How A Massive Cyber Attack Affects An Organization?

Every time we connect to the Internet at home, at school, at work, or on our mobile devices we make decisions that affect not only ourselves, but our neighbors, or colleagues, and our nation. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and each of us has a role to play (Homeland Security 2015). The intended audiences that are most interested, receptive and motivated, in reading this research paper: business owners, teenagers, college students, military, people in IT, computer science, employees and government. Cyber space has become a critical area of national security with the ever increasing amount of information transferred through and contained within digital environments. Attacks over the last couple of years reveal the severity of the threat regarding both the target and the number of the attacks (Braman, Susmann & Vaseashta 2014). If your business is like most in America, Internet is an indispensable modern tool for daily transactions. Online browsing allows connectivity to new customers and business growth. If you do not have a Web site, Instagram, Facebook page or Twitter account, you probably rely on Internet to perform your day-to-day business, as banking, payroll or orders for supplies. Using the internet should be safe. Small businesses may think they are not targeted; but cybercriminals are

Since the onset of the first packet switching event that many believe to be beginning of the internet, no other technology besides the printing press has ever transformed the ability to deliver information. Although the internet is used by a large percentage of the civilized world, few Americans realize how vital cyberspace is to our national infrastructure. Today, we are faced with even more threats although it has been a recognized problem since 2009, when President Barrack Obama said “The cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation. It’s also clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country (Obama, 2009).” Every industry that operates in the United States is dependent on the internet for some aspect of their business. Commerce, transportation, financial institutions, military, as well as industrial control systems are all interconnected. This interconnectedness has created vulnerabilities within their infrastructure that have increasingly become targets of terrorists, script kiddies, foreign governments and hackers of all types.

The world of cyber security continues to introduce new threats each year against network infrastructures and computer devices. In the recent years, the impact from cyber-attacks has wreaked havoc on many company brands and organizational reputations. As this issue grows so does the technology to prevent and protect against these malicious attacks. It is absolutely crucial for organizations and businesses to shift focus from defense for different types of attacks to improving safeguards to mitigate the loss of sensitive data when an attack occurs. In addition to the traditional security technology used to detect an attack, companies will have to include

This assignment was prepared for Professor Foss’ ISSC 361 Information Assurance course, and was turned in on August 7th, 2016. In this assignment, a recent cyberattack on the OPM from last year is examined.

Together with your approval, I wish to investigate these cyberattacks involving dealing with threats that range between malicious codes, which are referred to as malware and spyware, to computer viruses. All of the threats to computer networks come from the web and they are often intentional, having been manufactured by people with malicious intent. There is a deadline on the report which carries a proposed timeline and budget necessary in order to complete the investigation project. A list of sources has been

For years, it was widely believed that the next World War would be centered on the use of nuclear weaponry. However, the development of viruses has furthered cyberwarfare, and in recent years the attention has shifted from a nuclear threat to a cyber one. Having the ability to completely, dismantle another country’s entire infrastructure without leaving your desk is clearly much simpler than using nuclear weapons. “The treat of a cyberattack is a clear and present danger to America and is more likely than a nuclear attack.” (The Hill) Even higher ranking defense officials are realizing that the focus must shift to cyberwar, instead of the traditional nuclear missiles. Additionally, the cost for cyberwarfare is significantly less than the cost of nuclear

With the widespread use of technology becoming more prominent, acts of cyber terrorism pose an increased threat to safety. Cyber terrorists exploit the internet and its users to commit acts that can be increasingly detrimental to their targets. Some of the terrorist activities include large scale corruption of computer networks by using tools like computer viruses. Certain individuals even have the ability of creating severe damage to government systems, national security systems and even hospital servers. Most of the technology made today only has intentions of making life easier for people. However, skilled users can manipulate the cyber world for negative intentions. Staying informed when it comes to cyber terrorism and cybercrime is important to do because of the increased reliance on technology in society. Steps to improve cyber security before an attack ensures the safety of sensitive information. The topic of cyber security and cyber warfare are interesting topics to keep up to date with. Understanding these topics can be beneficial to my dream of being in the FBI, ensuring the safety of others by working to prevent acts of cyberterrorism.

Stuxnet was initially sent with the particular point of disrupting the Natanz uranium improvement office in Iran. This needed to sneak in a memory stick into the plant to acquaint the infection with its private and secure "offline" system through a double agent. However notwithstanding Natanz's detachment, Stuxnet by one means or another got away into the cyber space wild, in the end influencing a huge number of frameworks around the world. (Markoff, J., Sanger, D. E., & Broad, W. J., 2011)

All indications are that Operation Shady RAT (Remote Access Tool) started in 2006 although it went undetected for several years before begin discovered by analysts at McAfee Incorporated in 2011. Originally it was thought that the tools and techniques used during Operation Shady RAT were highly complex later investigations determined that the exploits used were previously identified and software vendors has published appropriate mitigation procedures to protect computers and networks from unauthorized access. The range of countries and businesses targeted during the operation highlights the importance of proper patching and vulnerability management policies. Operation Shady RAT differed from many other cybercrimes by not specifically targeting computer systems for financial gain; it appears that the perpetrators were after trade secrets and intellectual property. There are differing opinions on the severity and complexity methods used to compromise the computer systems by security vendors McAfee and Kaspersky but those whose information was accessed without proper authorization will attest to the significance of the compromises. There has been no attribution for the perpetrators of Operation RAT.

Cyber-attacks are being used for espionage, industrial sabotage, or even as a sort of punishment for organizations who are doing business in a way not appreciated by hacker communities. Attacks stopped being random, today’s many hackers know exactly who they want to strike and are patiently waiting for the

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

Prevalent to the current trend now is the dependency of the society on Information technology and communication systems. Every aspect of human life is one way or the other linked and controlled by information technology tools. The importance of information technology cannot be over emphasized as its unavailability could lead to a form of disaster or the other. Pivotal infrastructures like finance, healthcare, education and security are driven by information technology. However, information technology and its benefits are accompanied by vulnerabilities and risks that can be exploited by people with the necessary technical skills. Individuals like ‘Hackers’ and ‘Cyber Terrorist’ can cause disruption to information systems, commit financial fraud and also attack computers and networks. These attacks and disruptions could result to violence against people and properties. In some cases, death, serious injuries and severe economic loss could occur as a result of these attacks.

As time has gone on, society has advanced and the age of the computer came about, bringing its own advantages and concerns. One such concern was the question of computer security and personal information staying safe. It seems there has always been some form of computer security, however this form is dynamic, always changing and advancing. This is due to the fact that the technology that is made to bypass security is changing and advancing just as rapidly. Such as the progression of DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, in previous years the attacks had a maximum of about 10 Gbit/s, whereas now they can exceed 300 Gbit/s (Shorov & Kotenko, 2014). This constant advancement created a never ending battle between cyber security and the technology that is meant to break past the security in place. In the modern age computer networks are the focus of many attacks on organizations, institutions, and infrastructure (Shorov & Kotenko, 2014). As computer technologies began to grow, the security of these computer systems started to play a bigger and bigger role, and new factors came into play. One factor that completely changed security in concerns to computers was the internet. Computers went from being arranged in an ad-hoc manner to suddenly being all connected over the internet. This brought about major security concerns because individuals and organizations didn’t want their sensitive and personal data in the hands of others.

In our ever changing world, cyber systems have become a critical part of our everyday life. They play a role in almost everything that we do in areas such as wall street, banking, hospitals, electric generation and delivery, water treatment and delivery, phone conversation, the defense of our nation and I haven’t even scratch the surface of the countless way cyber systems have become a iatrical part of our everyday life. This dependence on cyber systems has created and every growing threat of cybercrime. (Way Press International, 2000)

In line with technological advances and the evolution of the internet, more and more transactions are conducted online. This brings convenience to businesses, financial institutions as well as their customers. However, this reliance towards online transactions has brought cyber risks such as fraud, identity thefts as well as cyber attacks. Biener, Eling & Warfs (2015) defined cyber risk as a multitude of risks from different sources that affect the information and technology assets of a firm. Cyber attacks and cyber risks are well documented in many articles such as Kim-Kwang (2011) Kolodzinski (2002), which reported on cyber threats faced by