2. Literature review
The internet is a medium that is becoming progressively important as it makes information available in a quick and easy manner. It has transformed communications and acts as a global network that allows people to communicate and interact without being limited by time, boarders and distance. However, the infrastructure is vulnerable to hackers who use the system to commit cyber crime. To accomplish this, they make use of innovative stealth techniques for their malicious purposes in the internet.
In the computer security context, a hacker is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network (Wiki).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(computer_security)
To clarify, hackers apply computer
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In fact, computers are not only the means of the crime, but also the target of it. Cyber crime encompasses a wide range of activities, including: hacking, phishing, denial of service (DoS) attacks, creating and distributing malware, unauthorized data access, corruption of deletion of data, interception of data (Kennedys).
The fight against hackers and cyber crime is a global problem and nationally and internationally, the threats they caused have been recognized and acknowledged.
Governments, organizations and companies co-operate to secure cyber space. In fact, the prevention of cyber criminal activities is the most critical aspect in the fight against cyber crime. It’s mainly based on the concepts of awareness and information sharing. A proper security posture is the best defence against cyber crime (Paganini, Perluigi, 2014)
http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/incident-detection/preventing-and-recovering-from-cybercrime/
The UK government confirmed that unfortunately a growing number of adversaries are looking to use cyberspace to steal, compromise or destroy critical data. The scale of our dependence means that our prosperity, our key infrastructure, our places of work and our homes can all be affected (Cabinet Office,
Cyber security threats change quickly as Internet increases, and also the related dangers are getting to be progressively international. Being covered against cyber security threats requires almost all end users, actually the most complex versions, to know the particular threats in addition to enhance their particular safety measures with a continuing foundation. On April 28, 2014 President Obama has declared that the “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation” and that “America 's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cyber security.” The internet enables and also helps people in a many ways and a example is collect, store, process huge amounts of data, which includes vulnerable data of small business, transactional and personal. Everything in this world is based on internet now a days.
The purpose of this paper is to touch on the issue of Hacking. It will go into detail about the history, evolution, future and prevention of Hacking. In addition, this paper will discuss different types of hackers and their motivation behind hacking. This paper examines the major impact caused by malicious hackers and give modern examples of such attacks. To conclude, it will predict how hacking will be in the near future and give the precautionary measures Information Security professionals can take to mitigate the risk of being victimized.
The proficiency and efficacy of the cyberspace in its application in accounting, finance, system designs, manufacturing etc., cannot be denied nor neglected. The reality of the twenty-first century is simple; no organization can survive without the adoption and implementation of the mechanism of information technology to their area of business. On the contrary perspective, there are several challenges that are associated with the cyberspace, among which is majorly cyber security. Recently the hackers’ activity has really skyrocketed and has become a major concern for organizations, states and federal governments and even international organizations. Several regulatory schemes are put in place to mitigate the activities of hackers across the globe.
Since the onset of the first packet switching event that many believe to be beginning of the internet, no other technology besides the printing press has ever transformed the ability to deliver information. Although the internet is used by a large percentage of the civilized world, few Americans realize how vital cyberspace is to our national infrastructure. Today, we are faced with even more threats although it has been a recognized problem since 2009, when President Barrack Obama said “The cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation. It’s also clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country (Obama, 2009).” Every industry that operates in the United States is dependent on the internet for some aspect of their business. Commerce, transportation, financial institutions, military, as well as industrial control systems are all interconnected. This interconnectedness has created vulnerabilities within their infrastructure that have increasingly become targets of terrorists, script kiddies, foreign governments and hackers of all types.
Times have changed what was known as organized crime has been replaced by Cybercrimes (Heists: Cybercrimes with Ben Hammersley). Cybercrimes have risen dramatically in recent years and have become a major issue the United States and company’s face today jeopardizing as well as threatening the critical infrastructure of America (Cyberwar Threat, 2005). Sadly, the status quo of cyber security is very unstable with the advancements and growth which has put most individuals and businesses into an enormous threat (Agustina, 2015).
The Internet is undoubtedly one of the most provocative sociological and psychological phenomena. Often the Internet says that it links all those fallen communicators who cannot cope in the real world. Socializing and surfing online space does not pass without leaving a trace. Each user provides information about themselves, sometimes as a condition to be able to access the required application, when consciously accedes to it, sometimes exchanging information with other members of the network, unaware that the network "remembers everything", that data remains deposited even when its removed profile. However, more often we are faced with data theft and identity by criminal hacker groups. Cyber security is a challenge that will have to be resolved
The fourth spoke on the wheel of terrorism is “computer crime”. The use of computers can be used in a good way or can also be abused. Cyberattacks are a huge threat to our national security and technological infrastructure.
Adam Segal’s “The Hacked World Order” reveals many prevalent issues in today’s technologically centered society. Starting at Year Zero, June 2012 to June 2013, the battle over cyberspace witnessed world-changing cyberattacks. This was accomplished due to the fact that nearly 75% of the world’s population has easy access to a mobile phone, and the Internet connects nearly 40% of the total human population, which is nearly 2.7 billion people. With that being said, cyberattacks are becoming a more realistic form of terror.
Hackers – A person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data. Most hackers use Trojan which is a malware disguised as harmless software. The intent of the hacker is to get people to click on links and phishing scams. When a person who is clueless believe it’s from somebody close to them or coworkers. But, it was hackers trying to get in through emails and stuff and they use many tools.
When considering the technological advances over the past 50 years, the Internet has undoubtedly had the greatest impact on everyday life of developed economies and its citizens. The world has become smaller, societies interconnected, and the pace of global integration dramatically increased since the introduction of the Internet. As people and information become increasingly integrated around the world, physical borders between nations are no longer sufficient to restrict access to information and sensitive data. This integrated world allows for malicious cyber actors to advance strategic
Prevalent to the current trend now is the dependency of the society on Information technology and communication systems. Every aspect of human life is one way or the other linked and controlled by information technology tools. The importance of information technology cannot be over emphasized as its unavailability could lead to a form of disaster or the other. Pivotal infrastructures like finance, healthcare, education and security are driven by information technology. However, information technology and its benefits are accompanied by vulnerabilities and risks that can be exploited by people with the necessary technical skills. Individuals like ‘Hackers’ and ‘Cyber Terrorist’ can cause disruption to information systems, commit financial fraud and also attack computers and networks. These attacks and disruptions could result to violence against people and properties. In some cases, death, serious injuries and severe economic loss could occur as a result of these attacks.
By the year of 2016, investments in online security are expected to reach $86bn (Contu et al, 2012). Although this might seem a large sum of money, it is considered necessary since there is an increase in online risks from all over the world. Professional hackers develop malware on a global scale and on a 24/7 basis. Hackers have five objectives when spreading malware over the Internet: to infect/distribute, to steal, to persist, to control and for intelligence (Morris, 2010).
In the very early days of the internet, a hacker was most likely a "lone wolf." He might be an unhappy customer, a disgruntled employee or a tech-savvy youth who just wanted to see if he could breach a target 's defenses. Occasionally, a hacker might aspire to more devious crimes, including identity theft, blackmail, theft of trade secrets, exposure of personal information or monetary theft. These types of hackers were annoying, unnerving and potentially dangerous, but they seldom caused widespread damages or serious financial losses. Today, however, cybersecurity professionals face an entirely new group of hackers and an escalating number of attacks — and security strategies and tools have not been able to keep pace.
Cybercrime has become a fast growing concern for the 21st century as businesses, institutions and individuals grow into an interconnected web of computer networks. Online business transactions, along with the sharing of personal information, are vulnerable to a host of disasters that can reap economic and social havoc. Some sources say that today, cybercrime costs more than $1.0 trillion to society--Global Industry Analysts, Inc. forecasted the world cyber security market to reach $80 billion by 2017 (Gale, 2011).
Cybercrime is nothing to new in this day and time; this has been a problem for many since the early onset of the 80’s. Although much seems to have been done to combat cybercrime over the years, criminals still have an advantage edge. With IT experts, companies see now just how important it is to involve law enforcement in the efforts to fight against computer crime. Computer cybercrime as we know it today is now used as potentially illegal activities.