Tuxtaxnet Viruses

Stolen laptop computer and hard drive containing sensitive data for up to 26.5 million veterans, their spouses, and active duty military personnel have been found.

The most common operating system, Microsoft Windows is used to connect the systems to the internet and hence contains various vulnerabilities. Internet Explorer, MS-SQL, file serving and message processing services are the most commonly exploited services of the operating system. There is no operating system that does not contains vulnerabilities and exposures and cannot be targeted by the hackers and viruses. The vulnerabilities in Windows are more popular because of the huge number of machines running it. (Zibstev

Adam Segal’s “The Hacked World Order” reveals many prevalent issues in today’s technologically centered society. Starting at Year Zero, June 2012 to June 2013, the battle over cyberspace witnessed world-changing cyberattacks. This was accomplished due to the fact that nearly 75% of the world’s population has easy access to a mobile phone, and the Internet connects nearly 40% of the total human population, which is nearly 2.7 billion people. With that being said, cyberattacks are becoming a more realistic form of terror.

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

In 1997 the National Security Agency (NSA) tested the Pentagon’s cyber security in an exercise named “Eligible Receiver”. Within two days of the exercise, the NSA team had penetrated the classified command network and was in complete control of network. Two years later, the United States Air Force experienced a computer breach in which huge amounts of data were being exfiltrated from research files located on airbases. “Gigantic amounts of data were being shipped out from a lot of computers in the Defense Network and from many data systems in the national nuclear laboratories of the Energy Department.” (Clarke, p. 111) File case named “Moonlight Maze”, by the FBI day-lighted two important aspects of information security. Computer specialist

Viruses and worms are malicious programs that self-replicate on computers or through computer systems without the user being cognizant. Worms are a series programs that repeat themselves from system to system minus the use of a host fie. Worms use methods to infiltrate remote computers and launch replicas of themselves like email messages or coping files to an accessible disk. A computer virus is a

Issue 4: Information Security officials failed to effectively trigger appropriate notifications and begin an investigation of the stolen data. The information security official’s incident report contained omissions and significant errors. This resulted in missed opportunity to re-create the contents of the laptop and external drive and to recognize the severity of the potential loss of data. The cybersecurity operations officials failed to ensure a timely investigation and notifications were made regarding the severity of the lost data (Opfer, 2006).

In the early days of computing, a hacker was primarily referred to as a computer guru, someone who is extremely technical with a high expertise in computer also known as “Expert Programmers”. Nevertheless, as technology is advancing at a face pace, hacking has adopted a completely different definition. The modern definition is someone who access a computer system primarily to steal or destroy information. Hacking has caused major harm in the realm of technology. Over the years, hackers have become much more lethal in their craft. They manage to break into complex information systems from entities such as banks, government agencies, and private businesses. Furthermore, they often manipulate their victims through social engineering in order to obtain financial benefits. Hackers hold different label such as: black hat hacker and white hat hacker in which all have their own motives.

Linton (2011, p.44) stated that hacking of network of common users and attacking their personal computers is one of the most threatening problems at present. It is happening in every second that results in a loss in several ways like loss of credentials, personal information etcetera. Although the use of personal computers and the internet has been increased rapidly, numbers of users who are the expert and have good knowledge to tackle the matters are very rare. In addition, time, as well as required equipment to protect hacking, is also very.

Just like a biological virus, a computer virus is able to infect and ruin lives. This malicious software constitutes more than just simple viruses but also includes other types of software including worms, Trojan horses, and ransomware. Malware has been around since the late 1980’s. Originally, people became hackers to gain notoriety online, but today, it has become more of a business. Cyber attacks originate from all around the world, and it is not just individual people that benefit from it. In two decades, numerous cyber crime syndicates have been created, and states all over the world sponsor hacker groups. Over the past twenty-five years, malware has become less about checking the integrity of computer security and gaining notoriety in the underground cyber society, and it has become more of a chaos creating, money making business that many people and institutions take part in.

Two of the common known attacks on computing systems are the deployment of computer viruses and malware.

-The technical definition of computer crimes is an act performed by a knowledgeable computer user, sometimes referred to as a hacker that illegally browse or steals a company 's or individual 's private information, but in general terms, it is the unauthorized use of a computer for personal gain, as in the illegal transfer of funds or to alter the data or property of others (Computer Crime, 2016). There are four major categories of computer crimes, first we will discuss using the computer as a target. When using the computer as a target, they must do two things: intrusion meaning to gain access to the computer and deny the owner of the computer access to the service and data. Intrusion is when the individual alters the data. To use the computer as a target, the hacker must alter the password and/or login and by doing this he is denying the owner access to the data. If a hacker makes a copy of data they are denying the owner rights to privacy of his or her data. The hacker will use that information to intrude upon another computer. One popular method that can be used to deny service is to

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.

The fight against hackers and cyber crime is a global problem and nationally and internationally, the threats they caused have been recognized and acknowledged.

Network viruses are another favorite method of cyber criminals. As we all know, viruses can bring a network to