Cyber Security Concepts And Events

Cyber Security Concepts and Events

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Cyber-security Concepts and Events

Black hat hackers and cyber-criminals are always trying to compromise computer systems across the globe. In 2017, a fairly new attack, known as the ransomware, took the world by storm. Hackers created a worm named “Wannacry” capable of encrypting the files stored on the target machine ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a648l7j76g","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Mohurle & Patil, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Mohurle & Patil, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1718,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/4QAG7R2L"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/4QAG7R2L"],"itemData":{"id":1718,"type":"article-journal","title":"A brief study of wannacry threat: Ransomware attack 2017","container-title":"International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science","volume":"8","issue":"5","author":[{"family":"Mohurle","given":"Savita"},{"family":"Patil","given":"Manisha"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Mohurle & Patil, 2017). As the attack method was reasonably new, no security software was able to stop the attack in the first place. The results were as expected because the investigations revealed a $4 billion in the loss. Hackers were able to compromise systems in 150 countries ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a148r0cvd58","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bossert, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Bossert, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1720,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/R4THUEAE"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/R4THUEAE"],"itemData":{"id":1720,"type":"article-journal","title":"It’s official: North Korea is behind WannaCry","container-title":"The Wall Street Journal","author":[{"family":"Bossert","given":"Thomas P."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Bossert, 2017).

The worm used a vulnerability in the Windows operating system to encrypt the files stored on the host machine. The vulnerability was first discovered by the NSA and accidentally exposed to the hackers. During investigations, a famous cybersecurity company known as Symantec disclosed that a North Korean hacking group known as "Lazarus Group" was behind the ransomware attack ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a6g0veqe1b","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Chen & Bridges, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Chen & Bridges, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1719,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/CTEYLFQH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/CTEYLFQH"],"itemData":{"id":1719,"type":"article-journal","title":"Automated Behavioral Analysis of Malware A Case Study of WannaCry Ransomware","container-title":"arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.08753","author":[{"family":"Chen","given":"Qian"},{"family":"Bridges","given":"Robert A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Chen & Bridges, 2017). Hackers demanded variable amounts of digital currency as a ransom to release the encrypted files. The hacker group is famous for hacking popular websites such as Sony entertainment hack as well. Wannacry attack is considered to be the most significant attack in the cyber-history to spread across the world in a matter of minutes ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"acqbdsl51a","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Nakashima, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Nakashima, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1721,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/9VB8Q6RK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/9VB8Q6RK"],"itemData":{"id":1721,"type":"article-journal","title":"The NSA has linked the WannaCry computer worm to North Korea","container-title":"The Washington Post","volume":"14","author":[{"family":"Nakashima","given":"Ellen"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Nakashima, 2017). The scale of infection and financial loss emphasize the power of hacking if it utilized positively for the welfare of human beings.

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Bossert, T. P. (2017). It’s official: North Korea is behind WannaCry. The Wall Street Journal.

Chen, Q., & Bridges, R. A. (2017). Automated Behavioral Analysis of Malware A Case Study of WannaCry Ransomware. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:1709.08753.

Mohurle, S., & Patil, M. (2017). A brief study of wannacry threat: Ransomware attack 2017. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science, 8(5).

Nakashima, E. (2017). The NSA has linked the WannaCry computer worm to North Korea. The Washington Post, 14.