...of “implants” in foreign computer systems — for surveillance and potential offensive action — run through thousands of pages of documents released by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor. But the willingness of Adm. Michael S. Rogers to discuss purely offensive cyberweapons in his appearance before the Armed Services Committee comes at a moment when the Obama administration is reluctantly experimenting with how to discuss the subject in public, much as it gradually began to talk about drone strikes a few years ago. Admiral Rogers, who heads both the National Security Agency and its military cousin, United States Cyber Command, was answering questions about how the United States could deter attacks like the kind that struck Sony Pictures Entertainment. President Obama has said publicly that the attack originated in North Korea. When pressed, Admiral Rogers said that erecting ever-higher digital fences would never be enough, and that “we have got to broaden our capabilities to provide policy makers and operational commanders with a broader range of options. Because in the end, a purely defensive reactive strategy will be both late” and would become “incredibly resource-intense.” “So, I have been an advocate of, we also need to think about how can we increase our capacity on the offensive side here, to get to that point of deterrence.” In interviews as he...
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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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...software download area with software for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Windows Mobile.” The paper under review today is titled “Targeted Cyber Attacks”, written by the site GFI.com and published as an eBook available at Help net Security. Targeted Cyber Attacks is an extensive, 25-page review of cyber attacks in a general sense, exposing the impact, extent of the problem, effectiveness of attacks, solutions and attack avoidance. It explains that the definition of a cyber attack is specifically when a company is attacked electronically for the purposes of gaining access to data or compromising functionality and causing denials of service. The paper starts off with a definition of those who are actually at thread for attack – EVERY organization. The paper’s position is that all organizations are vulnerable, whether they believe it or not, and that there is no target too large or too small that can be attacked. Visibility of the company, perception of the ease of attack, and hiding their vulnerability from the public all have nothing to do with whether or not an attack will take place. GFI explains how the actual extent of the problem is wide-ranged, consisting mainly of opportunistic (non-targeted) attacks such as Trojan horse programs, phishing scams, 419 scams, and mass-scanning for vulnerable services (which can transition to a targeted attack!). One test reported in the paper showed that an unprotected Windows-based system might be compromised by opportunistic...
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...Living in the Age of Cyber Attacks and Cyber Warfare UMUC If you asked the average person on the street about cybersecurity and cyber warfare, they would probably say they don’t know much about it other than the fact that it involves computers. In fact, for anyone outside of the cybersecurity industry, the closest thing to cyber warfare that they may have experienced was their viewing of the movie War Games, or the fourth installment of the Die Hard series, Live Free or Die Hard. While those movies had a profound impact on the lives of the characters in the script, the audience probably thought it was merely fiction, not fully based on fact. In Live Free or Die Hard, John McClain (played by the indefatigable Bruce Willis) is attempting to stop a domestic cyber-terrorist who is acting out on a vendetta against the United States. The cyber-terrorist is successful in launching an online attack to overload and destroy a power grid that left much of America’s East Coast in darkness. When I first saw this movie, I was curious if an attack like that was really possible; however, most people around me just labeled the movie as “Hollywood’s overactive imagination”. With cyber attacks literally having the ability to affect lives in a nanosecond, it is vital that everyone understand what cyber attacks entail, the impact of these cyber attacks on a domestic and international scale, and knowing what to expect in the future while living in a world dominated by virtual experiences...
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...Recent cyber-attack and mitigation techniques ISSC 361 American Public University System April 9, 2016 Computer-based attacks have been going on the around the world. Individuals or governments hacking into individuals or rival governments systems. Private corporations are hacking each other in the quest of power. They have been several recent computer-based attacks that every information security expert should be aware of. This short paper will discuss one of these recent attacks, which provoked a collective blackout, the Cyber-Attack Against Ukrainian Critical Infrastructure and present an overview of some mitigation techniques. The Cyber-Attack Against Ukrainian Critical Infrastructure was conducted using a malware called BlackEnergy. This attack targeted six Ukrainian energy organizations was perpetrated by attacker from outside the organizations. This attack has had effect on about 225000 customers of Ukrainian regional electric power distribution companies (Lee 2016). The intruders organized the attack by conducting a recognition of the network of the victim. The attacks took place with an interval of 30 minutes from each other affecting many central and regional installations (Vicinanzo 2016). The attackers, controlled the breakers from distance by using distance control administration tools already in place on the operating system or “distance industrial control system (ICS) client software through virtual private network (VPN)” after gaining rightful access to...
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...Cyber-attacks are a major problem to businesses as well as home users, it is in every nook, and cranny in the world of computers and prevention is a major concern to all. Many websites have contracted viruses or denial of service attacks and some host malware. Unsuspecting visitors visit these sites and contracted the spyware, malware, or viruses to their own home computer. What can we do for this? Well, there are preventive measures that one can take companies or home users. To find preventive measures the user must first understand the hacker and how they work. The vulnerabilities of one’s network are those call weaknesses or holes, hackers love these and can scan a system for days trying to find them. It is the administrator or IT department to find these such holes and find a way to abolish them before they are inundated with the chaos the hackers bring forth. Agreeing with “HackingAlert” the prevention is more difficult and complex in real life (HackingAlert). A large threat and a near fatal threat is the malware, it is used to capture vital information from the user’s computer, such as logins and passwords. This type of information is used in high-risk areas such as banking information. It can be well hidden in applications like a PowerPoint presentation, email, instant messenger, or a Web Site may have it hidden or embedded in the site itself. This paper will discuss these measures in hopes to educate the user in open-minded scenarios. First thing to know is that there...
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...Cyber Attacks on the Government’s Transportation Grid Breaches and Security Implications by Penetration of the Western Interconnection’s Traffic Control System and its Effects on Modern Day Life Year after year, a number of films are released involving computer hacking of some sort along with cyber-villainy. As entertaining as they are, the validity of these possibilities is not explored. Many of these films center revolve around a chaotic vehicle-related scene where a form of the government’s transportation grid is compromised. The breach typically involves traffic control. As the stoplights and streetlights are in a state known as gridlock, external hackers usually make the situation as unruly as humanely plausible. However, the very nature of this unfortunate scenario can only be determined once the backgrounds of the systems that control it are thoroughly studied. The contiguous United States is divided into three main alternating current power grids. The Western Interconnected System, or Western Interconnection, is the one applicable to those of us living in California. The electric utilities functioning in this region are tied together, operating at 60Hz. While the grid is currently electrically powered, research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado indicates the Western Interconnection can handle higher levels of renewable energy, in a quest to implement alternative energy sources. If integrated correctly, the NREL have...
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...highlights the significance of effective communication and collaboration at different levels in the event of or during a crisis. This is a case of a cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment once on December 3, 2014 and another attach on December 8, 2014 was considered for the purpose of this research. These cyberattack shows how techniques are not just a strategic weapon to bring down societies or to terrorize societies. But it shows that attackers are getting increasingly comfortable with using cyberattacks and can quite easily gain access to consumer personal information, business information, and employee information and can bring a company to its knees. The recent attacks not only on Sony but also Home Depot, Target and others are raising concerns. What needs to be done? The attacks are becoming more frequent, more invasive and the attackers are being bold. Should there be collaboration between businesses to combat the rising issues? Will this change the way that others businesses work together? What role does the government have in protecting citizens and their right to privacy especially from foreign attackers? These issues are significant as they underline the element of crisis communication and collaboration. Introduction In the face of increasing business demands for the bottom line, growth, stock prices, and global economic pressures, businesses today have a lot to worry about. According to Ihab Hanna Salman Sawalha (Jorunal of Business Continuity...
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...Cyber Security By Charles Jackson Strayer University Theories of Security Management CIS 502 Dr. Emmanuel Nyeanchi June 7, 2013 Table of Contents Abstract 2 NICE Strategic Plan 3 NICE Goal’s 3 Stockholders 4 NICE Outcome: 6 Professional Competency: 7 Conclusion: 7 References: 7 Abstract Cybersecurity has evolved with such quickness that it is challenging to capture all the moving parts. New threats to include old ones are being developed every day as do plans to defend against them. Electronic information is a critical part of our culture. It’s often said that electronic information created our way of life. No matter how far we’ve advanced with the age of new Technology, it remains a fact that cyberspace has a phenomenal impact on each of our lives. It’s extremely important for us to understand that we must have security in cyberspace just as we maintain security in our physical world. It’s very difficult...
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...Cyber-Attack Prevention As cyber-criminals become cleverer with the cybercrimes, more and more individuals are in danger of a cyber-attack. The threats become more intense and damaging as technology grows. Often times, home users think computing and surfing the Internet is safe when at home. It is a necessity to be aware of the prevention methods whether at home or at work. To further the comprehension of cyber-attack prevention, an article is chosen and an evaluation is the article. The evaluation of an article will include a stance on the quality of the material, selections of various aspects, descriptions of each aspect, reasons for an individual viewpoint, and an example. Article Summary Home users need to practice prevention methods when using the Internet at home. Cyber-criminals’ methods and targets have evolved (Damico, 2009). Several home users may not be aware that any connection to a network is networked activity and requires some measure of protection. According to the Damico (2009) article, a prevention system must identify and stop malicious attacks before they do damage and have a chance to infect a system. It is not only imperative to use prevention methods, but also it is imperative to understand prevention methods. Technology prevention methods will no longer be adequate to protect against the modern cyber-criminals of today. Material Quality The quality of the material is credible. The article is valid. The author uses more than one in-text citation...
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...In 2013, the cyber-attack against Target cost the company a great deal of money caused the company’s reputation to be damaged and customers worried about shopping at Target. This cyber-attack clearly showed how vulnerable Target’s information system was. It is important to secure information on any system, regardless if it is your personal system or a corporation’s system. The big issue with Target’s breach and other companies’ breaches is the fact that the people responsible for the cyber-attack received information on the company. However, even more importantly they received personal information on their customers including names, debit/credit card information, etc. “Security refers to the policies, procedures, and technical measures used...
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...netwar by the military. It includes hackers, listeners of communications systems, van Elckradiation115 listeners and so on. Cyberwar consists of information terrorism, semantic attack, simulation warfare and Gibson warfare. Typically Cyberwar is warfare, or hostile influence between attack- and defence programs in computers, computer networks and communication systems. For many, the term cyber war conjures up images of deadly, malicious programmes causing computer systems to freeze, weapon systems to fail, thwarting vaunted technological prowess for a bloodless conquest. This picture, in which cyber war is isolated from broader conflict, operates in an altogether different realm from traditional warfare and offers a bloodless alternative to the dangers and costs of modern warfare, is attractive but unrealistic. Such a scenario is not beyond the realm of possibility, but it is unlikely. Cyber warfare will almost certainly have very real physical consequences. Computer technology differs from other military assets, however, in that it is an integral component of all other assets in modern armies. From this perspective, it is the one critical component upon which many modern militaries depend, a dependence that is not lost on potential enemies. Countries around the world are developing and implementing cyber strategies designed to impact an enemy’s command and control structure,...
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...Cyber security is a critical and growing issue in the world today. President Obama said this issue is, "one of the most serious economic and national security threats our nation faces" (Cybersecurity). The United States is one of the most computer dependent societies and has the most computer dependent military and intelligence agencies. With more and, more of our country being ran by technology we are at a bigger risk of attack. A cyber attack could be the most devastating attack our country has ever faced. An attack on America’s cyber infrastructure could cripple the country and put us at an even greater risk of a normal attack. FBI Director said “Counterterrorism — stopping terrorist attacks — with the FBI is the present number one priority. But down the road, the cyber threat, which cuts across all FBI programs, will be the number one threat to the country” (Paganini). The message is clear the cyber security threat we are facing today is a dangerous and growing threat that has serious offensive potential and is often difficult to detect or prevent. An attack on a nation’s critical infrastructure can be devastating and when you add the fact that cyber attacks often do not make themselves know until it is to late could make for a devastating first strike prior to an invasion. Cyber security is defined as measures taken to protect a computer or computer system (as on the Internet) against unauthorized access or attack. The term “cyber security threat” means...
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...Corporate/Cyber Espionage You’re the owner of ABC Candy Company and just about to debut your latest and greatest chocolate snack when your biggest rival over in Asia at XYZ Candies introduces its latest snack, that is almost a doppelganger to yours. Have you just been a victim to corporate cyber espionage or just extremely bad timing? In 2012 federal agencies alone reported 46,562 cyber security incidents compared to only 5,503 in 2006. In 6 years the number of incidents has multiplied over 8 times. (LUKAS, 2013) And what is the cost of this to companies in the U.S.? It is figured the price tag for this theft of information is at least 250 Billion dollars each year. This is significantly higher than what businesses pay each year, in federal corporate income taxes. (LUKAS, 2013) Meanwhile, McAfee provides an estimate encompassing global remediation costs to total a staggering $1 trillion per annum. (Paganini, 2013) Cyber corporate espionage attacks and threatens corporate America, government programs and individuals daily in new and unrelenting ways. But who is committing these attacks and why? How are individuals, groups, companies and even governments’ gaining access to supposed secure information? And how are you and corporate America going to detect and remove these threats from your daily lives? Let’s first start with just the basic definition of just what is corporate cyber espionage Cyber espionage is defined as the intentional use of computers or digital communications...
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...Cyber Espionage Topics in Global Strategy Mike Dresser MGT 536 March 11, 2013 Cyber espionage is quickly becoming one of the most feared tactics around the world, but most recently, the computer spy game between China and the United States has been elevated to new levels. Just within the last few days, The New York Times broke a story pin pointing Coca Cola as one of the main targets of a Chinese sponsored cyber attack. Many believe this was largely due to discussions that Coca Cola had with China Huiyuan Juice Company regarding a potential acquisition. If it had gone through, this would have been the largest acquisition of a Chinese company by a foreign corporation. However, due to an elaborate Chinese cyber spy operation, they attempted to hack into Coke’s files to find information about Coca Cola’s negotiating strategy, and the deal was ultimately terminated because of deceptive practices. This is only the tip of the iceberg as cyber spy attacks are becoming more and more prevalent across the globe with no signs of slowing down. Mandiant, a cyber security company, also made front page news this past week when they published a full detailed report that traced a series of cyber attacks on a variety of U.S. companies, as well as many of our government agencies, such as the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Department of Commerce. Mandiant specifically identified a Shanghai based operation known...
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