Types of Network Attacks

Network attacks can be distinguished on two dimensions: passive versus active and automated versus manual.

Passive-automated—Hard to pull off, unlikely to generate much value
Passive-manual—Sometimes fruitful, but takes longer than an active attack
Active-automated—Reaches thousands of systems, but (relatively) easy to defeat
Active-manual—Extremely dangerous, but rarer than the others

Adopted from Protect Your Windows Network : From Perimeter to Data by Jesper M. Johansson, Steve Riley.