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Glossary definition: Active Attack

Active Attack: Strategies to Protect Your Network

An active attack is a type of cyber attack that attempts to alter, delete, or disrupt the availability of a computer system or its data. This type of attack is malicious in nature and is carried out by a hacker or group of hackers, who are often referred to as black hat hackers. Active attacks are different from passive attacks in that they involve direct manipulation of the system, such as exploiting vulnerabilities, rather than passively gathering information. These attacks can include denial of service attacks, malicious code injection, unauthorized access, and data manipulation. Active attacks are more difficult to detect and prevent than passive attacks, as they require more sophisticated techniques to be successful.