...Malicious Attacks and Threats As the lead Information Systems Security Engineer it is my job to ensure that the ongoing threat of malicious attacks and vulnerabilities to the organizations computer network are kept to a minimum so that highly sensitive data will continue to remain protected. However, recent reports from the CIO suggest that there has been a small amount of malicious activity reported on the network. The CIO is requesting I look into the current network infrastructure and make necessary changes to the network so that the system remains free from the threat and vulnerability of future malicious activity that would impact the organizations network. Attacks on computer systems and networks occur by the billions every year and are on a dramatic increase. Many organizations have invested vast amounts of money in computer networks, only to find out that although it is providing means of improving the efficiency and productivity of the organization it also exposes the organization to possible malicious attacks and threats. Such attacks have been the most challenging issue for a majority of Information System Security Engineers where they utilize the necessary resources to protect the network from these vulnerabilities. The greatest overall threat to computer systems and their information comes from humans, through actions that are either malicious or ignorant. When the action is malicious, some motivation or goal is generally behind the attack. For...
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...Karen Barber ITM – 5600 – Information and Communications Security Assignment: Summary Report on a Malicious Code Attack Malicious code is the term used to describe any code in any part of a software system or script that is intended to cause undesired effects, security breaches or damage to a computer or system without the owner’s knowledge or consent. Upon entering the system, there are much exploitation of vulnerabilities, like viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, and rootkits. Malicious code is an application security threat that cannot be efficiently controlled by conventional antivirus software alone. Malicious code can either activate itself or activate after a user perform an action, such as clicking on something or opening an email attachment. Malicious code describes a broad category of system security terms that includes attack scripts, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, backdoors, and malicious active content. The Spamhaus Project is a cyber attack that is described as the largest in history apparently starting over an argument over spam. The prolonged denial-of-service assault is targeting The Spamhaus Project; a nonprofit European filtering service that helps organizations to fight spam by weeding out unwanted emails has gone after CyberBunker, a Dutch data-storage company that offers hosting to any websites/content "except child porn and anything related to terrorism." On March 18, 2013, Spamhaus added CyberBunker (whose servers shows “cb3rob...
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...Malicious Attacks and Threats Malicious Attacks and Threats As the lead Information Systems Security Engineer it is my job to ensure that the ongoing threat of malicious attacks and vulnerabilities to the organizations computer network are kept to a minimum so that highly sensitive data will continue to remain protected. However, recent reports from the CIO suggest that there has been a small amount of malicious activity reported on the network. The CIO is requesting I look into the current network infrastructure and make necessary changes to the network so that the system remains free from the threat and vulnerability of future malicious activity that would impact the organizations network. Attacks on computer systems and networks occur by the billions every year and are on a dramatic increase. Many organizations have invested vast amounts of money in computer networks, only to find out that although it is providing means of improving the efficiency and productivity of the organization it also exposes the organization to possible malicious attacks and threats. Such attacks have been the most challenging issue for a majority of Information System Security Engineers where they utilize the necessary resources to protect the network from these vulnerabilities. The greatest overall threat to computer systems and their information comes from humans, through actions that are either malicious or ignorant. When the action is malicious, some motivation or goal...
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...Identifying Potential Malicious Attacks, Threats and Vulnerabilities Joseph Escueta Strayer University CIS 333 Dr. Emmanuel Nyeanchi January 30, 2014 Abstract The world of any organization lays a network structure that controls all the operations of the company. Every company has its own sensitive information about their success and why they such a good reputation. Because of the growing technology various enchantments have been develop to make sure that its investments are secured and locked hidden in its networks. However network attacks have been around for decades and each new security can be breach. This is one of the major causes of any company to lose money or its capital after being attack by network attackers. It is proven to be a nuisance for any organization trying to make a living. However, this attacks can be avoided if one should take precautions and to be aware of the network attacks. In this case study I will identify its causes and threats against the network. I will also expose the vulnerabilities that exist in networks today. Identifying Potential Malicious Attacks, threats and Vulnerabilities There are many attacks in the network but the most important purpose is to protect the company’s assets. We are not taking about average hackers who just do it for fun but rather want to cause damage to a company’s reputation. In a network security there are two important categories which is logic attacks and resource attacks. A logic attack usually involves...
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...Assignment 1: Identifying Potential Malicious Attack CIS 333 Assignment 1: Identifying Potential Malicious Attack Potential malicious attacks and threats that may be carried out against the network include illegally using user accounts and privileges, Stealing hardware and software, Running code to damage systems, running code to damage and corrupt data, modifying stored data, stealing data, using data for financial gain or for industrial espionage, performing actions that prevent legitimate authorized users from accessing network services and resources, and/or performing actions to deplete network resources and bandwidth. Threats to the network can be initiated from a number of different sources, hence the reason for network attacks being classified as either external or internal network attacks/threats. Individuals carry out external threats or without assistance from internal employees or contractors. A malicious and experienced individual, a group of experienced individuals, an experienced malicious organization, or inexperienced attackers (script kiddies) carry out these attacks. Such attackers usually have a predefined plan and the technologies or techniques to carry out the attack. One of the main characteristics of external threats is that they usually involve scanning and gathering information. Users can therefore detect an external attack by scrutinizing existing firewall logs. Users can also install an Intrusion Detection...
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...Identifying Potential Malicious Attacks, Threats and Vulnerabilities Brian Cox Strayer Univerity Professor Leonard Roden Networking Security Fundamentals May 03, 2016 Have you ever thought about the measures that you need to go through when protecting yourself from online threats and attacks? There are many different types of attacks and threats that can be carried out against networks and organizations. The attacks that could be carried out can cause serious damage to the company and range on a scale from very minimal to very severe data loss and data theft. It is important for companies to take every precaution available and have not only the best software for prevention of these attacks but stay on top of what the intruders, hackers, attackers are learning and how the technology is forming when they are deploying these systems on their servers, networks, and office computers that employees will use on a day to day basis. The computers each employee is using should come with a User Agreement and the do’s and do not’s when it comes to daily computer usage. This will enhance the security as each employee will understand what is acceptable and how to obtain maximum security of their signed computer. It is also advisable within the User Agreement to list out the things that are unacceptable such as plugging in your phone, downloading things from the internet, and other things that may seem harmless but could hurt the company if it was exploited by accident...
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...Week 4: Essay 4.1 Malicious Code Attack Harold Streat Jr (15813476) NT2580: Introduction to Information Security March 2, 2014 DeVon Carter Malicious Code Attack The Code Red virus didn't kill the Internet, but it did prove that there is a long way to go in the war against cyber-attacks, and, if the future is anything like the past, it is a war the good guys will never win (Burnett & Gomez, 2001). The Code Red worm is one example where knowledge of emerging vulnerabilities and implementation of security patches plus overall watchfulness of network activity could have saved many systems from falling prey to a well-publicized attack (Burnett & Gomez, 2001). The Code Red or Red Wiggler Worm, as it was known, was a self-replicating program designed to consume computer and network resources creating a Denial of Service (DoS) to the user community. The Code Red worm exploited a known vulnerability in Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000, popular operating systems in the business environment. The vulnerability was related to Internet Information Server (IIS), which runs on many Windows-based World Wide Web servers throughout the world. Code Red spread through several variants with mixed effectiveness. As the worm code was mutated, updated and re-released, infection rates increased (Burnett & Gomez, 2001). The worm began by scanning networks to identify hosts running IIS and accepting information on TCP port 80....
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...A Trojan horse (also known as a Trojan) is one of several kinds of malware you might find on your computer after a successful virus attack. Trojans are a particularly sneaky kind of malware because they look harmless or even beneficial and trick you into installing them on your system. Trojans fall into the category of “social engineering” attacks because they trick people. Trojans are typically used by cybercriminals for online fraud and theft. Antivirus software and anti-malware help protect you by keeping Trojans off your computer system by recognizing that they’re actually malware. But don’t rely on antivirus software alone. It is called a Trojan horse because the Greeks won the Trojan War by building a hollow horse, filling it with soldiers and leaving it for the Trojans, supposedly as a gift. A Trojan priest was suspicious of the “gift” and said to “beware of Greeks bearing gifts” but the Trojans ignored him and brought the horse through the gates into the city. Later, when the Trojans were asleep the Greek soldiers jumped out, captured the city and burned it to the ground. And so the “Trojan horse” came about. In the world of viruses and malware, cybercriminals create viruses or malware that look harmless or useful but actually aren’t. Just like the Trojan horse, it’s really hiding something that’s meant to attack you once it’s inside your system. Antivirus and security software helps protects you by looking inside the “horse” to see what’s really there. And if your...
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...Identifying Potential Malicious Attacks The CIO Company will use firewalls, intrusion detection systems, virus scanners and other protective software to provide some assurance that the security policies for the site are properly implemented. Firewalls are the basis of computer and network security defense. They are widely deployed. They are very hard to configure properly, and people who configure them may not know the current threats and attacks. For example, an administrator maybe working on some task and might leave something open in a firewall where attackers can enter through. Some firewalls have the vulnerability that enables attackers and be defeated. By identifying the network components, you can evaluate their vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can have flaws in the technology, configuration, or security policy. Vulnerabilities can be fixed different ways, applying software patches, reconfiguring devices, or deploying countermeasures such as firewalls and antivirus software. Threat is when people take advantage of vulnerability and cause a negative impact on the network. If threat occurs it needs to be identified, and the associated vulnerabilities need to be addressed to minimize the risk. As of today, most of the hackers are interested in hacking services such as HTTP (TCP Port 80) and HTTPS (TCP Port 443), which are open in many networks. By using access control devices, they can detect malicious exploits aimed at these services. Now these days applications...
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...improving the efficiency and productivity of the organization but it also exposes the Organization to possible attacks and threats. Such attacks have been the most challenging issue for most network administrators and a worrying topic for administrators. Organizations need to share services resources and information but they still need to protect these from people who should not have access to them, while at the same time making those resources available to authorized users. Effective security achieves these goals. The greatest threat to computer systems and their information comes from humans, through actions that are either malicious or ignorant. When the action is malicious, some motivation or goal is generally behind the attack. For instance, the goal could be to disrupt normal business operations, thereby denying data availability and production. April 13, 2000, 3:55 P.M. Pacific time: The Web site for the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) is suffering intermittent outages, and the organization suspects computer vandals are to blame. A source inside the organization, who asked not to be identified, said that the MPAA is currently “experiencing problems with their public Web site, and they suspect a denial-of-service attack.” The attack was first rumored on http://www.hackernews.com/, a Web site for news on computer hacking. Most of the attacks are becoming more frequent and more damaging, and they are using well-known techniques and methods to exploit...
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...understanding of the situation in the network of the company I decided to start the analysis by the vulnerabilities that this one presents. Many of these vulnerabilities are the cause for different types of network attacks. It should be noted that while many of these vulnerabilities may be mitigated or eliminated the possibility of an attack always exists. The first vulnerability is the email server. Although very well controlled for been within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), this is always a vulnerability with which most companies have to deal with. This vulnerability opens the way for phishing attack. One way to mitigate this vulnerability is configuring the email server so that only authorized email may enter. This is difficult because our video game company has a large list of customers and suppliers that are in constant change. The best option is to alert users about the security measures and company policies regarding private and unknown emails. The Web and FTP server can be a not very alarming vulnerability. Because it is located in the DMZ and after the Intrusion Detection System (IDS), is unlikely to be corrupted without being detected. The location of the file servers in the network is totally unprotected against internal attacks. Any successful attack in the LAN would leave the data servers exposed. The establishment of a demilitarized zone with a completely different set of log on names and password than any other machines would give these servers better security...
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...Recently the Chief Information Officer of our company Celtic Gamers Frontier Inc. (CGF) has read of an increase in the threat space regarding the electronic game industry and he is concerned with regards to our Companies overall architecture, and the risks to our Research and Development efforts and other Intellectual Property. He has tasked the company’s corporate information technology group to produce an information paper detailing the types of cyber threats and malware are being reported on the internet. They would also like the security group to give the company’s executive leadership a detailed report regarding the threats, vulnerabilities and the overall risks that may be present in our current corporate infrastructure. The security department for the organization is relatively small and short on resources so this task has been given to me to do the research and create an executive report detailing the current vulnerabilities, risks and threats and potential impact to our network should we have any security incidents. “Unfortunately, there are inherent risks to computer usage — hackers, viruses, worms, spyware, malware, unethical use of stolen passwords and credentials, unauthorized data removal by employees with USB flash drives, or servers crashing and bringing productivity to a halt” ("Cybersecurity," 2013) . The CGF network is a typical office network composed of an external firewall with an external DMZ with public use servers, and internal firewall protecting...
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...the future of data breaches this year and things that we could encounter over the time frame of this year and next decade as technology continues to grow at the rate it is growing. It compare the big breach with Target and aligns it to other situations that are possibilities with the way we use our technology. One of the big theories that the article through out was that we are going to run into issues with all of this cloud computing and big data and that society is very vulnerable to a big data cloud breach. Apple has started the whole ball rolling with cloud computing storing all of your data on a cloud platform easily accessible by all of your devices. The only problem is that it too is easily accessible to other things such as malicious people. Another possible breach that the article discusses is that healthcare is slowly being stored via a cloud platform as well and there are potential ways that a breach of that information could be a reality soon and one day. Results...
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...Categories of Computer Crimes Alan Johnson Strayer University Assignment 1 There are four general categories of computer crimes. Generally someone will target a computer to forbid that person access. This is known as your hacker. He could be a single stand-alone hacker or part of a network hacking club or group similar to some of the ones known as Anti-Sec that are affiliated with the group known as ‘Anonymous’ that hacked into some 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites throughout the United States. Then there is the hacker that uses the computer as an instrument of crime to commit such acts as theft of services, fraud and the theft of information technology that can be traded and sold on the black market. This information can damage some financial institutions for years. Many hackers use the instrument of crime to steal phone and computer services. This allows them to use the phone and have internet access free of charge until caught or shut down by officials. Pyramid schemes, lottery schemes and overseas bank fraud transactions are very popular and target your unsuspecting older new computer user that hasn’t been exposed to the criminal world of the computer crimes and they innocently respond to these online criminals with information and money that causes them to become victims of devastating financial crimes without ever leaving their homes. Other aspects of instrumental computer crimes is government sensitive information access or that of a large financial institution...
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...Lab 2 – CSEC630 1. When running Snort IDS why might there be no alerts? When using Snort IDS, there are several modes that if configured properly, will generate alerts. Alerts are set by the user within the command prompt when initiating a rule set. There are five alerting options available with Snort IDS. According to (Roesch, 1999), Alerts may either be sent to syslog, logged to an alert text file in two different formats, or sent as Win-Popup messages using the Samba smbclient program. If there has been no alerts, the selected rule set was set may not have been enabled by the user. Another scenario where alerts may not occur is when another task is being performed. According to (Roesch, 1999) when alerting is unnecessary or inappropriate, such as when network penetrations tests are being performed. 2. If we only went to a few web sites, why are there so many alerts? Snort IDS performs numerous functions that would generate an alert. Alerts are generated based on any suspicious network activity. Although a user may have only visited 5 sites, snort may have generated 12 or more alerts that were generated due to anomalies detected from the 5 sites visited. 3. What are the advantages of logging more information to the alerts file? The advantage of logging additional information within the alerts file is that it can provide additional information as to the origination or source of what caused the alert. If the administrator is better informed on the...
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