An attack on availability is a security breach that its sole purpose is to reduce reliability, accessibility, or the performance of data. The different types of attacks on availability includes Denial of Service (DoS), malware, ransomware. DoS floods a network or system making it hard to access by legitimate users. When this happens, it causes the network to crash or become unresponsive. A recent example happened back in February for Change Healthcare. The ransomware attack prevented health care workers from processing claims and receiving payments. The ransomware attack was owned by a Russian cybercriminal group named Blackcat and Alphv. UnitedHealth CEO, Andrew Witty, confirmed to Congress that a $22 million ransom was paid by UnitedHealth. Another group called RansomHub claimed that they also have stolen data from Change Healthcare affecting 1/3 of Americans. Change Healthcare confirmed that medical data was exposed and stolen during the attack.

There are a few ways to help users and organizations prevent security threats. When defenses are strengthened, it makes it hard for attackers to get access or cause harm. This involves software updates, firewalls, strong passwords, and threat detection software. Educating users is another way of preventing security threats as well as backup and recovery. To prevent network attacks unique tools will need to be utilized to detect threats at a network level. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and network detection and response (NDR) are two solutions to help detect threats. IDS is a tool that monitors network traffic for suspicious activity and NDR monitors network traffic to look for potential security threats.

Alspach, K. (n.d.). 10 major cyberattacks and data breaches in 2024 (so far). Technology News For IT Channel Partners and Solution Providers. https://www.crn.com/news/security/2024/10-major-cyberattacks-and-data-breaches-in-2024-so-far?page=5

Robinette, D. (n.d.). What are the 4 types of attacks in network security?. Network Threat Detection and Response. https://www.stamus-networks.com/blog/what-are-the-4-types-of-attacks-in-network-security#:~:text=Denial%2Dof%2DService%20(DoS,to%20crash%20or%20become%20unresponsive.