In the most basic form of an access attack, a hacker tries to gain illegal access to equipment in your network. These concepts are discussed in much more depth in Chapter 2. Besides reconnaissance attacks, the second most common form of security threat and attack is the DoS attack. The last item, social engineering, is probably the hacker's easiest method of gaining unauthorized access to resources in your network. They could appear on all four exams. A good hacker makes this flood of fragments appear as a set of legitimate connections, which can cause a buffer overrun on the destination and possibly crash the machine. Data manipulation is simply the process of a hacker changing information. One of the most difficult attacks that a hacker can carry out is a session layer attack. Many packages are available on the market, with the most popular being antivirus software packages from Network Associates and Norton (I use Norton on my PC). But as we've seen with retail hacks like TJX, cybercriminals have also figured out how to skim money off any business that handles transactions. The first step in any information security threat assessment is to brainstorm a list of threats. When executed as a DoS attack, these attacks can affect the CPU cycles, memory, disk space, or bandwidth of a networking device, such as a PC. Every organization needs to prioritize protecting those high-value processes from attackers. The hacker tells the user about some fictional network security problem and, using guile and ingenuity, gathers information from the user that the hacker then can use to access resources on your network. Here are 10 data threats and how to build up your defences around them. Greed, politics, racism (or any intolerance), or law enforcement (ironic) could all be motives behind the efforts. With IP blocking, when a Cisco IDS detects an attack, it can log into a Cisco PIX or router and add a temporary filtering rule to block the attack. Land.c is a program that sends TCP segments to a destination where both the source address and destination are the same in the packet. Logic attacks are famed for … For file servers, tools are available to take a snapshot of your files, and the snapshot then is stored in a secured location. You configure all of your user accounts and security policies on this server, and you have your routers and other networking devices use this security server to perform authentication functions. When this bug was discovered, for a period of two or three days, many companies were disconnecting their connection to the Internet to prevent hackers and curious people from bringing down their resources. IPSec Site-to-Site Connections, Chapter 20. All rights reserved. The goal of the hacker is to perform repudiation when executing session layer attacks. Therefore, the solution was simple: Give only permanent employees the privileged EXEC password for the routers. First is the Issues Threat List -- a list of eight categories of activity that are a national security concern regardless of what foreign power or entity engages in them. Either they are logic attacks or resource attacks. A CA performs a similar function to what a notary does in real life: It handles and validates identities of individuals. The solution that you implement to restrict unauthorized access attacks depends on the method the hacker is using to gain unauthorized access. Part VIII covers an overview of VPNs using IPSec and discusses how to configure IPSec connections on a Cisco IOS router. They aren’t alive and they can’t evolve spontaneously from nothing. In some instances, the hacker can do this at the operating system level in certain versions of Linux. The main difference between IPSec and SSL is that IPSec can protect any type of IP traffic, whereas SSL can protect only web application traffic. You then run a periodic analysis with the application-verification software, comparing the current files on the server with the secured ones. A worm is a program that replicates itself over a network with some malicious intent in mind, such as crashing a system or using up all the resources on the system. This type of attack has happened to many organizations, typically government resources; a hacker breaks into a web server and replaces the web content with pornography or "interesting" political content. In this type of attack, a hacker tries to feed your routers with either bad routing information that will cause your packets to be routed to a dead end, or misinformation that will cause your packets to be routed back to the hacker so that he can perform eavesdropping and use this information to execute another attack. In all cases, these items are small programs written by a human being. Logging is discussed in Chapter 18, "Logging Events.". Many viruses also replicate themselves to spread their damage. According to the FBI guidelines for workplace security, you should always take special care to address any vulnerabilities pertaining to the internal as well as external threats to save millions of dollars as a business loss. Cybercriminals’ principal goal is to monetise their attacks. The hacker sends out-of-band information to port 139, hoping to bring down the server. Copyright eTutorials.org 2008-2020. These attackers don’t have authorized access to the systems. In the online world, a special third-party device called a Certificate Authority (CA) is used to handle the repository of identities. VPNs, which are discussed in Part VIII, "Virtual Private Networks," allow you to use Data Encryption Standard (DES), 3DES, and AES encryption algorithms to protect your data. Computer security threats are relentlessly inventive. For instance, signing electronic documents, transferring money electronically, and buying a product online with your credit card all must have a nonrepudiation process, or else they cannot be legally binding. A direct threat identifies a specific target and is delivered in a straightforward, clear, and … These kinds of attacks might be something as simple as an e-mail attachment that you click or something as sophisticated as a software program that is executed because of a security problem with your e-mail program. He pretends to be a different machine by changing his source address in his IP packets. You can employ three different methods in combating these kinds of attacks: One of the best defenses is to train your user population. To prevent a hacker from using known vulnerabilities to access your system, you should make sure that your applications and operating systems have the latest security patches applied. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) provides security in web transactions. When the ICMP traffic reaches the destination network, the devices respond to the spoofed source address, which is the device that the hacker wants to flood. The most common form of cyber-attack against public bodies is the use of false or stolen customer credentials to commit fraud. He also might modify files on your resources or, in the worst possible scenario, erase everything on the disk drive and laugh as he tells his story to his friends. One of the most difficult attacks to implement is an attack on your router's routing protocols, called a rerouting attack. As an example, the hacker might cut the source device out of the picture and pretend to be the source, tricking the destination device into believing that the destination still is communicating with the original source. The following are common solutions used to detect and prevent DoS attacks: Using an intrusion-detection system (IDS), Using routing protocols with authentication, The first solution that you should implement is filtering. Filtering of Java and ActiveX scripts, as well as URL filtering, is discussed in Chapter 10, "Filtering Web and Application Traffic.". Unfortunately, WPS security … Spam. WinNuke is a program that was developed to take advantage of a bug in certain versions of Microsoft operating systems, including 95, 98, Me, XP, NT, and 2000. Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are probably the most well-known attacks on computer systems because these are the most publicized, as well as the most likely to affect the general user public. The age-old WPS threat vector. Another approach that a hacker more typically uses is to compromise a PC in the network and download a packet-sniffing program to it. You can use something as simple as ACLs on a Cisco router, or you can use a firewall system such as the PIX or the Cisco IOS Firewall feature set available on Cisco routers. Many, if not most, web sites take advantage of this technology to provide enhanced web features. When deploying these in an enterprise network, you need to make absolutely sure that all of your desktops and servers have the most recent data files that contain the list of known viruses. Your networking device then would compare the two signatures. To make it even more confusing for the destination device, the packet might contain the same port number for both the source and the destination. Another security problem is an e-mail bomb, an e-mail that contains code that is executed either automatically upon receipt or when a user clicks something, like a hyperlink or an attachment. These changes could be something as simple as modifying file contents on a file server or something as sophisticated as changing packet contents as they are in transit from a source to a destination machine. With access to the right systems, a trusted employee can devastate an unsuspecting organization. Centralizing authentication functions is discussed in Chapter 5. To carry out an IP spoofing attack, a hacker typically uses a software program that changes the source address of packets (and even the TCP sequence numbers for TCP segments). Structured attacks are more likely to be motivated by something other than curiosity or showing off to one’s peers. The systems being attacked and infected are probably unknown to the perpetrator. Internal threats originate from individuals who have or have had authorized access to the network. To execute this attack, the hacker typically must be connected physically to the network somewhere between the source and the destination, and must see the actual packets. It also has the capability to authenticate users before allowing them access to network resources. In an access attack, a hacker attempts to gain unauthorized or illegal access to your network and its resources, particularly resources such as file, e-mail, and web servers. E-mail delivery methods have replaced “shared” game disks as the vehicle of choice for distributing this type of attack. Microsoft Windows products simplify this process with the Windows Update tool, which automates the process. To execute this kind of attack, a hacker typically first performs a reconnaissance attack, such as eavesdropping, to discover user accounts and passwords, and then executes an unauthorized access attack. A difference might indicate that an access attack has taken place, possibly with a worm or Trojan horse attack, and that one of your files has been replaced with a hacker's file. With social engineering, a hacker calls various users in your network, pretending to be a network administrator. A worm working with an e-mail system can mail copies of itself to every address in the e-mail system address book. There are many more types of cyber threats out there, but these are the biggest, judging by industry wide trends and concern among cybersecurity experts. Volcanoes 4… When a hacker executes a session-replay attack, he captures (actually, eavesdrops on) packets from a real session data transfer between two devices with a protocol analyzer. You want to make it as hard as possible for any hacker to get even the smallest of footholds in your network. The next section discusses some other solutions to e-mail bombs. Cisco IOS routers have two features: Lock-and-key access control lists (ACLs) and authentication proxy. Code Red and Nimda are examples of high-profile worms that have caused significant damage in recent years. However, for sensitive information, encryption should be used to protect it. Viruses are the most common threat known to tech users. For instance, if you wanted to set up a connection to a remote site, but you wanted some kind of proof of the remote site's identity, your networking device could get the digital signature of the remote site from the CA and then request the remote site's own digital signature. Research conducted by the US Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) estimates that almost 40 percent of IT security breaches are perpetrated by people inside the company. You might think that executing this type of attack would be very complicated; however, some protocols, such as TCP, are fairly predictable, especially in their use of sequence numbers for TCP segments. The hacker notices that the user is establishing a Telnet connection and authenticates with a username and password. Another form of reconnaissance attack is eavesdropping. This form of attack is called graffiti. Second is the Country Threat List -- a classified list of foreign powers that pose a strategic intelligence threat to U.S. security … Filtering Web and Application Traffic, Part V: Address Translation and Firewalls, Traffic Distribution with Server Load Balancing, Reverse-Path Forwarding (Unicast Traffic), Part VII: Detecting and Preventing Attacks, Chapter 19. Another typical solution for file servers is to use application verification software. Reconnaissance attacks come in different types, including the following: The following sections cover the basics of these types of reconnaissance attacks. This type of software takes a snapshot of existing files and keeps it in a secure place (usually on a separate, secure device). Sophisticated hackers use a source IP address that resides inside your network to execute a masquerading attack. Therefore, I recommend filtering these scripts only from networks in which known security threats exist. Another tool that you should consider using is a router or firewall that can filter Java and ActiveX scripts from untrusted sites. In an attempt to categorize threats both to understand them better and to help in planning ways to resist them, the following four categories are typically used. In Information Security threats can be many like Software attacks, theft of intellectual property, identity theft, theft of equipment or information, sabotage, and information extortion. Obviously, certain network administrators should be allowed to perform eavesdropping in certain situations, such as troubleshooting connectivity issues. Typically, chargen uses UDP, but it can be implemented with TCP. Four general categories of session attacks exist: The following sections cover these session attacks in more depth. Both of these products enable you to enter policy information about what URLs a user can or cannot access. The networking department did not want to have to change all of the privileged EXEC passwords on the routers every time a contractor left the company. You also should disable all unnecessary services and consider using a host-based firewall. A Trojan horse is a program loaded onto your computer that acts as a benign application, waiting for the user to activate it through normal computer and application activity. While the original intent might have been more thoughtless than malicious, the result can be a loss of user access while systems are being protected, a loss of reputation if the news that a company’s site has been attacked, or a loss of user freedoms as more-restrictive policies and practices are implemented to defend against additional attacks. The hacker then can use this to plan further attacks against your device. Unstructured threats. When the Cisco IOS router or PIX sees a web access request from a user, it first verifies it with the policy server before permitting it. ", You also should consider using an IDS. Many people view viruses and worms as the same type of attack. Hackers typically attack such popular applications as Microsoft's IIS web server, web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, and e-mail applications such as Sendmail and Microsoft Exchange and Outlook because of their widespread use. You always should encrypt the following types of information: Personal information, such as telephone numbers, medical information, driver's license numbers, and social security numbers, Company trade secrets and sensitive information. This makes it easy for a hacker to get an e-mail account and hide his activities behind a cloud of anonymity. Just as hackers use many DoS attacks to hamper your network's performance, you can use many solutions to prevent or at least hinder a hacker's DoS attack. Be sure to know the four primary types of threats. ITA administers the Security Environment Threat List (SETL), which reflects four categories of security threat, including political violence and crime, at all U.S. missions overseas. When eavesdropping, the hacker looks for account names and passwords, such as these: Hackers also use eavesdropping to examine other information, perhaps database or financial transactions. Sometimes a hacker downloads Java or ActiveX scripts to clients that capture web transactions?possibly even online order information such as credit card numbers?and then uses this for his own purposes. External threats are threats from individuals outside the organization, often using the Internet or dial-up access. In the US, the average cost of a cyberattack in 2017 was $22.21 million dollars. #5. You can use many solutions to prevent session layer attacks against your user and service connections: Probably the most important is using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt information going across the connection. Spamming is the process by which you receive unsolicited e-mail. Two basic methods of implementing encryption exist: Link encryption? I use a program called MailWasher that scans my e-mail before downloading it. Or, if you are smart, you will use a system that parses the logs and does all of this work for you. This is perhaps one of the biggest complaints of anyone who has an Internet e-mail account; I am constantly getting spam e-mails. A security threat is a malicious act that aims to corrupt or steal data or disrupt an organization's systems or the entire organization. Crimes of all types where the payoff isn’t directly tied to the attack, such as identity theft or credit card information theft, are also motivations. To prevent Java and ActiveX attacks on your users, and possibly your web servers, you should use a filtering solution that can filter Java and ActiveX scripts that are embedded in HTML pages. A large portion of current cyberattacks are professional in nature, and profit-motivated--which is why banks are the favorite target. The MD5 hashing algorithm, which also is used by PPP's CHAP and by IPSec's AH and ESP, is discussed in Chapter 19, "IPSec Site-to-Site Connections." All rights reserved. Hackers try various methods, such as buffer overruns and e-mail bombs, to disable a system or to send information back to the hacker to be used for other types of attacks. In some organizations, if the network is down, entire groups of people can’t do their jobs, so they’re either sent home or they sit and wait without pay because their income is tied to sales. The easiest way to protect against viruses is to install antivirus software to your device. 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