51,900 --> 00:01:54,120 Unlike more sophisticated threat actors 49 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,730 unskilled attackers are less likely to be motivated 50 00:01:56,730 --> 00:01:59,730 by financial gain or political ideologies. 51 00:01:59,730 --> 00:02:01,980 Someone like a hacktivist would be, 52 00:02:01,980 --> 00:02:03,720 instead unskilled threat actors 53 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,150 and script kiddies are often more opportunistic 54 00:02:06,150 --> 00:02:08,970 than targeted in their actions since they tend to focus 55 00:02:08,970 --> 00:02:11,640 on easier targets instead of higher value ones. 56 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:15,090 So how do these unskilled attackers cause damage? 57 00:02:15,090 --> 00:02:18,600 Well, as I said, one way is to launch a DDoS attack 58 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,020 with a simple software tool like the low orbit ion cannon. 59 00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:25,110 An unskilled attacker can simply enter the IP address 60 00:02:25,110 --> 00:02:27,390 of the system they want to target, and then 61 00:02:27,390 --> 00:02:30,420 click a button to launch an attack against the target. 62 00:02:30,420 --> 00:02:32,460 If the unskilled attacker can convince a few 63 00:02:32,460 --> 00:02:34,530 of their friends to join in on the attack 64 00:02:34,530 --> 00:02:36,640 they can usually kick an individual's workstation 65 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,390 out of the network without much effort. 66 00:02:39,390 --> 00:02:41,580 So remember, an unskilled attacker 67 00:02:41,580 --> 00:02:43,920 also known as a script kiddie is an individual who 68 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:46,156 lacks the technical knowledge to develop their own hacking 69 00:02:46,156 --> 00:02:47,940 tools or exploits. 70 00:02:47,940 --> 00:02:50,580 These unskilled attackers are usually motivated 71 00:02:50,580 --> 00:02:52,560 by gaining recognition or the thrill 72 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:54,510 of causing some kind of disruption. 73 00:02:54,510 --> 00:02:57,420 These attackers are unsophisticated and do not 74 00:02:57,420 --> 00:03:00,658 have many resources, and usually they have a low level 75 00:03:00,658 --> 00:03:02,910 of skill to conduct their attacks. 76 00:03:02,910 --> 00:03:04,650 That being said, if enough 77 00:03:04,650 --> 00:03:06,600 of these unskilled attackers get together 78 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:08,040 they could cause some serious problems 79 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,833 for your organization's enterprise networks.