Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

Which type of cloud service attack aims to exploit direct access to hardware components?

1. Injection attack

2. Cloudborne attack

3. Credential stuffing

4. Data exfiltration

The correct answer is: Cloudborne attack

The selected answer, which refers to a cloudborne attack, accurately identifies a type of cloud service attack that exploits direct access to hardware components. Cloudborne attacks specifically target vulnerabilities within the cloud infrastructure that allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access or control over hardware resources, such as servers or storage devices. These attacks can be particularly damaging as they may lead to data breaches, unauthorized data modification, or even complete control of the cloud environment. This distinction is important because it highlights the unique threats posed by the shared nature of cloud environments, where multiple users interact with the same physical resources. Cloudborne attacks can leverage specific flaws in hypervisors, misconfigurations, or even compromised service provider accounts to access hardware components directly. In contrast, other options refer to different types of attacks. Injection attacks typically focus on manipulating applications through input fields, credential stuffing involves exploiting reused credentials to gain access to accounts, and data exfiltration is the act of extracting sensitive information from a target system without authorization. Each of these types of attacks has its own methodology and targets, which differentiates them from cloudborne attacks targeting hardware access.