Cyberspying/Cyberespionoge
Definition
Cyberspying is a form of cybercrime in which hackers target computer networks in order to gain access to classified or other information that may be profitable or advantageous for the hacker. Cyberspying is an ongoing process that occurs over time in order to gain confidential information. It can result in everything from economic disaster to terrorism (Techopedia). Cyberspying can be devastating toward both the government and businesses due to the classified information that can lead to copied products and gain both personal and business secrets. This ends up with consequences from major loss of money to loss of life.
Background
In December of 2009, Google began to notice persistent cyber-attacks aimed at acquiring information specific to Gmail accounts. The accounts were held by Chinese human rights activists, and Google wasn 't the only target. To the search engine giant 's credit, they quickly informed at least 20 other companies that they too were being targeted through a vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Preventive measures were taken, and McAfee Labs identified the problem in early 2010 and code-named it ‘Aurora’. The Aurora attackers used targeted emails with malware sent to individuals who were judged as good targets because they were likely to have a high level of access to valuable intellectual property. The reaction to this act of cyber espionage varied around the world. Microsoft sent a security breach report
Cyber espionage is the act of attempting to penetrate an adversarial system for the purposes of extracting sensitive or protected data of either social or technical in nature. They are illicit activities that range from the commercial and economic to the political and strategic. They include small nuisance attacks to matters of high magnitude and importance like the national security and intelligence (Cornish 2012). Chinese cyber espionage has continued to escalate in recent years; it has continued to gain attention in many institutions including the media, the technology and information services industries, in scientific research and innovations, and as well as the general public. All these institutions are aware that china is taking part in the systematic development of cyber techniques that they intentionally use to invade international organizations, national governments, commercial companies, universities, and research institutes (Cornish, 2012).
According to Dictionary.com (Cybercrime, n.d.), cybercrime is defined as “criminal activity or a crime that involves the Internet, computer system, or computer technology”. There are many kinds of cybercrimes, such as the spreading of computer viruses, cyberterrorism, and the stealing of someone’s identity. A computer virus is a piece of malicious programming code that is associated with an attachment. It causes a computer to act in such a way that can be detrimental for the user and is often times unnoticed. When the attachment is opened, it will spread to other computers, therefore infecting them as well (Reynolds, 2014, p. 89). Cyberterrorism is a threat made toward all types of organizations including emergency
The level of encryption was successful hiding the attack and avoiding common detection methods (Bremer, 2013). The attacks were said to have attacked at least 34 companies in the technology, financial and defense sectors and were given the name of “Operation Aurora” by McAfee. The name comes from references in the malware to the name of a file folder named “Aurora” that was on the computer of one of the hackers. Just a few minutes after Google announced it had been attacked, Adobe made the announcement that they, too, had been attacked. The story additionally disclosed that there was a “zero day vulnerability” within Internet Explorer and that it was exploited by the hackers to gain access to Google and other
Cyberwarfare – The use of computer technology to disrupt activities in a state or organization, to deliberately attacking of information systems for strategic or military purposes. An example of cyberwarfare, is when in 2007 a foreign nation party managed to infiltrate into high tech and military agencies in the US and downloaded terabytes of information.
This literature review study will consist of the overview of topics regarding cyber crime and the extent of how it is an ever growing issue within our society. Topics such as Digital forensics which is used to combat cyber crime will be thoroughly discussed. Another topic that is important in this study is Plagiarism. This is a problem that is also on the rise as technology advances, due to the different techniques available of obtaining data. Keylogging will be the main focus of this study, the implications of using a keylogging device or software can be malicious or it could be used to tackle actual problems. Existing Keyloggers will be also be analysed which will then aid the creation of the keylogging tool which is required for this project.
Jurisdiction is one of the main issues on account of cyber crimes because of the extremely inclusive nature of the cyber crimes. With the constantly developing arm of the internet the territorial concept appears to vanish. New Methods for resolution of dispute should offer route to the traditional techniques. Accordingly, the Information Technology Act, 2000 is quiet on these issues.
Cyber Crime is described as criminal activity committed via use of electronic communications with respect to cyber fraud or identity theft through phishing and spoofing. There are many other forms of cyber-crime also such as harassment, pornography etc. via use of information technology.
Cybercrime is crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may be used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target.
Cyberterrorism, is an explosive and heavily volatile act that threatens the very fabric of networking operations of their intended target/s, and guess what, the United States “cyberspace” platform has provided a means of accessing our most secretive, sensitive, including, military tactical operations data. Successful attacks upon the US networking infrastructure would obviously impede governmental operation, more importantly; accessing a wealth of potentially destructive information would have profound implications, thus, Cybersecurity policies must be implemented. Cybersecurity policies create levels and barriers of networking security as their standards, guidelines, and response to potential threats, vulnerabilities, and
Cybercrime is a crime that is done using the internet (Burton, 2007). Cybercrime is growing as the internet has grown in popularity. We now use the internet to conduct business, to do banking, for our healthcare, and to communicate with our friends and family. The internet holds an amazing amount of information on people and businesses. The internet gives those who want to use this information for illegal purposes, a tool to access unlimited information. As the growth of the internet has exploded, so has cybercrime. Understanding how these crimes are committed, and how to protect information on the internet is vital.
Cyber-attacks are common in the defense industry, but in January 2010, a sophisticated, advanced persistent threat hacked into the commercial sector forever changing the face of cyber security. Dubbed “Operation Aurora” by McAfee, the attack targeted specific high profile corporations to obtain valuable intellectual property. Google, Yahoo, Juniper Networks and Adobe Systems were also among the victims of this highly coordinated cyber heist. By manipulating computer codes the attackers were able to exploit the Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerabilities to gain access and obtain valuable sensitive information from over thirty high profile companies. Operation Aurora proves that the world is entering into a high-risk era where
Technology is consistently evolving. With this evolution comes great new innovation that empowers users all around the globe. However, it also brings completely new and ever-dangerous threats. In 2009, Google found that technology had brought such threats right into its networks. The company was one of many that were targeted by a very highly sophisticated attack to steal intellectual property undetected, rather than to just interrupt service or destroy data. Google had found itself a victim of an international malware attack aimed at stealing source code and spying on human rights activists in China.
Cyber spying, or cyber espionage, is the act or practice of obtaining secrets without the permission of the holder of the information (personal, sensitive, proprietary or of classified nature), from individuals, competitors, rivals, groups, governments and enemies for personal, economic, political or military advantage using methods on the Internet,
Cyber Security is considered to be one of the hot topics in modern era. It is a national security challenge that the United States and other countries face today. Cyber Security is an important factor to be considered if one is to be able to protect oneself from malicious people and software from the internet. While the Internet has been providing immense opportunities to individuals, organizations, and nations in diverse areas, at the same time it has also given birth to a new form of crime – cybercrime. This case study is about an Indian company named Pyramid Cyber Security (P) Ltd, which specializes in digital crime, fraud and forensic solutions and services in India. This company provides solutions for digital forensics and security projects for agencies in law enforcement, the public sector and corporate organizations. However, with more and more organizations moving towards cloud computing for their applications, cyber security throws up a different challenge for Pyramid. This challenge put Pyramid into the dilemma of whether they should focus on their existing business or explore new opportunities in cloud forensics. Additionally, they also in doubts whether to offer pre-incident or post-incident digital network security architecture.
Cybercrime or electronic crime generally refers to criminal activity where a computer or network is the source, tool, target, or place of a crime. These categories are not exclusive and many activities can be characterized as falling in one or more category. Additionally, although the terms computer crime and cybercrime are more properly restricted to describing criminal activity in which the computer or network is a necessary part of the crime, these terms are also sometimes used to include traditional crimes, such as fraud, theft, blackmail, forgery, and embezzlement, in which computers or networks are used to facilitate the illicit activity. So basically it is a criminal activity committed on the internet. This