Information Technology Security - Coursework Example

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY by + Table of Contents INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY 3 Introduction 3 Computer-related Attacks 3 Data-related Attacks 5 Network-related Attacks 6 Access-related Attacks 8 Conclusion 8 References and Bibliography 9 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY Introduction The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) remains one of the greatest achievements of the twenty first century. From nascent begins in the 1960s, the world has witnessed astronomical leaps in the development of computer technology. A single computer can contain huge volumes of information within a miniature hard drive. However, the emerging information insecurity in organizations can be a drawback in many ways. Criminal justice has had to catch up and develop crimes and sanctions based on the usage of information communication technology. The discussion that follows will outline some of the challenges of information technology security. This is especially with regards to the increasing methodologies that can be employed by crackers to attack the information system of an organization. Different attack methodologies can be employed by a cracker to attack an organization whose information technology is not secure. There are four broad methodologies that can be used and these forms the four common offences as regards to attacks on the systems of information of an organization. These are computer-related attacks, data-related attacks, network-related attacks and access-related attacks. All these four types of attacks have significant negative effects on the objectives on that particular organization in possession of the information system. Computer-related Attacks These would be broadly categorized as industrial espionage and software piracy including other forms of infringement on copyright (Gelbsten & Kamal, 2002). The industrial espionage has been enhanced by the establishment of a world-wide network such as the internet. This has made it possible for professional crackers to obtain and destroy information of organizations. The crackers can equally be able to use the internet to have access to the salaries that the staff of an organization is paid. Through the internet, the hackers can equally steal the commercial strategies of an organization. These strategies can be sold to the competitors of the said organization so as to enhance their strategies and outdo those ones. Under software piracy and the infringement of copyright, the attacker will develop a copy of the software used by a company and then distribute to other people. This type of piracy emerged in the early 1990s especially with the development of personal computers and laptops. This type of piracy also occurs in many countries world-wide. The types of software which can be pirated in a company include packages for financial accounting; computer aided design and toolboxes as well as workshops for digital photography among others (Pesante, 2008). This will be such a huge setback for any organization that develops and markets such kind of software. The organization will stand a chance to register financial losses since the pirated software works almost in a similar manner as the original software. This means that the hackers can be able to sell the pirated software at half the price of the original software. Just like the other types of hackers, it is nearly impossible to detect these hackers and even prosecute them. The computer-related attack can also be done through the use of cookies. If the cookies are not deleted, they can provide information to the hacker of the individuals who access them and the type of information that they look for. The browser of a computer can equally be put into use by a cracker. The browser can give information on the hardware/software used, who accessed the web, and details of the information searched and even the email address of the legitimate user. Apart from the cookies and browsers, the cracker can use Web Bug software to obtain the information. This software is often times placed on an email or a website of the legitimate user. Data-related Attacks The attacks aimed at the data of an organization can be broadly categorized as data theft, alteration of data and monitoring and interception of data traffic (Wallace, 2014). Interception of the data of an organization comprises the tapping of the fax, email as well as the voice messages. It can also take the form of transfer of the data. Use of password sniffers can also be employed. These password sniffers will record and monitor the names and passwords of the users of the networks the moment that they log in into that network (Seymour & Harris, 2010). This interception of data will weaken the information security of the organization. This is because the attacker can use the information that they obtain from this interception to impersonate the genuine users of those networks. With this impersonation, they can gain access to secured documents of the organization and even be able to perform various transactions. The attacker can use various techniques to intercept the data from the organization to a specific location that they have designated. The cracker can steal a physical medium of the organization, for example, backup tapes that are on transit. They can do wiretapping in which case the attacker will monitor as well as record the information in an organization that is flowing from one point to another (Gelbsten & Kamal, 2002). Intrusion can equally be used in which case the attacker which ensure that that the flow of data in an organization circumvents the security structures of that system. Monitoring of the traffic of data can equally be done by keystroke logging. This is whereby e-mail traffic in organizations is scanned and filtered other than those of the recipient or sender of that information. Lastly, the websites visited by the people in an organization can be tracked. The tracking will enable the cracker to obtain information regarding the number of pages that the user visited as well as the amount of time that the user spent on those pages. The patterns gained can provide useful information for the attacker to obtain the necessary information that they need about the organization. The information of an organization can be modified. This commonly happens in occasions where fraud is committed through the use of a computer system (Knake, 2010). The fraud would be for example through the creation of misleading organizational transactions aimed at benefiting a few individuals. Network-related Attacks The network related attacks fall under three categories. These are anonymity, interference and sabotage (Gelbsten & Kamal, 2002). Interference happens in occasions whereby there is a denial of service. This is done through the use of a network that is trusted in order to gain access to a different network or computer. It can also be done through the use of violence in order to gain access into a network or through the use of a hoax as well as traffic sniffing. Denial of service attack can be organized by a group of individuals who are acting in concert. A perfect example for the denial of service attacks was the one witnessed in the year 1999 (Schneier, 2008). It was known organized by a group of people who were referred to as cyber-hippies. They arranged one of the largest distributed denials of service attack on the World Trade Organization’s website. They did through various accomplices who helped them to get the required software in order to launch the attack. Developments have been done on these types of attacks. In the modern world, the denials of service attacks have been automated through the use of people’s personal computers without their realization. The personal computer is turned into a “zombie” or a “slave” (Gelbsten & Kamal, 2002). Once the computer has been turned into a zombie mode, it will then be used to perform any sort of attacks that the attacker will want it to carry out. The zombie computer can also be used to gain access into the network of a corporation by bypassing all the measures of security that have been put in place by the corporation to avoid attackers. The attacker would use the recently developed worms like Nimda or Code Red. These worms will have a destructive effect on the programs as well as the data of the organization. The attacker can also redirect the network traffic of the organization. The redirection of the network traffic can be done in two ways. First, a legitimated user of the said network can be impersonated. Second, the network traffic can be transmitted to a different location which contains the altered content without the realization of the original owner of that network site (Nappi, 2015). It is this altered content that will then be used by the attacker to steal the details of various credit cards and ensure that the owner of those credit cards has been discredited. The modified content can equally be used to spread propaganda. It is however noted that there are no legal mechanisms that have been put in place in order to prosecute this type of attacker who has impersonated a different person online. A hoax can be equated to a false alarm. It will make the administrators of the networks of an organization to voluntarily bring the system to a halt. It is this time that the system has been shut down that the attacker will take the opportunity to get the information that they want. The attack on the information system of a computer can be done by the employment of force. The use is done using tools that have been technologically advanced, acquired or downloaded from of charge online. These tools will enable the attacker to gain access into an organization’s computer. Once they have gained the access, they can then steal the information of the organization such as the authentic passwords of that organization. The attacker can equally plant malevolent codes or even modify the data of the organization as well as the pages of their website. This type of attack on the information system of an organization is very difficult to perceive. If the attack is detected, it will still be impossible to detect the attacker. Sabotage entails the mutilation, interruption or unsanctioned alteration of information, equipment or the facilities of an organization (Gelbsten & Kamal, 2002). The hacker can undertake the sabotage by corrupting the files of passwords in an organization or even inserting malicious codes. The cracker would for example pretend to be a maintenance engineer and then gain access to the computer room of an organization. If the said individual is not closely monitored, they can do a significant amount of damage within a very short span of time. It may even take the organization several hours before it discovers that type of an attack. Therefore, any attack on the computer room of an organization has been categorized as part of an act involving sabotage. Access-related Attacks The access related attacks can be broadly categorized as email spamming, faked email and snooping of email messages (Dhillon & Torkzadeh, 2006). Email spamming usually occurs where huge amounts of unsolicited information is sent to a big group of recipients. Snooping of email messages allows the hacker to obtain information on the IP address of the source of organization’s information technology and its destination. An organization’s email can be faked through various techniques. These are remailing, spoofing, bogus accounts, relaying and stealing accounts. All this is to aid the hacker to access the information of the organization. Conclusion From the forgoing analysis, it is clear that it is possible for the information technology security of an organization to be hacked. Strong password policies ought to be developed. The firm can also make use of a variety of systems other than Microsoft. Specific files stored in the computers should be encrypted. If sensitive data is to be stored, it should be encoded or encrypted. Lastly, all computers should be fitted with software encryption for the whole disk (Vijayan, 2012). References and Bibliography Dhillon, G. & Torkzadeh, G. (2006). Value-focused assessment of information system security in organizations. Wiley Online Library. Federal Communications Commission, Cyber Security Planning Guide. Retrieved from https://transition.fcc.gov/cyber/cyberplanner.pdf Gelbsten, E. & Kamal, A. (2002). Information security: A survival guide to the unchartered territories of cyber-threats and cyber-security. United Nations ICT Task Force & United Nations Institute of Training and Research Knake, R. K. (2010). Internet governance in an age of cyber insecurity. Council on Foreign Relations Special Report. Nappi, M. (2005). Information insecurity. Stony Brook University. Pesante, L. (2008). Introduction to information security. Carnegie Mellon University Schneier, B. (2008). The problem is information insecurity. Security Watch. Retrieved from https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2008/08/the_problem_is_infor.html Seymour, G. Harris, A. (2010). The coming African Tsunami of information insecurity. Communications of the ACM, Volume 53, number 12, pp.24-27. Vijayan, J. (2012). NASA breach update: Stolen laptop had data on 10,000 users. Computer World. Wallace, I. (2014). The risks of cyber insecurity. Tufts University, the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. Read More