...public websites. There has been credit card information, ongoing investigation information, etc. (AP, 2011) In early August, the international hacking group known as Anonymous hacked into 70 law enforcement websites. While these law enforcement offices were mostly rural, Anonymous posted critical information online about gang members, ongoing investigations, and credit card numbers. Some of the law enforcement websites were unavailable due to the hacking or where wiped clean of information. Emails between law enforcement individuals were also posted on the internet. Some of the Sheriff’s offices did not know about the hacking until they were contacted by the press for comment. (AP, 2011) I think the motive for Anonymous hackings are to embarrass the law enforcement of the United States. The hackers took important information from law enforcement and made it available to the public eye. It could compromise various investigations. The group Anonymous wants to show that major corporations, government, and private sector websites are venerable to attacks. They are not doing the hacking as Good Samaritans, because they are publishing the private information for the public eye. They find power in what they are doing and I think they do it to feel above the law. The group released a statement stating the reasoning behind the attack was to “discredit and incriminate police officers across the US.” They also wanted to show how corrupt the justice system is in the US. (AP...
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...recovery the information is protected. Comprehensive plans are only a part of its efforts in securing recovery. Assuming that ABC will use contract employees for part of the recovery, describe how the company can mitigate the threat from using contract employees. 2. Britain plans to establish a dedicated military unit to counter cyber attacks. The unit will comprise of hundreds of computer experts to help defend Britain's national security. The plan is for the "cyber reservists" to work alongside regular forces in the new Joint Cyber Reserve Unit in a bid to protect key computer networks and safeguard data. According to Prime Minister David Cameron, the new capability would be able to "counter-attack in cyber-space and, if necessary, to strike in cyber-space as part of our full-spectrum military capability". "In response to the growing cyber threat, we are developing a full-spectrum military cyber capability, including a strike capability, to enhance the UK's range of military capabilities," the Conservative Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said. a. Should governments and businesses set up dedicated units to counter cyber attacks, protect key computer networks and safeguard data? Give at least one argument in support as well as against the proposal. Justify your opinion. UK’s Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said in a written statement that 93% of large...
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...DDOS prevention capabilities of Appcito CAFÉ Prepare, detect and mitigate DDoS attacks Introduction Consumers today use a wide variety of applications and smart devices to access information, make transactions and conduct business online. In addition, many enterprises have in-house applications that are used by employees to complete tasks and projects. Almost all the applications are deployed on the cloud because it offers a host of advantages. The cloud offers real time, elastic service with the option to pay as you use. But hosting the applications on the cloud also increases the possibility of attacks by malicious hackers. Most of these attacks are in the form of DDoS (distributed denial-ofservice). Virtually, there is no industry that has been spared from DDoS attacks. Such attacks prevent customers and business users from accessing applications. In a world where time is money, any application downtime is sure to affect businesses negatively. These costs range from financial losses and lost business opportunities to poor productivity. Internet and the OSI model At the heart of the cloud is the internet. Or, in other words, the cloud is an extension of the internet. The internet is a complex network connecting computers across the globe for easy transmission of data and information. This complexity arises because there are different types of hardware and software working in unison. In addition, rapid proliferation and adoption of new technologies has added...
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...Jaye Weinberg Lab # 4 Assessment Worksheet 1. What is a PHP Remote File Include (RFI) attack, and why are these prevalent in today's Internet world? RFI stands for Remote File Inclusion that allows the attacker to upload a custom coded/malicious file on a website or server using a script. This vulnerability exploits the poor validation checks in websites and can eventually lead to code execution on server or code execution on website (XSS attack using javascript). RFI is a common vulnerability and all website hacking is not entirely focused on SQL injection. Using RFI you can deface the websites, get access to the server and do almost anything. What makes it more dangerous is that you only need to have your common sense and basic knowledge of PHP to execute this one. 2. What country is the top host of SQL Injection and SQL Slammer infections? Why can't the US Government do anything to prevent these injection attacks and infections? The U.S. is the top host of SQL Injection and SQL Slammer infections. Cybercriminals have made vast improvements to their infrastructure over the last few years. Its expansion is thousands of websites vulnerable to SQL Injections. Malicious code writers have exploited these vulnerabilities to distribute malware so quick that the government cannot contain such a large quantity. 3. What does it mean to have a policy of Nondisclosure in an organization? It is a contract where the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement...
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...Incident: Network Solutions is a US based network service provider. Company experienced Disturbed Denial of Service attack (DDoS attack) in June 2011. DDos attacks occur when multiple computers are exploited to execute and amplify an attack. The attackers bombarded Network Solution servers with packets causing the load on the company’s servers. The attack left the customers unable to access servers, email accounts, hosted websites or DNS servers. As the further impact of attack, the call centers lines of the service provider was jammed by the queries of customers regarding unable to access the servers. The attacks lasted for several hours after which company was able to restore the servers. Information assets affected: The DDoS attacks caused the servers of Nerwork Solution to be overloaded by the requests. Because of which the server responses were very sluggish or no responses at all for the customers. The end customers experienced the outages and could not access the websites, email accounts, DNS servers hosted by Network Solution. Vulnerabilities: The company is in the business of network service providers. The servers of the company are exposed to internet. The internet protocols used in hosting websites, email servers, DNS servers are mostly unauthenticated e.g. HTTP, SMTP etc. It made it easier for the attackers to gain the access to the server through internet and exploit the access to the servers. Threats: Although these attacks did not lead to stealing any...
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...The Use of the Predator Drone in Afghanistan and Pakistan: An Essential Component of the War on Terror [pic] Photo Source: United States Air Force Website. Matthew R. Green CORE/PCON 322 Research Project March 27, 2007 I. Introduction/Thesis The last two decades of the 20th century and the first five years of the 21st century saw an increase in terrorist attacks around the world. Many were connected in some way to the conflicts in the Middle East and directed at the United States, culminating in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Terrorism is unique in that the majority of the acts perpetrated have no direct connection to foreign governments. Rather, terrorism emanates from extremist cells within the populace, with a network of individuals and properties living everyday life alongside the general population. The problem is further complicated because the enemy is hardly ever together as one, instead spread across different countries, and indeed continents. In present day War on Terror, it is necessary to eliminate small cells of extremists living among the general populace, often in a covert manner. Small, low-profile yet highly accurate and effective strikes that do not involve US military personnel are essential to avoid harming innocent civilians. One of the most famous weapons to be developed from these emerging necessities in the 1980’s and 1990’s is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), more commonly...
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...Security and Privacy Keller Graduate School of Management Submitted: January 23, 2011 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Company Overview 3 Company Vulnerabilities 4 Corporate Website accessible to customers should be on its own web server in a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). 4 Microsoft SharePoint can potentially allow Remote Code Execution. 5 Works Cited 7 Executive Summary Purpose of this report is to inform of the possible threat that faces Quality Web Design (QWD) as it continues to improve it services to its customers and provide additional accommodation to its employees to meet and exceed the client’s needs in order to meet strategic goals. QWD specializes in Web site and Web content design for all types of businesses. With well over 250,000 proprietary images and graphic design that will enhance most web site’s appeal, QWD is poised to be the number one global leading brand in Web site and Web content design. Yet, two vulnerabilities in QWD’s network design seem to pose a security threat to QWD’s future leadership and competitiveness that must be address before exploited. First, customers are given access to the corporate website such design poses a security risk since the corporate intranet is hosted on the same web server. Should web server come under attack and be infected with a malware this can potentially disrupt business operation and damage existing relations with existing and potential customers. It can also damage QWD’s existing reputation...
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...Area of System Threats Potential Vulnerability Website Network Service DoS Attack Denial of Service attack will slow the system down considerably or cause the whole network to not function at all which will deny customer access to the service Database Back-door Attack A back door is a means of access to a computer program that bypasses security mechanisms. This is when the hacker places a back door that could be done by installing a program that can give the hacker unlimited access to the database anytime which could compromise any important data. Email Phishing Attacks Phishing is a form of fraud in which the attacker tries to learn information such as login credentials or account information by masquerading as a reputable entity or person in email, IM or other communication channels Summary The three areas that Team D considers the most threatening is the website network service, database, and email. The security in these areas must be up to date as hackers are constantly trying to obtain access to the company’s information. The new customer rewards program allows for information of customers to be at risk if not properly secured. The data that will be saved in the database is the customer’s name, address, DOB, phone number, email address, and account number. Therefore, the importance of keeping this information secured is high priority. According to US CERT (2013),” [DoS attack is] …targeting your computer and its network connection, or the computers and network...
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...1. What is a PHP Remote File Include (RFI) attack, and why are these prevalent in today's Internet world? RFI stands for Remote File Inclusion that allows the attacker to upload a custom coded/malicious file on a website or server using a script. This vulnerability exploits the poor validation checks in websites and can eventually lead to code execution on server or code execution on website (XSS attack using javascript). RFI is a common vulnerability and all website hacking is not entirely focused on SQL injection. Using RFI you can deface the websites, get access to the server and do almost anything. What makes it more dangerous is that you only need to have your common sense and basic knowledge of PHP to execute this one. 2. What country is the top host of SQL Injection and SQL Slammer infections? Why can't the US Government do anything to prevent these injection attacks and infections? The U.S. is the top host of SQL Injection and SQL Slammer infections. Cybercriminals have made vast improvements to their infrastructure over the last few years. Its expansion is thousands of websites vulnerable to SQL Injections. Malicious code writers have exploited these vulnerabilities to distribute malware so quick that the government cannot contain such a large quantity. 3. What does it mean to have a policy of Nondisclosure in an organization? It is a contract where the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. It outlines confidential material...
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...Cyber-attacks over the recent years have caused strong stirs among corporations and governments enough to warrant the needed attention to fight them. A recent and more damaging attack is the dual attack’s that hit the Bitcoin Virtual currency systems, a decentralized p2p network-based virtual currency that is traded into US dollars and other currencies. The mode of these attacks was a DDoS attack (distributed denial of service). A DDoS attack is an attack in which a multiple of compromised systems attack a single target, thereby causing denial of service for users of the targeted system. It works by flooding a web server with bad traffic enough to either shut it down or stop users from performing specific functions online, like making payment or making good on a bill. The motive behind a cyber-attack is taken very seriously to determine whether it is coming from another government, a hacker or a criminal. The attack on the bitcoin virtual system is suspected to be profit motivated, a way for the attackers to cause panic in the exchange then take advantage of the falling prices. The website of Bitcoin, instawallet was forced to shut down after hackers gained access to its database. Instawallet was notoriously insecure as it used a URL password mechanism for protection. . Perpetrators of DDoS attacks are usually nit caught due to nature by which the attack is initiated. There are a number of ways to prevent a DDoS attack. Most institutions, to prevent DDoS attacks, are turning...
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...In the intervening eleven years, they have been responsible for several attacks on different websites, groups and governments. Their attacks have been seen as both an act of concerned citizenry, in the cases of child pornography sites, and as a cyber-lynch mob. While most of their activities are illegal, and go against the laws of several governments, the question of their ethicality has been brought up as well. We also use different words to describe their actions, from cyberterrorism to hacktivism. I would like to isolate my examples only to the group activities of Anonymous, but the questions raised would affect any person or group embarking in hactivism. Is it ethical to use hacking, is it a form of first amendment speech, or is it a malicious attack on another entity? As an example, let’s take a look at the attacks of Anonymous against another controversial group, the Church of Scientology. In 2008, a video was leaked of actor Tom Cruise extolling the virtues of Scientology. The Church immediately claimed that showing this video violated it’s copyright, and sent cease and desist requests to the websites hosting it to have them taken down. According to Fox News, in response, Anonymous “set up a web site to coordinate a string of attacks using phone, internet, and fax methods, which it called ‘Project Chanology’.” Anonymous would encourage it’s members to act as a denial-of-service attack, in an effort to bring down Scientology web sites. They would also exploit...
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...real threat to the information technology infrastructure in the United States. While safeguarding information has been a major issue for the private and public sectors since the beginning of the computer era, the increased level of concern over the most recent attacks has resulted in devoting more resources to combat this threat. This paper analyzes numerous cyberattacks by Russian computer enthusiast group Chaos Hackers Crew and other hacktivists during Operation Allied Force in 1999, that included taking down and defacing various NATO and US Government websites, several successful virus propagation attempts on military servers and countless spamming storms. This particular case raises curious questions about the legal definition of term cyberconflict itself, magnitude of the damage from a potential cyberattack on U.S. Government by terrorists and the level of preparedness of key military and intelligence units for the cyberwar. The cyberterrorism threat is real, however it’s essential to recognize that preserving the state of continuous distress over computer vulnerabilities can be profitable. Based on this research, cultural differences play a huge role in the world of computer hackers who decide what entity to attack and how, also the scale of a cyberattack doesn’t matter as economic damage can be devastating regardless of its size. Global governments need to continue working on creating workable laws that accurately describe the problem of cyberattacks and effectively enforce...
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...A Structured Analysis of PHISHING By Prasath Manimaran ID: 20038303 Table of Contents Chapter One – Introduction 1. Research Questions and Objectives……………….…………………………………………….5 Chapter Two – Literature Review & Definition of Phishing 2.1. Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………………………..8 2.1.2. Definitions of Phishing……………………………………………………………………..8 2.1.3. Outcomes of this Study…………………………………………………………………….16 2.2. Research Details 2.2.1. Scope of the Research……………………………………………………………………….17 2.2.2. Research Methodology……………………………………………………………………..17 2.2.3Inductive versus Deductive Study……..………………………………………………..20 2.2.4. Qualitative versus Quantative……………………………………………………..20 Chapter Three – Phishing in a Banking Context 3.1. Confidence in Internet Banking……………………………………………………………………22 3.1.1. Security Requirements………………………………………………………………………23 3.2. Threat Models……………………………………………………………………………………………….25 3.2.1. The Internet Threat Model……………………………………………………..25 3.2.2. Thompson Threat Model……………………………………………………….26 3.2.3. Viral Threaet Model………………………………………………………………26 3.3. The Phishing Threat Model…………………………………………………………………………..26 3.3.1. Identification of Internet Banking Components………………………………..27 3.3.2. Identification of Phishing Threats………………………………………………29 Chapter 4 – Analysis of Current Phishing Techniques 4.1. Modus Operandi………………………………………………………………………………………….…36 4.2. Roles of Adversary in Phishing………………………………………………………………………...
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...can be profound. Not only can computers be made to perform tasks without the users awareness but software like GameOver Zeus, or GOZ, can be used to steal financial or any other type of data from consumers or businesses. Business owners should be very concerned about programs like GOZ because they have sophisticated techniques to compromise other computers on a network, therefore an entire corporate network could be compromised if just one computer were to become infected with GOZ. Also, businesses should be concerned about botnets because they can be used to perform distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks using hundreds of thousands of compromised computers to bombard websites or servers rendering them inoperable. If a company relies on Internet sales and its website becomes the target of a DDoS attack, this could essentially shut down revenue for that company until the attack stops (Adhikari, R. 2014b). Detection of botnets can be very difficult because many are designed to hide their activities and the infected...
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...Case Study 2: Social Engineering Attacks and Counterintelligence Marilyn Washington Dr. Gideon U. Nwatu CIS 502 November 3, 2013 Abstract The topic of this paper is “Social Engineering Attacks and Counterintelligence.” Social engineering attacks and counterintelligence have major impacts to our national security. In July 2010, the Afghan War Diary was released in WikiLeaks. In October 2010, WikiLeaks also released the largest military leak in history – the Iraq War Logs revealing the war occupation in Iraq. This type of information is considered as classified data by the Department of Defense. Social Engineering Attacks and Counterintelligence Describe what social engineering and counterintelligence are and their potential implications to our national security in regard to the leaked Afghan War Diary and Iraq War Logs. WikiLeaks is an open website that reveals classified documents to the general public. Voice of America stated that “WikiLeaks releases 400,000 classified US Military files (Pessin, 2010). WikiLeaks is a serious threat to national security. WikiLeaks is a threat for three reasons: reveals the identities of operatives, defaces the name of the USA to foreign countries, and threatens the safety of the USA. A danger of WikiLeaks is it reveals the identities of operatives both foreign and domestic. WikiLeaks allows the names of many allies and operative missions to be posted on a public website. This type of exposure endangers many oversea...
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