• Committing information theft and fraud. Information technology is increasingly used to commit fraud and theft. Computer systems are exploited in numerous ways, both by automating traditional methods of fraud and by using new methods. Financial systems are not the only ones subject to fraud. Other targets are systems that control access to any resources, such as time and attendance systems, inventory systems, school grading systems, or long-distance telephone systems.
• Disrupting normal business operations. Attackers may want to disrupt normal business operations. In any circumstance like this, the attacker has a specific goal to achieve. Attackers use various methods for denial-of-service attacks; the section on methods, tools, and techniques will discuss these.