Types of Network Attacks - Research Paper Example

?Types of network attacks: There is a variety of network attacks reported by researchers and information assurance professionals which keep targetingthe government and private industry in a staggering number. It is a great concern of both the government and private industry to get rid of them by using the defense mechanisms identified by information assurance professionals in the past but significant research is still in continuation on this particular subject. It is reported that the number of attacks has doubled by two times since the introduction of World Wide Web due to which some say that the number of network attacks has become unprecedented now and the faster effective defense actions are taken against them, the better. The National Cyber Alert System for the US government and private sectors identified in recent past that all types of network attacks utilize security vulnerabilities (Yang, 1997) and nearly half of all the security threats from the Internet go unreported. This research paper aims to identify the types of network attacks and discuss them with the help of research so that it becomes clear which types are prevalent and what precautionary measures need to be taken by the government and public as a defense mechanism. There exists no sound or authorized way to accurately monitor or track the network based attacks which are so high profile that to keep a definite record of them is not possible (Anderson, 2008, p. 367) and which is why the information assurance professionals associated with the US-CERT (Computer Emergence Readiness Team) resolved to stop monitoring the quantity of network attacks as there was really no way to decide on a definite number nor the cost of a cyber attack over long term is reportable (Julian, cited in Headlines, 2011). This does not mean that the responsible people have given up on coordinating the appropriate response to cybersecurity and no further efforts are made to raise awareness about the issue of security threats and types of network attacks. In a very recent report, a gigantic rise in attacks on social networks is identified by the security breaches involving hackers seeking to mutilate personal data (Dembosky, 2012). So, the focus has only shifted from keeping a record of the number of security threats to identifying the rise in attacks, providing computer security vulnerabilities and identifying the necessary actions for suppressing the network attacks both for the government sector and personal computer users. It is increasingly important for the information assurance professionals and network administrators to acknowledge the nature of potential attacks on computer security so that it becomes easier afterwards to protect the network against such attacks. Spoofing is one such network attack which creates problems by causing a host or application to imitate the actions of another (The Linux Documentation Project, 2002). This is done by tracking IP addresses in network patches by the attacker who conventionally mimics another innocent host. After identifying the IP address by IP Address Spoofing, the attacker next proceeds to modifying or deleting important data (Microsoft TechNet, 2012). Following IP addresses means tracking or guessing TCP sequence number for example as in the case when a TCP connection from another host is tried to be mimicked by the attacker. This is why security vulnerabilities are created by the US-CERT to defend against such natured network attacks. The authenticity of various datagrams and commands is also advised to be verified by the teams responsible for detecting network attacks. This is identified as a very important step for protection against network attacks like spoofing. The attackers also try taking advantage of the element of predictability which is why it is advised to incorporate unpredictability into connection control systems so that TCP sequence numbers and myriad port addresses for example could not be tracked or mimicked through spoofing. Source addresses are also taken advantage of in spoofing due to which research stresses on “preventing datagram routing with invalid source addresses” (The Linux Documentation Project, 2002). Eavesdropping is another type of network attack in which the attacker listens in or interprets the information after gaining access to the IP address or data paths in the network and tracking one or more security vulnerabilities (Microsoft TechNet, 2012). Most of the network communications occur in an unsecured format and the attacker in case of eavesdropping tries to interpret this unsecured communication by listening in without any authority. The term of snooping is also used when an attacker listens in to the communication. Many network attacks happen around the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol) which is the most commonly used communication protocol (Yang, 1997). One defensive strategy against eavesdropping can be utilized by using very strong encryption services based on cryptography so that personal data could not be read by others. “Mac OS X and iOS provide a number of different APIs (Application Programming Interface) for encryption and decryption” (Apple Inc., 2012). Data modification is also a network attack which refers to the alteration of the data after it is interpreted by the eavesdropper. Gaining information about the sender or receiver of the data is not important as the attackers can cause changes to it without knowing that. Loss up to millions of dollars can be faced if important messages or communications are infiltrated in this way and modified in transit. The ability to monitor the network, target security vulnerabilities, and hacking the IP address form together one of the biggest security problems faced by administrators in an enterprise. Though not all messages are confidential, still no wants them to be modified. “For example, if you are exchanging purchase requisitions, you do not want the items, amounts, or billing information to be modified” (Microsoft TechNet, 2012). Summing up, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that network security is a big issue and a variety of attacks pose serious threat to the US government and nation as the number of system targeted by one of such attacks ranges from hundreds to thousands. It is no doubt that cyber crime on social networks like Twitter and Facebook is turning into an entire industry as criminals even hire more people to generate more traffic and infiltrate more communications and messages. There are problems in various features of networks like protocol organization and network architecture which make them very vulnerable to the hackers so attacks should be avoided by adopting more effective defensive strategies on these scores. References: Anderson, R. (2008). Security Engineering – A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems. (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Apple Inc. (2012, January 9). Encrypting Data. Retrieved from http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/security/Conceptual/cryptoservices/GeneralPurposeCrypto/GeneralPurposeCrypto.html Dembosky, A. (2012, June 7). Hackers escalate attacks on social networks. Tech Hub. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c348bba-b0c5-11e1-a2a6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz21LlmElga Headlines. (2011, August 18). Top Ten Most Expensive Network Attacks in History. infosec ISLAND. Retrieved from http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/15966-Top-Ten-Most-Expensive-Network-Attacks-in-History.html Microsoft TechNet. (2012). Common Types of Network Attacks. Retrieved from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc959354.aspx The Linux Documentation Project. (2002, June 13). Introduction to Network Attacks. SecurityProNews. Retrieved from http://www.securitypronews.com/it/security/spn-23-20020613IntroductionToNetworkAttacks.html Yang, G. (1997, November 18). Introduction to TCP/IP Network Attacks. Retrieved from http://seclab.cs.sunysb.edu/sekar/papers/netattacks.pdf Read More