Stochastic Game Models Within Cyber Security- A Survey

With cyber war, nations are able to skip the battlefield. Gone are the days where troops line up across from each other hoping to do damage to the other. Clarke explains that people, industries, governments, companies and organizations can be possible targets and are vulnerable to these attacks. Keeping that in mind should help these targets become defensive minded and shield off attacks before they happen. As we all know, the prevention is better than the

Lately active defense in cyber security has been a very popular approach in protecting assets in cyberspace as well as mitigating the increase of cyber threats. Current defenses such as firewalls, antivirus, strong security policies and security patch updates aren’t sufficient enough to protect against the rapidly changing threat landscape. Many hackers can easily bypass traditional

It is not uncommon to find various organizations complaining about security flaws in their information systems. Failing to prevent or mitigate the security flaws may lead to system breakdown, errors, and loss of crucial information. This is why it is important for users of information systems to find the right solutions that can help counter and mitigate security flaws. One common problem with security flaws connected with information systems or networks is that the security flaws occur in multiples. Technological advances have, fortunately, made it possible for people and organizations to prevent and detect such security flaws using security strategies. Layered Security and Defense in Depth are two strategies that can help prevent attacks and protect information systems against security flaws. The two strategies are similar but are based on completely two different concepts. This paper compares and contrasts the Layered Security and Defense in Depth Strategies by explaining how each of the two functions. Additionally, the paper includes an explanation about the advantages and disadvantages of the two strategies.

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.

Cyber-security demands are ever increasing in the field of Information Technology with the globalization of the internet. Disruptions due to cyber-attacks are affecting the economy, costing companies billions of dollars each year in lost revenue. To counter this problem

In order to diminish both security and privacy risks to organizations, measures need to be taken to combat risks throughout the various stages of the threat’s life cycle. Specific processes must be implemented to identify threats, procedures to follow when the attack occurs, and finally methods to recover from the attack (Houlding, 2011).

Today however, a new type of warfare has emerged and occurs when outside entities conduct an attack on a power grid, network, or both with the intent of causing damage. This type of warfare is called cyber warfare. In the United States computers control everything. It is no secret that hostile countries and terrorist organizations are cognizant and they know our economy, security, and infrastructure can be crippled by a successful cyber-attack. Examples of potential targets for cyber terrorists include military bases, water systems, banking facilities, air traffic control centers and power plants. Even the Commander in Chief, President Obama has stated the threat of a cyber war is real and we must prepare for it and increase our security measures. First, this paper will discuss cyberterrorism and cyber-attacks as they pose a direct threat to national security and the economy. Then, we will review cyber-attacks against the U.S. from China, Iran, and Russia along with the impact and possible ramifications from those attacks. Finally, this paper discusses U.S. strategies to minimize the impact of cyber-attacks.

Defensive-preventive: has the same basic set of requirements in terms of personnel, organizational structure and costs, as an offensive-destructive strategy. A defensive-prevention strategy is necessary to protect against almost all forms of offensive strategies. All states that depend on information and cyber technologies must develop a protection strategy, either alone or in a coalition with other countries. This strategy will take years to develop and billions of dollars for implementation and support.

1. UMUC (2012).The Future of Cybersecurity Technology and Policy, CSEC 670 (Module 2). Document posted in University of Maryland University College CSEC 670 9042 online classroom, archived at: http://webtycho.umuc.edu

Cyber security is a major concern for every department, business, and citizen of the United States because technology impacts every aspect of our daily lives. The more we use technology the more complacent, we get with the information that is stored within our cyber networks. The more complacent, we get, the more vulnerable we become to cyber-attacks because we fail to update the mechanisms that safeguard our information. Breaches to security networks are detrimental to personal, economic, and national security information. Many countries, like Russia, China, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, now have the abilities and technology to launch cyber-attacks on the United States. In the last five years there have been several attacks on cyber systems to gain access to information maintained by major businesses and the United States Government. Cyber-attacks cause serious harm to the United States’ economy, community, and the safety, so we need to build stronger cyber security mechanisms. Based on my theoretical analysis, I recommend the following:

For thousands of years warfare remained relatively unchanged. While the tactics and weapons have changed as new methods of combat evolved, men and women or their weapons still had to meet at the same time and place in order to attack, defend, surrender or conquer. However, the advent of the of the internet has created a new realm of combat in which armies can remotely conduct surveillance, reconnaissance, espionage, and attacks from an ambiguous and space-less digital environment. Both state and non-state actors have already embraced this new realm and utilized both legal and illegal means to further facilitate their interests. What complicates cyber security further is as states attempt to protect themselves from cyber-warfare, private

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.

Based on our experience with this project, it is clear that the risk of network attacks is very real and should be given significant attention by a company to prevent any serious damage resulting from such attacks. We have a few points that would make sense for a company to implement in order to reduce risk.

With the quick growth rate of technology, cyber security is being utilized by millions of people every day. Furthermore, this industry will never die and will always have a constant stream of demand. The appealing sector of cyber security is demonstrated on what the value of a 10,000-dollar investment is now worth (see Exhibit A). From my perspective, cyber security is one of the few durable trends that investors can benefit from due to the booming technology industry. Moreover, with the increase of hacking incidents in the past years, the importance of cyber security is becoming vital for businesses and households (see Exhibit B). Thus, cyber security seemed like a logical and safe place to invest my funds.

The thesis is about online banking deception. “Online banking fraud” is about committing theft or fraud by means of the features of Internet to illegitimately confiscate cash from, or move it to, some other bank account. During the past decades, most of the problems in the field of cyber-security and more specifically online banking fraud have been investigated from technological perspective. That is, these problems were considered solely as technical problems which required technical security solutions. However, most of the problems in the field of cyber-security are more economic than technical. Based on their explanation, economics introduces breakthroughs in understanding problems of security, based on explaining the actors involved and their socio-economic incentives. Accordingly, in this research we have reviewed Economics of Information Security literature to study the possible explanatory factors that may explain why certain targets are by cybercriminals.