Cyber Security in the 21st Century

Cyber Security is the protection of computer systems from theft or damage to their hardware, software or electronic data, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. As time progresses; different attacks and resolutions have been found.

The field, because of the Internet^, wireless networks such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, has exponentially grown due to the increased usage and sole reliance of computers to which hold all of our information; such as credit card information, Social Security number and other private information. Our increase reliance on technology has made a breeding ground of sort to a whole new type of crime; Cyber Crime.

Modern types of attacks

A computer vulnerability refers to a defect in a computer or smart device system that can leave it open to attack or threat of attack. This vulnerability could also refer to any type of weakness present in a computer itself, in a set of procedures, or in anything that allows information security to be exposed to a threat. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database hold most of the known cyber attacks.

To secure a computer system, it is important to understand the a computer is never really secure and these are some of the ways black hat hackers will try and penetrate your system.

Social engineering attack

Social engineering aims to convince a user to disclose secrets by impersonating someone or something else, for example, impersonating a bank, a contractor, or a customer.

They will pretend to be a stressed out customer who forgets their credentials; a fake CEO who is willing to promote someone. They look for incompetent employees of a business who will casually hand over this information as they believe they are doing the right nothing but in reality they are giving secure information to a thief.

Backdoor attack

A backdoor is a method, often secret, of bypassing normal authentication or encryption in a computer system, a product, or an embedded device (e.g. a home router), or its embodiment, e.g. as part of a cryptosystem, an algorithm, a chipset, or a "homunculus computer" —a tiny computer-within-a-computer (such as that found in Intel's AMT technology). These backdoors come from flaws found within coding or weakness in the GUI. It is possible the vulnerability was created by an outside force but they created a vulnerability nonetheless.

Phishing

Phishing is typically carried out by email spoofing and it often directs users to a fake website where they put their information in. The fake website often ask for personal information, such as log-in and passwords. This information can then be used to gain access to the individual's real account on the real website. Preying on a victim's trust, phishing can be classified as a form of social engineering.

Direct-access attacks

An unauthorized user who physically accesses the system is a Direct-access attack. They physically copy the data from the device or plant some sort of malware to the computer or device to later gain remote acess. Standard security measures are easily able to be passed by booting another operating system or tool from a CD-ROM. This is the equivalent of a robbing a bank in person as compared to cyber attacks. Instead of holding up hostages or what not the criminal physically enters the place and accesses the device.

Spoofing

Spoofing is generally classified as fraudulent or malicious practice in which communication is sent from an unknown source disguised as a source known to the receiver. Spoofing is most prevalent in communication mechanisms that lack a high level of security. Email spoofing is where an attacker forges the email address so the receiver thinks it is from a different person or website that they trust.

• IP address spoofing, where an attacker alters the source IP address in a network packet to hide their identity or impersonate another computing system.
• MAC spoofing, where an attacker modifies the Media Access Control (MAC) address of their network interface to pose as a valid user on a network.

Preventing the Chance of Cyber Attack

Although nobody is ever completely safe from cyber attacks; here are some key software features a consumer should be aware about to secure their system.

• Antivirus: Antivirus is a computer program which prevents, detects and removes malware. Features multiple technology-based automatic detection, cleansing and quarantining of suspicious files to remove viruses and malware.
• Firewall: Network system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic. Offers basic low level security against basic threats, manages network connections, and blocks personal data transmission by malicious software.
• Web URL Filtering: Advanced interface to create rules as needed – user-specific, sweeping, or as granular as desired.
• Host Intrusion Protection System (HIPS): Monitors vital operating system activities to guarantee protection against malware intrusion.
• Containment with auto-sandboxing: All unrecognized applications and processes are auto-sandboxed to run in a restricted environment.
• [File Lookup Services] (FLS): Cloud-based instant analysis of strange files that checks file reputation against Comodo’s master whitelist and blacklists.
• Viruscope (Behavior Analysis): Behavior of all processes are monitored for potential harmful action. Viruscope monitors the activities of processes running on your computer and alerts you if they take actions that could potentially threaten your privacy and/or security. Apart from forming yet another layer of malware detection and prevention, the sub-system represents a valuable addition to the core process-monitoring functionality of the Defense+ by introducing the ability to reverse potentially undesirable actions of software without necessarily blocking the software entirely.