In the alphabet soup of acronyms related to cyberattacks, SQLi is one to remember. An SQLi, or SQL Injection, is a carefully crafted attack that can trick a database into revealing its sensitive information. With our growing reliance on digital information, the effects of a successful SQLi attack can be devastating.
How do SQL Injections work?
SQL injection attacks alter SQL queries to inject malicious code by exploiting application vulnerabilities.
Successful SQLi attacks modify database information, access sensitive data, execute admin tasks on the database, and extract files from the system. Consequences of these attacks include:
- Stealing credentials to impersonate users and use their privileges.
- Gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data on database servers.
- Altering or adding new data to the accessed database.
- Deleting database records.
- Accessing database servers with operating system privileges and using these permissions to access other sensitive systems.
SQLi examples that make it real
And unfortunately, these injections aren’t just theoretical. Over the past 20 years, many SQL injection attacks have targeted large websites as well as business and social media platforms. The list of breaches continues to grow.
Here are just a few:
- GhostShell attack—hackers from the APT group Team GhostShell targeted 53 universities using SQL injection, stole and published 36,000 personal records belonging to students, faculty, and staff.*
- Turkish government—another APT group, RedHack collective, used SQL injection to breach the Turkish government website and erase data from government agencies.*
- 7-Eleven breach—a team of attackers used SQL injection to penetrate corporate systems at several companies, primarily the 7-Eleven retail chain, stealing 130 million credit card numbers.*
Ethical hacking needs you
The severe impact of these attacks highlights the critical need for ethical hacking expertise. Cybercriminals continue to try to outdo each other. Some cyberattacks, such as SQLi, have been around for a long time. Others continue to evolve. And ethical hackers must keep pace with them all.
Power up your ethical hacking journey with like-minded peers and experts.
Join the Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking Community on the Cisco Learning Network.
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re the perfect candidate to help prevent the next SQLi from happening. And we have a way for you to take the next step.
Staying ahead of cybercriminals
In case you haven’t heard, every 90 days Cisco U. offers a Capture the Flag challenge to help you practice and prove your ethical hacking skill set. With each challenge, you’ll gain a skill set that’s in demand in a growing field, get hands-on practice with real-world security challenges, keep your skills sharp, and prove you have the skills to succeed from day one on any cybersecurity team. If it’s your first challenge, you’ll also add an official offensive security certificate to your resume. To learn more, head over to Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking.
It’s your turn: Decode the Server Heist Challenge
In our latest Capture the Flag: Decoding the Server Heist challenge, you’ll detect brute-force attacks, credential misuse, and SQL injection. This challenge begins with a server hosting a mission-critical web application that triggered a suspicious alert. As with any ethical hacking methodology, this challenge highlights the importance of a detailed and methodical approach to cybersecurity analysis, emphasizing the need for precision, comprehensive understanding, and proactive defense planning.
Your task is to review the security telemetry to determine what happened, identify the responsible party, and understand how the breach occurred. Your battleground is the Wazuh security information and event management (SIEM) solution—a digital command center rich with telemetry data. Your arsenal includes threat alerts, forensic logs, and keen analytical instincts.
You will also apply MITRE Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge (ATT&CK) techniques throughout the attack lifecycle, including detection, exploitation, post-exploitation, persistence, and mitigation, and map tactics to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Adopt the mindset of an adversary to not only uncover how the attacker gained access, but also to trace their actions, assess the extent of the damage, and recommend strategies to prevent future attacks.
No two cybercrimes are exactly the same. But you can build the foundation to more easily trace the evidence left behind and help protect the data our digital age relies on. Become your team’s next superhero in the fight against the server heists of cybercrime.
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Read next:
Everything You Want to Know About Cisco U. Capture the Flag Challenges
Secure Organizations by Thinking Like a Hacker
*SQL Injection Attack: How It Works, Examples, and Prevention
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