Anatomy of a hack attack

With the help of security experts, we reconstruct a typical hack attack on two large organisations and walk through the steps that the head of IT should follow in such a case.

Monday, 9am
Blackjack, a hacker working from an internet cafe in London, is about to launch an attack on a major government agency. His aim is to cause maximum disruption and embarrassment. And, according to security experts, his job is going to be worryingly easy.

“Most organisations have dozens of vulnerabilities they haven’t patched, or aren’t even aware of,” said Toralv Dirro, a security strategist with McAfee. “Even if a penetration-testing service says you’re not vulnerable, that only means they haven’t found a vulnerability, not that one doesn’t exist.”

Anatomy of a hack attack – ZDNet UK