Learning Aim B: Cyber Security

Learning Aim B: Cyber Security

1. Key Terms

   • Unauthorized access
     • This refers to someone gaining entry without permission to an organisation’s system, software or data. This is achieved by exploiting a security vulnerability
       • Hacker
         • Someone who seeks out and exploits these vulnerabilities.
         • Types of Hackers:
           • White
             • working with organizations to strengthen the security of a system
           • Grey
             • Do it for fun and not with malicious intent
           • Black
             • They try to inflict damage by compromising security systems
   • Cyber Security
     • Refers to the range of measures that can be taken to protect computer systems, networks and data from unauthorised access or cyberattack.
   • Threat
     • An incident or an action which is deliberate or unintended that results in disruption, down time or data loss.
       • Internal
         • Caused by an incident inside an organisation
       • External
         • Caused outside the organisation
   • Attack
     • A deliberate action, targeting an organisation’s digital system or data.

2. Reasons for cyber Attacks

   • ? Fun/Challenge
     • • Hacking systems can be fun or a challenge
     • • There is a sense of achievement
     • • Friends may give respect of hacking achievements
   • ? Financial Gain
     • • Ransoms can be made to prevent attacks from happening
     • • Ransomware can be used to encrypt a computer until you pay
     • • A payment is given to carry out an attack on a organization
   • ? Disruption
     • • Attacks such as Denial-of-Service stop websites working
     • • Viruses can slow down computers and delete files
   • ?️ Industrial Espionage
     • The aim is to find intellectual property such as designs or blueprints for products, business strategies or software source code
   • ⚔ Personal Attack
     • Employees that are unhappy may attack the company
     • Friends / family may attack each other if upset over something
   • ? Information / Data Theft
     • Credit card and financial details are stolen to gain money
     • Company information may also be stolen

3. Malware

   • Stands for Malicious Software
   • An umbrella term given to software that is designed to harm a digital system, damage data or harvest sensitive information
   • Virus
     • A piece of malicious code that attaches to a legitimate program. It is capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer.
   • Worm
     • Similar to a virus, but unlike a virus it is a self contained program. It is capable of spreading on its own, without help from humans.
     • Worms get around by exploiting vulnerabilities in operating systems and attaching themselves to emails
     • They replicate at a tremendous rate, using up hard drive space and bandwidth, overloading servers
   • Trojan Horse
     • A type of malware often disguised as legitimate software
     • Users are tricked into dowloading it to their computer. Once installed the Trojan Works Undercover to carry out a predetermined task
       • Backdoor for hackers to use
       • Installing Harmful programs
       • Harvesting sensitive data
     • It is named after the wooden horse used by the ancient Greeks to infiltrate the city of Troy
   • Rootkit
     • A set of tools that give a hacker a high level of administrative control of a computer
       • They can then use this privileged position to:
         • Encrypt files
         • Install Programs
         • Change System Configuration
         • Steal Data
   • Ransomware
     • Encrypts files stored on a computer to extort or steal money from organisations
       • Victims must then pay a ransom to have the encrypted files unlocked
         • There is normally a deadline for the transaction to happen
         • Bitcoin is usually asked for as a form of payment as they are difficult to trace
         • If the payment isn't made then the amount demanded may increase or the files are permanently locked
     • Usually spread by rogue emails or through infected websites.
   • Spyware
     • Malicious software secretly installed to collect information from someone else's computer
       • Cybercriminals harvest information such as:
         • Passwords
         • Credit card numbers and other details
         • Email Addresses
         • With all of this information, they can steal someone's identity, making purchases on their credit card etc.
     • Works in the background on someone's computer without it being noticed
     • Keyloggers
       • Spyware that records every keystroke made on a computer to steal personal information
   • Botnet
     • An army of 'zombie' devices. They are used to carry out mass attacks such as emailing spam to millions of users.
     • Derived from the words 'Robot' and 'Network'
     • They perform Distributed Denial- Of- Service (DDoS) Attacks, steal data, send spam, and allows the attacker to access the device and its connection.
     • Computers aren't the only device botnets can take over. Any device connected to the internet such as smart TV's, fitness trackers, and smart fridges can be affected
   • Distributed Denial-of-Service DDoS attack
     • Flooding a website with useless traffic to innundate and overwhelm the network

4. Social Engineering

   • Involves tricking individuals into divulging valuable information about themselves such as
     • Passwords
     • PIN numbers
     • Credit card details
   • Phishing
     • A way of attempting to acquire information, by pretending to be from a trustworthy source. Examples are email spoofing, fake websites, spoof phone calls
   • Spear Phishing
     • Involves bespoke emails being sent to well researched victims. e.g. where somebody who holds a senior position within an organisation with access to highly valuable information uses it to target victims.
   • Blagging
     • A blagger invents a scenario to engage a targeted victim in a manner that increases the chance the victim will divulge information
       • As an example, a blagger may pretend to be a member of your IT department to inform them something is wrong with your PC and requires access to fix the problem
   • Shoulder surfing
     • Acquiring sensitive information by someone peering over a users shoulder when they are using a device
       • It can also be done from a distance by using technology such as video cameras, drones etc.
   • Pharming
     • Involves redirecting people to bogus, look-a-like websites without realising it has happened
     • The object of pharming is to install malware or acquire sensitive personal information
   • Man in the middle attack
     • A form of eavesdropping where the attacker makes an independent connection between two victims to steal information to use fraudulently