Cyber Primer

Cyber threats
b. Payload. Payload is computer code that will impact the target
system through exploiting vulnerabilities, enabling the adversary
to establish access and/or interact with the target. Often the vector
and payload are combined in the form of malware.
c. Behaviour. Behaviour describes the actions taken by an
adversary to ensure the initial and enduring success of the vector
and payload in their attack. Actions may include concealing
adversarial activity, for example, being undetected in both system
log audits and by anti-virus software. Adversaries will often delete
or disguise evidence of their activities once the attack is complete.
d. Effect. The outcomes of a cyber attack may be physical, but
the majority are created through the virtual and cognitive domains.
Effects may vary depending upon the attacker’s intent and nature of
the payload. Effects may include the following.
i. Direct action on the target system – for example, a denial
of service (DoS) where an attacker aims to make a service or
network unavailable to its users by overloading it with repeated
requests for information or messages. 30
ii. Accessing a system, which not only gives the actor access to
the information held by that system, but may also provide the
means to investigate and exploit further onward connections. 31
iii. Accessing a system that may enable an adversary to render
equipment useless, thus denying the Defence capabilities it
relies upon to accomplish its missions.
iv. Theft of data and/or altering of data – for example,
password theft, data theft for reputational impact or loss of
intellectual property and changing the integrity of databases
30 An extension of a denial of service (DoS) is a distributed denial of service (DDoS)
which uses multiple computers to attack the system, which can increase the duration and
severity of the disruption.
31 Access to a system will depend on the system configuration and privileges acquired by
the attacker.
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