Privilege Escalation Attack
Privilege escalation attack is a type of cyber attack where a hacker gains access to a computer system or network and then proceeds to deliberately increase their level of access or privileges to obtain sensitive information or carry out other malicious actions.
To understand this, let’s imagine a school where the students have different levels of access. The regular students can access the school library and attend regular classes, but they cannot enter the principal’s office or access confidential files. However, the school administrator and teachers have higher levels of access and can enter any room in the school and access any file they need.
In a privilege escalation attack, a hacker may first infiltrate the school’s computer system with the level of access of a regular student. Once they gain access, they then use various hacking techniques to escalate their privileges to the level of the administrator or teacher. This enables them to access confidential information such as student records or financial information, or even take control of the school’s entire computer network.
This type of attack can be very dangerous as the hacker can cause significant damage to the system and steal sensitive information. To prevent privilege escalation attacks, computer security professionals use a variety of measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control policies to ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive information and systems.