ABSTRACT
Cyber-attacks have become a permanent threat against information systems of individuals, companies, and organizations. Nowadays, information systems hold valuable data and perform a great number of activities, which are strongly related with social and financial activities of societies. In order for the security specialists and professionals to effectively tackle attacks against their information systems, deep understanding of cyber-attackers’ profiles, motivations, and techniques is fundamental. In this chapter, we describe a taxonomy of attackers, as well as an extended analysis on the characteristics, taxonomies, methodologies, frameworks, and models of cyber-threats. Moreover, the cyber-kill chain model and its variations are discussed. The skills of attackers in relation to the attacks and various attack metrics are presented as well. The last part of the chapter focuses on the current state of vulnerability markets, where attackers may find their attack tools.
