Hacker forums provide clues to likely attack techniques

2012-11-01

Helen Martin

Virus Bulletin, UK

Editor: Helen Martin

Abstract

Much to be learned from monitoring hacker forums.

A study has indicated that businesses would be well advised to allocate more resources to SQL injection security. As part of its ‘Hacker Intelligence Initiative’, security firm Imperva monitored a number of hacker forums and found that SQL injection and DDoS attacks were the most popular subjects, each accounting for 19% of forum discussion volume. The researchers warned that if organizations neglect SQL injection security, it is very likely that hackers will increase their focus on these attacks.

Analysis of the discussions also revealed that the forums are frequently used for training and tutorials – altogether one third of conversations related to education, with roughly 28% relating to beginner hacking, while another 5% covered hacking tutorials.

Imperva suggests that by taking the time to explore and monitor hacker forums, security professionals would be able to gain a better understanding of the tools and techniques used by hackers – and of the areas that are most likely to come under attack.

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