Sectors Targeted by Cyber Terrorism - Research Paper Example

Computer sciences and Information technology Cyber Terrorism and Network Security Cyber terrorism refers to the use of computer and computer networks to cause harm intimidate or coerce others (Brenner, 2012). The use of computers and the internet to carry out criminal activities has been on the rise and has affected several sectors worldwide. In the United States of America, the top targets of cyber criminals and cyber terrorist have been the security sector and the financial sector. Cyber terrorists have unlawfully invaded financial institution systems and caused losses to them. Sectors Targeted by Cyber Terrorism The security sector and the financial institutions have not been the only targets of cyber terrorism. The manufacturing sector has also been heavily targeted and attacked by cyber terrorists and criminals. This has been done especially to access information about manufacturing processes and control process. Cyber terrorist may attack manufacturing industries systems so as to get access to the data concerning the processes and procedures used in that industry. This information may then be used elsewhere to manufacture counterfeit commodities. Cyber terrorist also attack the automated machine control processes so as to cause accidents in that particular industry. These may be politically motivated attacks. The other sector that is targeted by cyber terrorists is the health care sector. The sector has been at risk since it has not invested in cybercrime security procedures. These attacks may results into financial losses and even deaths. These cyber terrorist can access the hospital data system and for example change the medicine prescription of a patient resulting into death of the patient (Krasavin, 2004). The transport sector and the critical infrastructure of the country are also top targets of cyber terrorists. These cyber criminals can use their software to interfere with for example flight schedules in order to cause confusion in airports. Communication systems have also been attacked by cyber terrorists leading to access of vital information and confidential information of the American citizens. Cyber terrorists have as well targeted the education sector in the United States of America. This has been for example done through accessing the databases of various education institutions and changing the grades of the students or interfering with the curriculum. These terrorists have also used the internet to carrying out cyber bullying in order to intimidate students. In addition to that, students’ work and assignments have also been attacked and interfered with through spamming and other malwares. Cyber crime is therefore a threat to all sectors of the United States of America economy. In order to combat cyber crimes and protect the economy of the United States of America to the effects associated with these computer related crimes, the government came up with the cyber security frame work. The objective of this presidential executive order is to help various sector combat cyber crimes (Executive Order no.13636 2013). The framework core contains a set of cyber security activities, results and some known references. The aim of the frame work core is to help the company identify its cyber related risks. This is a positive step since it helps sensitize companies about cyber crimes. The order also has a framework tier that helps the company identify mechanisms for combating these cyber crimes. It enables the company come up with mechanisms for managing the risks related to cybercrimes (Symantec, 2006) This executive president order, though voluntary in its implementation, is a positive step in combating cyber crimes. Network Protection Techniques Due to the rise of cyber related crimes and attacks on computers, networks and systems, computer data security has been achieved through various ways. The aim of these methods and ways used is to protect the computer or network from foreign attacks launched cyber criminals and cyber terrorists. Snorby is an example of a web application that has been developed to help in ensuring the security of a network. Snorby is a front end web application scripted in ruby on rail that interfaces with current internet intrusion detection systems such as Suricate and Scagan. Intrusion detection technique has been used by several users as a way of securing their systems and data from foreign intruders. The intrusion detection systems works on a principle of giving an alert when there is an intrusion into that particular network or computer (Marchette, 2007). After giving a signal or an alert, the user or the system takes an action to counter the intruder and prevent him or her from accessing the data in the user’s network or computer. This is done by disconnecting the system, incoming threat diversion, or triggering file back up. The system may also automatically change the security setting to avoid the attack. The logs from an intrusion detection system are recorded and can be used to trace the origin of the attack coming to the system. Use of firewalls has also been employed. These are sets of programs used in a gateway server to provide security to resources of a private network (Cheswick, Bellovin & Rubin, 2005). The firewalls analyses the incoming data and it then makes the decision on whether to accept it on not. The firewalls are configured to allow only data that is coming from a domain which is identified and known. Data from unknown locations and domains are denied entry and this therefore protects the network or computer from attacks that might come from cybercriminals. The other security measure that is used to protect data or a system is encryption. This strategy involves converting all the data from the plain text to a format that cannot be read by someone who has accessed it illegally. This format is called cipher text format (Lehtinen, Russell, & Gangemi, 2006). Basically, this technique does not prevent intrusion and attack but it prevent the intruder from understanding the data accessed illegally through converting it into cipher text. Encryption can be used to protect both data at rest or data that is in transit. Data at rest is stored data, maybe in a laptop or a USB Flash Drive. Encrypting the stored data protects it from being understood by a foreign party should the laptop or storage device get lost. Data on transit is one that is moving from one network to another largely via the internet. This data is very vulnerable to attacks and interceptions. Encrypting the data therefore protects it from being understood when accessed unlawfully (Brenner, 2012). Hardening of the operating system is another way of protecting data in a computer or a system. This involves removing all the unnecessary programs in the computer and leaving only important ones (Tipton & Krause, 2006). This is because most cyber criminals use these programs to launch an attack into a computer or system. Conclusion Cyber terrorism is a vice that affects all the sectors of the economy and should therefore be fought in all fronts. The choice of the method employed to fight cybercrimes vary from company to company. Some network owners at times use more than one technique to fully ensure that the security of their networks is not compromised. References Brenner, S. (2012).Cyber Crime: Criminal Threats from Cyberspace. New York: Balk Publishers Cheswick, W., Bellovin, S. & Rubin, A. (2005).Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc Executive Order no. 13636, (February 12, 2013).Improving Critical Infrastructure Cyber security, DCPD-201300091.http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-02-19/pdf/2013- 03915.pdf Krasavin, S. (2004).What is Cyber Terrorism? London: Computer Research Centre Lehtinen R., Russell, D. & Gangemi, G. (2006).Computer Security Basics. Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media, Inc Marchette, D. (2007).Computer Intrusion Detection and Network Monitoring: A statistical Viewpoint. New York: Springer-Verlage New York, Inc Symantec, R. (2006, February).Internet Security Report .The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com Tipton, H. & Krause, M. (2006).Information Security Management Handbook. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications Read More