Unskilled Attackers

(OBJ 2.1)

Unskilled Attacker (Script Kiddie)

• Individual who lacks the technical knowledge to develop their own hacking tools or exploits

• These low-skilled threat actors need to rely on scripts and programs that have been developed by others

• Can still cause significant damage using readily available tools and exploits to victimize systems with unpatched, known vulnerabilities

• How do these unskilled attackers cause damage?

  • One way is to launch DDoS Attacks
  • An unskilled attacker can simply enter in the IP address of the system they want to target, and then click a button to launch an attacker against that target

• Motivation of an unskilled attacker

  • Many unskilled attackers are motivated by a desire for recognition or the thrill of causing disruption to an organization's network
  • Also motivated by curiosity
  • Unskilled attackers are less likely to be motivated by financial gain or political ideologies
    • Focused more on easier target