Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Essay Example

? Computer sciences and information technology Computer sciences and Information technology Part The DarkNet What is dark net? DarkNet is a network of secretive websites that cannot be viewed on the regular internet. Sites on DarkNet are usually hosted on regular servers. However, in order have access to them, one needs special kind of software, something that will encrypt traffic of every user and allows them relative secrecy (Thomas, 2013). DarkNet can also be thought of as a separate internet. For one to access DarkNet, it is necessary to have access to the regular internet and then make a connection to The Onion Router (TOR) network, a network that comprises virtual tunnels which allow individuals and groups to improve their security and privacy of the internet (Smith, 2009). What kinds of websites can be found on the Darknet? Web sites that can be found on the DarkNet are those of nasty or at the very least, unlawful activities including pedophile rings, arms sales or illegitimate drugs; websites that have something to hide. It is notable that websites on DarkNet are those that support things such as private communications, private communities like those who look for anonymity on the web, and besieged file sharing community. DarkNet also contains websites for outright criminals and is the source of the majority of the sneakiest attacks on the private and public infrastructures of the web (Smith, 2009). Why don’t authorities shut down these web sites? The DarkNet is a deeper and more difficult to access parts of the internet. It is not possible to police the internet in its entirety since individuals as well as groups are always devising new ways of remaining off the grid. Thus, the websites cannot be shut down since the people and groups behind them will always revive them. The authorities would always battle with the DarkNet (Thomas, 2013). Are there valid reasons for the Darknet to exist? Even though DarkNet is a haven a perverts as well as arms dealers, it can also be seen as a citadel of a more dignified cause, that of free speech. It is of note that many nations around the world do not offer their people the freedom of speech. DarkNets offer every user the power of speaking in a free manner with no fear of persecution or censorship (Thomas, 2013). Making Hidden Services anonymous has been a refuge for dissenters in countries such as Mauritania, Lebanon as well as nations that were marred by the Arab Spring. DarkNet is utilized to host blogs in nations wherein the exchange of ideas is disapproved of. Moreover, DarkNet websites also reflect sites which draw corporate or governmental angst, like Wikileaks. Other than granting a bastion of free speech, DarkNet websites also help organizations to increase their security intelligence, and as a result, it enhances their security posture. Using DarkNet, security administrators could identify scanning activity devoid of employing complex analysis technology that requires committing already overstrained resources, and, with a decreased incidence of false positives (Smith 2008). Reference Smith, M. (2009). DarkNets. Montreal, Canada: CRC Press. Thomas, G. (2013). The Silk Road is Shut Down, and the Owner Is In Custody. Retrived from http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-silk-road-is-shut-down-and-the-owner-is-in-custody Part 2: Privacy In general, which privacy policies do the applications have in common? The following privacy policies are common in all the applications: All collect private information of the users. Policy on now they collect, use and share the information collected from users. Policy on the choices which the privacy policies offer the users, such as how to update and access information. Policy on the circumstance under which personal information of the users will be shared with other parties – it will only be shared for legal reasons. Policy about information that will be always public. Which are different? Only Twitter has policy towards children, stating that the services it provides are not directed to people below the age of 13 years. Only Facebook has policy that describes how the user can delete and deactivate his/her account. Only Google provides description regarding information security; protecting users from unauthorized alteration, unauthorized access, destruction or disclosure of information that it holds (Marr, 2011). What do companies use this type of private information for? Companies use this type of private information about a user in connection with the features as well as services the companies offer the user and others like the friends of the user, the partners of the company, the marketers who buy adverts on the website, and the developers who build the websites, applications and games that users use. Essentially, Facebook uses private information of users to serve them adverts which may be pertinent to them, or to inform the user and her/his friends about happenings or people nearby. Google uses the private information of users in providing, maintaining, protecting, and improving its services such as advertising services, and develop new services. Google lets marketers to display adverts to users basing on their earlier online interactions. Twitter might share private information of the users with 3rd parties only to perform functions and offer services to Twitter (Whittaker, 2013). Should this be legal? No, sharing personal information with third parties, especially to advertisers should not be legal. Privacy of users needs to be respected. The companies should only share the private information of users with their consent. In general, private information needs to be protected at all times (Marr, 2011). Do we as individuals need to worry about privacy and why? Yes, as individuals and users of social networks, we should worry about privacy. This is primarily because there are things that people do not want them to come up since that may impact their job prospects, their prospects to have dates and such things. People also need to worry about privacy because the lack of privacy exposes users to corporate as well as government intrusions. Moreover, lack of privacy may hinder jobseekers since social networks might unintentionally expose details that jobseekers may not choose to expose regarding themselves (Marr, 2011). Reference Marr, B. (2011). How Facebook Exploits Your Private Information. Crescent City, CA: Springer Publishers. Whittaker, Z. (2013). Under CISPA, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, others Can’t Promise to Protect Your Privacy. Columbus, OH: AMACOM. Part 3: Hidden Lynx What is the Hidden Lynx group? The Hidden Lynx group refers to an expert team of attackers that has advanced abilities based in China comprising between 50 to 100 proficient hackers. It is a professional firm which provides a hackers for hire services. They can attack multiple organizations with the use of simultaneously running hacking campaigns. The group operates in an efficient manner and usually moves methodically and fast (Doherty et al., 2013). What are they doing? The group provides hackers for hire operation and it often retrieves particular information from a variety of government as well as corporate targets. This group is essentially a very proficient team who have the capacity to partake a wide range of campaigns straight away, contravene some of the highly-protected corporations in the world and have the capacity to alter their approach fast in order to accomplish their objective (Viyajan, 2013). Hidden Lynx group often attack with the use of several customized Trojans which are intended for particular purposes. Team Naid usually distributes Trojan Naid employed for specific operations against targets that are of high value, whereas Team Moudoor distributes Backdoor Moudoor which is reserved for bigger and large-scale campaigns and has seen wide ranging distribution typically across multiple industries. It is noteworthy that the group often utilize zero-day exploits and can rework and customize exploits fast (Doherty et al., 2013). What can be done about them? Since the group is believed to be based in China, they can be traced and brought to justice. Moreover, their ways should be learnt in order to understand how to effectively stop them and fight them. In general, companies, particularly those in the United States should install the appropriate software that detects malware and helps stop attacks by hackers. Over half of all hacking attacks are targeted at American organizations (Viyajan, 2013). Reference Doherty, S., Gegeny, J., Spasojevic, B., & Baltazar, J. (2013). Hidden Lynx – Professional Hackers for Hire. Symantec. Viyajan, J. (2013). China-based Hacking Group Behind Hundreds of Attacks on U.S. Companies. Austin, TX: Prentice Hall. Read More