4. The Need for Cybersecurity: Cyber Attacks 87 Figure 4.6 The extortion demand students saw when trying to access their Canvas course websites at the end of the semester in early May 2026. 4.1.4.2 Alteration In many cyber attacks hackers modify data. In this context, modifying encompasses creating, altering, and deleting data. Defacing a website falls into this category. Hackers gain access to a web server and modify the victim’s website to advance the cause of the hacker or cause reputational harm to the victim. In watering hole attacks, hackers gain access to web servers so they can install malware that targets website visitors—this is another example of an alteration attack. Hackers may want to get access to data to modify it in a way that benefits them. In the movie WarGames, the main character is a teenage hacker. He steals user credentials to his high school’s server, then logs in and changes his grades—an alteration attack. Criminal hackers may try to change the direct deposit information for employees to divert money into their own bank accounts. Hackers may also want to modify official records to make themselves look better or to make others look bad.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=