A sort of network security assault known as cyber hijacking, sometimes known as computer hijacking, involves the attacker seizing control of computer systems, software, and/or network communications.
A variety of cyber attacks rely on hijacking in one way or another, and, like other types of hijacking.
When someone takes control of an armored transport vehicle or an airplane, cyber hijacking is frequently, but not always, highly illegal and has serious repercussions for both the attacker and the victim.
What is cyber hijacking?
Cyber hijacking is a type of cybercrime in which a hacker takes control of a victim’s computer or mobile device to gain access to, or steal, data or other information.
Cyber security experts often describe cyber hijacking as a subset of cybercrime that involves stealing data or other resources from a victim’s computer.
Cyber hijacking can occur when a hacker penetrates a victim’s computer system through a vulnerability that is already known to them, or when the hacker finds a vulnerability in a system that has not yet been publicly disclosed.
Among different types of cyber hijacking, here we will discuss about 7 well known cyber hijacking in details.
Types of cyber hijacking
7 main types of cyber hijacking is given bellow;
- Browser hijacking
- Session hijacking
- Domain hijacking
- Clipboard hijacking
- Domain name system (DNS) hijacking
- Internet Protocol (IP) hijacking
- Page hijacking
1. Browser hijacking
This is the very common cyber hijacking where hackers and dishonest internet marketers employ the technique of browser hijacking to take over a web browser.
In reality, browser hijacking is most often used to compel a victim to click on adverts, change the default browser settings, or reroute online traffic.
However, there are also cases when hackers utilize browsers that have been taken over to steal confidential data and even force unwary users to download further malware.
In other circumstances, victims voluntarily download a toolbar plugin or browser add-on that has browser hijacking functionality.
However, these developers often take considerable pains to conceal this information.
In other cases, hackers may use browser security holes to coerce users into installing their hijackware, or browser hijacker, which is also known as hijackware.
2. Domain hijacking
A individual or group attempts a domain hijacking when they seek to take control of a web domain away from its legitimate owner.
For instance, a cybercriminal can send fictitious domain transfer requests in an effort to get a reliable domain so that they can plan elaborate phishing schemes.
On the other hand, a business that owns a brand name that is protected by a trademark may use legal pressure to compel the holder of the web domain to transfer rights.
Reverse domain hijacking is a term used to describe these company takeover efforts.
3. DNS hijacking
In that both DNS hijacking and domain hijacking involve attempting to seize control of a web domain, they are comparable.
However, domain hijacking refers to a takeover by coercion or social engineering, while DNS hijacking explains the takeover in a technical sense.
DNS hijacking is appealing to hackers and cybercriminals because it’s similar to browser hijacking, successful DNS attacks give them the ability to reroute a victim’s traffic in order to earn money from ads, build cloned websites in order to steal personal information, and even censor or control the free flow of information.
There are several methods that hackers might hijack DNS. For instance, they can try to exploit holes in the hardware and software that DNS providers utilize, or they might put malware on a victim’s computer that is designed to alter DNS settings.
Hackers may even use man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks to seize control of an already established connection while it is active in order to intercept DNS messages and gain access to them, modify them before retransmission, or both.
They may also use DNS spoofing to reroute traffic away from legitimate servers and toward unauthorized servers.
4. Session hijacking
By intercepting or breaking session tokens, hackers may acquire unauthorized access to a victim’s online account or profile during a session hijacking attack.
Users get session tokens as cookies from a web server to confirm their identification and website preferences.
If a hacker is able to decipher a user’s session token, harmful JavaScript applications may be inserted or eavesdropped upon.
In the early 2000s, hackers often used session hijacking as a method of attack since the original Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) was not intended to appropriately secure cookies.
However, more contemporary protocols, such as HTTP Secure (HTTPS), and sophisticated encryption have improved cookie data security.
Session hijacking becomes less probable with improved cookie security, but it’s still not impossible.
5. Clipboard hijacking
Images, text, and other data are temporarily stored in random access memory when you copy and paste them using your smartphone (RAM). The clipboard is the name of this region of RAM.
When a victim’s clipboard is hijacked, harmful material from the hacker is substituted for the original contents.
When victims paste information into online forms, clipboard hijacking may spread unintentionally depending on the technological prowess of the attacker and may be difficult to detect.
6. Page hijacking
A page hijacking assault, also known as 302 redirect hijacking or URL hijacking, uses search engine web crawlers to manipulate traffic in the hacker’s direction.
In order to provide website owners a mechanism to temporarily reroute visitors and search engine crawlers to an alternative URL while a website is undergoing repair or testing, the web community developed 302 HTTP replies.
Bad actors recognized they could control a victim’s site in search engine results by carefully planning and executing 302 redirection.
This is due to web crawlers mistaking a new page controlled and produced by the hijacker for an actual redirect from the original website.
Because the web crawler believed the victim had set up the redirect, all of the victim’s page authority and ranking signals would essentially be passed over to the hijacker’s website.
Although theoretically still conceivable, the frequency of website hijackings dropped as web crawlers improved.
7. IP hijacking
Internet service providers (ISPs) utilize routers that depend on a routing technology called the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
BGP is developed so that routers run by different providers may communicate with each other about the IP address blocks they control.
When an attacker hacks or poses as an internet service provider and claims to be the owner of an IP address that is not its property, this is known as IP hijacking.
Traffic intended for one network is then diverted to the hacker’s network when this occurs.
The hacker then takes on the role of a man in the middle and is able to conduct a variety of assaults, including packet injection, which is the clandestine introduction of forged packets into a communication stream.
IP hijacking is often carried out by adversarial government entities or well-funded cyber gangs due to its high degree of difficulty.
Furthermore, despite the widespread knowledge of BGP-based IP hijacking, research into the threat’s actual scope is challenging due to ISPs’ walled-off structures.
The cyberattack that took out SolarWinds
The Orion IT monitoring and management software from SolarWinds was infiltrated by hackers in 2020. The hackers—believed to be nation-state actors—deployed malicious code in Orion, a program used by
thousands of businesses and government agencies around the globe. As a result, they gained access to the data, systems, and networks of not only SolarWinds customers but also the clients and partners of those companies.
The onslaught is unique in terms of its scale and extent.
In essence, the SolarWinds assault is a case of cyber hijacking since the hackers took control of Orion’s software compilation process in order to include a backdoor in authentic, digitally signed software updates.
Then, SolarWinds sent these upgrades to its clients, including software giants Microsoft and FireEye as well as U.S. government departments including Homeland Security, State, Commerce, and Treasury.
Conclusion
There are a few different types of cyber hijackings that can occur. The most common type is when someone takes control of your computer or mobile device without your knowledge or consent. This can be done through viruses, Trojans, or other malware.
Another type of cyber hijacking is when someone takes control of your computer or mobile device without your knowledge or consent and uses it to commit crimes or spy on you.
This can be done through phishing attacks or through malware that takes advantage of vulnerabilities in your computer or mobile device.
There is also cyberbullying. This occurs when someone uses your computer or mobile device to harass or intimidate you.
However, I think you have got a clear idea about different types of cyber hijacking. Now it’s your time to share your experience and opinion about cyber hijacking in the comment section.
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