...Dennis Abanga IS317 Project part 3 Investigate Findings on the Malware In the present day malware has changed in nature dramatically with the criminal element realizing the advantages of using it for more malicious purpose. In the past it was not uncommon for malware to be written as a prank or to annoy the victim, but times have changed, malware in the current day has been adopted by criminals for a wide array of purpose to capture information about the victim or commit other attacks. The term malware used to cover only viruses, worms, and Trojans but nowadays it has evolved to include new forms, such as spyware, adware, and scareware. Software that used to just dial up systems or be annoying now redirects browsers, target search engine results, or even display advertisement s on a system. In order to mitigate malware, best security practices and awareness training is adamant. Keeping browser plug-ins patched is essential. Attacks have moved to the browser and the plug-in applications that make the browser so much more useful. It's critical that attackers not be able to use Microsoft Internet Explorer or Adobe Reader/Acrobat/Flash vulnerabilities to get onto a system. Use each vendor's auto update or software distribution tools to install patches as soon as they become available. Related Content Blocking P2P usage is also vital. The simplest method for distributing malware is hidden inside files to be shared on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Create and enforce a no-P2P...
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...Donell Jones NT2580 Unit 2 Assignment 2: Microsoft Environment Analysis 5 vulnerabilities for this workgroup LAN based on the Microsoft Security Advisories numbers. 2755801, 2719662, 2854544, 2846338, 2847140. 2846338 involves privilege elevation, Vulnerability in Microsoft Malware Protection Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution, and is a high priority. Three vulnerabilities and Solutions related to client configurations. Advisory Number: 2719662 Microsoft is announcing the availability of an automated Microsoft Fix it solution that disables Windows Sidebar and Gadgets on supported editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Disabling Windows Sidebar and Gadgets can help protect customers from potential attacks that leverage Gadgets to execute arbitrary code. Customers should consider the following ways that an attacker could leverage Gadgets to execute arbitrary code: Microsoft is aware that some legitimate Gadgets running in Windows Sidebar could contain vulnerabilities. An attacker who successfully exploited a Gadget vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could create a malicious Gadget and then trick a user into installing the malicious Gadget. Once installed, the malicious Gadget could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative...
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...functional units, the malware can produce potential threat to organization image, the establishment of an effective security measures and reassessment of organizational risk management approaches in order to cater with latest implication trend in network security. This report is based on literature review, analytical analysis of case studies, news articles magazines to highlight vulnerability and implication of malware attack to an organization, highlights the salient features of malware attack, malware attacks that can significantly hurt an enterprise information system, leading to serious functional commotions, can result into destructing the basic IT security up to identity theft, leakage of data, stealing private information, corporate information system blue prints, industrial white papers and networks break down. The only constant in the world of technology is a change, report highlights the latest trends, dimension and implication of malware attack and new critical source of threats, within the perspective of constantly changing IT world (e.g. cloud services-integration) Enterprise may not effectively device and manage malware threat and 'risk assessment processes. This report highlight the malware propagation process, malware vulnerability, the types of malware, optimistic cost effective solution in order to minimize security risk for an Enterprise information systems. This Report highlights salient features for designing an effective security policies in order to proactively...
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...------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Report Details for | Security assessment: | | Severe Risk (One or more critical checks failed.) | Computer name: | | IP address: | 192.168.2.100 | Security report name: | | Scan date: | 3/16/2016 2:54 PM | Scanned with MBSA version: | 2.3.2211.0 | Catalog synchronization date: | Security updates scan not performed | | | Sort Order: | Bottom of Form Windows Scan Results Administrative Vulnerabilities Score | Issue | Result | | Automatic Updates | | The Automatic Updates system service is not running. | What was scanned How to correct this | | | | | Password Expiration | | All user accounts (3) have non-expiring passwords. | What was scanned Result details How to correct this | | | | | Incomplete Updates | | No incomplete software update installations were found. | What was scanned | | | | | Windows Firewall | | Windows Firewall is disabled and has exceptions configured. | What was scanned Result details How to correct this | | | | | Local Account Password Test | | Some user accounts (1 of 3) have blank or simple passwords, or could not be analyzed. | What was scanned Result details | | | | | File System | | All hard drives (1) are using the NTFS file system. | What was scanned Result details | | | | | Autologon | | Autologon is...
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...1. Focus on the overall “security assessment” risk rating that appears at the top of your report. Considering what security measures you (or the computer owner) have undertaken for your computer, does the assessment surprise you? Why or why not? What measures should you plan to undertake if the green checkmark did not appear? Currently, the security assessment shows vulnerabilities in the accounts due to the fact that there are 2 administrators, passwords do not expire, and some areas which, on a corporate computer, would need to be fixed, such as auditing and sharing. For a local home computer which is mainly used for school work by 2 adults and 3 children, this level of security is acceptable. I believe that this security assessment is an accurate reflection of the use of this computer, and I am comfortable with the assessment results. One of the hidden features of Windows 7 is the “Administrator” account (I will call it admin from now on). In previous versions of Windows, the admin account was always enabled. Basically this account allows you to control your working environment, create new users, setup network shares and handles a ton of other software management. Starting with Windows 7, Microsoft decided to hide this account for some reason, but there are many times that you need to be able to log on as the admin. One other note, if you don’t have the admin account enabled and your log on is disabled or destroyed, more than likely you will not be able to enable...
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...Neiman Marcus Hacking and Securing a POS System John Fischer Security Research Paper 9/22/2014 For several years we have been using the point of sale (POS) system for payment at major retailers. In the last year there have been several attacks on major retailers POS systems. In this paper, I will focus specifically on the breach of security at Neiman Marcus. In this discussion I will explain how to help secure a POS system. Neiman Marcus was founded in 1907 by Herbert Marcus with his sister, Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband A.L. Neiman. Their initial investment was $25,000. The original Neiman Marcus was on the corners of Elm and Murphy streets in Dallas, Texas. In 1913 a fire destroyed the companies building and its entire inventory. A new building was built in 1914 on the corners of Main and Ervay, also in Dallas, Texas. Neiman Marcus’ headquarters is still located in this building. Neiman Marcus is a high end retail store. The target market for Neiman Marcus is the top 2% of the income bracket of the United States, plus the wealthiest people around the world. Neiman Marcus retails high end goods such as clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, home furnishings, antiques and even rare books. Neiman Marcus also has an online store, started in 1999, that offers customers access to high end luxury goods. In 1926 Neiman Marcus first issued their holiday catalog. Many different items have been offered in their holiday catalog, including life size robots and jetliners...
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...materials released by major antivirus vendors about new malware threats. In addition we will show how you will be able to document the malware lifecycle; in addition to explaining the threats that the malware creates both at the current time and how they may change. One of the sites that we have taken a look at is McAfee.com, the portion of information we are looking at today is the virus definition, what it is a how it will affect you the consumer. One virus we will be looking at will be RDN/BackDoor-FBSA!a!EFA0D651938C. This is a Trojan detection. Unlike viruses, Trojans do not self-replicate. They are spread manually, often under the premise that they are beneficial or wanted. The most common installation methods involve system or security exploitation, and unsuspecting users manually executing unknown programs. Distribution channels include e-mail, malicious or hacked Web pages, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), peer-to-peer networks, etc. The indication of having this infection would mean your machine would have the files, registry, and network communication referenced in the characteristics section. However not to worry the following is a plan of attack as per instructions of McAfee: Please use the following instructions for all supported versions of Windows: 1. Disable Windows System Restore. For instructions, please refer to: http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/disabling-system-restore.aspx 2. Update your McAfee Anti-Virus product to the latest version...
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...IPsec Could Allow Security Feature Bypass and 3) Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution, 4) Vulnerability in Microsoft Malware Protection Engine Could Allow Denial of Service, 5) Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution. All of these Vulnerabilities existed in the workgroup LAN in the past months. 2) While checking over the different vulnerability description, we found that one the Vulnerabilities involve privilege elevation, * which was dated January 01, 2014 where in Microsoft windows Kernel NDProxy Vulnerability could allow privilege elevation in telling that if you were to give me certain privilege to just “read only “and I change those privileges to include “read and write” then I would most defiantly consider this vulnerability a high priority being that this group is exposed to this elevation of privilege. 3) In this section I will be identifying three vulnerabilities and the solutions to the related client configurations for each LAN vulnerability. * The Vulnerability in DirectAccess and IPsec could allow Security feature bypass, the solution recommended would be to apply to the affected releases of Microsoft Windows using the Microsoft Update immediately using management software, or by checking for updates. * Secondly, for the Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution, the solution would be to issue an MS14-021, which is a Security Update for Internet Explorer...
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...horses are not technically viruses, since they do not replicate, however many viruses and worms use Trojan horse tactics to infiltrate a system. Although Trojans are not technically viruses, they can be just as destructive. 2. A virus or malware can impact which of the three tenets of information systems security (CIA)? Describe how it impacts it as well. Virus maybe can send files to other people that don’t allow reading these files. It will affect Confidentiality. Some virus will break program. Then these programs cannot run. This wills effect Availability. Some virus will change some file in a program. This wills effect Integrity. 3. Once a malicious file is found on your computer, what are the default settings for USB/removable device scanning? What should an organization do regarding use of USB hard drives and slots on existing computers and devices? Besides Vendor IDs and Product IDs, some devices also have a serial number associated with them. The “Serial Number Descriptor” string is optional, but a fair number of devices such as thumb drives, removable USB hard drives, PDAs and cell phones have them. While most of these scanning and tracking details would be of most use with the “USB Mass Storage devices containing malware” and the “U3 thumb drives with "evil" autorun payloads” categories, they...
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...Simplifying Security Before you install the program Please check if your computer meets the system requirements specified below. Supported Operating Systems Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 2000 are NOT SUPPORTED. Required for all installations CD/DVD drive for installation using CD Internet Explorer 6 or higher Minimum 512MB RAM Internet Connection for Activation & Updates Uninstall any other security program (firewall/antivirus program) installed in your system through Start->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs Close all active applications and proceed with installation. Installing the program Insert the CD into the CD drive and choose Install K7TotalSecurity The Pre-Install scanner detects and cleans malware in your system to ensure successful installation. Choose the option Scan for Virus, Trojans, Spyware and other malware before Installation and click Next. Pre-Install scan window: If the Pre-Install scan detects and removes malware, you will need to restart your system to complete the malware removal process. Installation If you have an active internet connection, you may download the latest setup from the K7Computing website. Else, click Next to proceed with the installation. Click Next to proceed with the installation. Please read and accept the License Agreement and click Next. The Installation wizard checks for and informs you about the presence of any other security software. If found, please...
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...ISSC362 Week 4 Lab #6: Identify and Mitigate Malware and Malicious Software on a Windows Server Instructor Name: Lab Assessment Questions 1. Workstation and desktop devices are prone to viruses, malware, and malicious software, especially if the user surfs the Internet and World Wide Web. Given that users connect to the Internet and World Wide Web, what security countermeasures can organizations implement to help mitigate the risk from viruses, malware, and malicious software? First the Security Professional needs to education their users of the dangers of these vulnerabilities presented. Next before the workstations go on the network the security professional should ensure the correct fixes patches and updates are installed. There should also be security policies implemented such as the prohibiting of certain media, and websites. 2. Your employees e-mail fi le attachments to each other and externally through the organization’s firewall and Internet connection. What security countermeasures can you implement to help mitigate the risk of rogue e-mail attachments and URL Web links? The security professional should find a antivirus that has a link scanner and email attachment scan before they are opened. 3. 3. Why is it recommended to do an antivirus signature fi le update before performing an antivirus scan on your computer? This is recommended because a virus might miss an infection if it is newer than the signature database on the antivirus. 4. Once...
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...Employ automated tools to continuously monitor workstations, servers, and mobile devices for active, up-to-date anti-malware protection with anti-virus, anti-spyware, personal firewalls, and host-based IPS functionality. All malware detection events should be sent to enterprise anti-malware administration tools and event log servers. The endpoint security solution should include zero-day protection such as network behavioral heuristics. Employ anti-malware software and signature auto-update features or have administrators manually push updates to all machines on a daily basis. After applying an update, automated systems should verify that each system has received its signature update. Configure laptops, workstations, and servers so that they will not auto-run content from USB tokens (i.e., "thumb drives"), USB hard drives, CDs/DVDs, Firewire devices, external serial advanced technology attachment devices, mounted network shares, or other removable media. If the devices are not required for business use, they should be disabled. Configure systems so that they conduct an automated anti-malware scan of removable media when it is inserted. All e-mail attachments entering the organization's e-mail gateway should be scanned and blocked if they contain malicious code or file types unneeded for the organization's business. This scanning should be done before the e-mail is placed in the user's inbox. This includes e-mail content filtering and web content filtering. Apply anti-virus...
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...article, the author will focus on malware like Flame and others, and measures that can be taken to counter these threats. Introduction In today’s world it is hard to believe that low level code is still able to run on machines and avoid detection. Governments find they are defenceless and lose control of their own environment. This article will focus on malware like Flame and others, and measures that can be taken to counter these threats. As software is evolving, some developers are taking precautions and implementing security measures to ensure their newly developed products are more secure, however the threat of malware is increasingly prevalent. As technologies improve to counter these threats so have the malware evolved to infiltrate deeper into the code. Additionally more sophisticated approaches are being taken by the bad guys to get malware into vulnerable systems. It is surprising to find that they even hijack software update services so that when machines are updated, instead of security patches and software updates, malware is downloaded and installed. New attack vectors are being developed for this “social” age like infection through social networking sites, attacks that are analogous with the past are still causing havoc in 2012. Traditional computer viruses are still secretly infecting files, causing computers to slow down and using our computers as hosts to infect sites as well as other computers and networks. Malware can be described as follows: ...
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...MALWARE PROJECT ROOT KIT A root kit refers to a specialized set of programs normally used by crackers in order to subvert control of an operating system of a computer system. A rootkit enables breaking in security of a computer system and gaining root access for various operating systems such as Unix, Linux, Solaris, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS etc. A root kit is a set of tools used by a hacker to infiltrate a computer system without the knowledge or consent of the system's owner. These tools help the intruder gain access to the system in order to perform malicious activities at a later date without being detected. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM A VIRUS? Most often, rootkits are used to control and not to destroy. Of course, this control could be used to delete data files, but it can also be used for more nefarious purposes. More importantly, rootkits run at the same privilege levels as most antivirus programs. This makes them that much harder to remove as the computer cannot decide on which program has a greater authority to shut down the other. DETECTING AND PREVENTING ROOTKITS One issue with rootkits is that they are constantly updated; even with all sorts of computer security protocols programmed every day to specifically eliminate rootkits, people who program them continue to develop and update the rootkit, or make new ones. It doesn’t mean, though, that they cannot be prevented. Methods through which RootKits can be prevented are: * Anti-virus software. While...
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...Workstation Domain Anti-virus and Anti-malware Policy Improvements Employ automated tools to continuously monitor workstations, servers, and mobile devices for active, up-to-date anti-malware protection with anti-virus, anti-spyware, personal firewalls, and host-based IPS functionality. All malware detection events should be sent to enterprise anti-malware administration tools and event log servers. The endpoint security solution should include zero-day protection such as network behavioral heuristics. Employ anti-malware software and signature auto-update features or have administrators manually push updates to all machines on a daily basis. After applying an update, automated systems should verify that each system has received its signature update. Configure laptops, workstations, and servers so that they will not auto-run content from USB tokens (i.e., "thumb drives"), USB hard drives, CDs/DVDs, Firewire devices, external serial advanced technology attachment devices, mounted network shares, or other removable media. If the devices are not required for business use, they should be disabled. Configure systems so that they conduct an automated anti-malware scan of removable media when it is inserted. All e-mail attachments entering the organization's e-mail gateway should be scanned and blocked if they contain malicious code or file types unneeded for the organization's business. This scanning should be done before the e-mail is placed in the user's inbox. This includes...
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