In the contemporary world, organizations are increasingly under pressure to secure their systems against cyber-attacks that could cripple their operations. While advancements in information technology have enhanced business efficiency and profitability, they have also exposed businesses to new and emerging threats. Currently, they allocate millions of dollars to purchase and maintain programs aimed at preventing virus and malware attacks against their systems. Inevitably, technology-dependent organizations should embrace security awareness as part of their corporate culture. In the modern context, security lapses could cost organizations lots of money, valuable data, and crippled operations. It is critical for them to understand probable security …show more content…
Ciampa (2017) contends, “Script kiddies are younger individuals who want to attack computers, yet they lack the knowledge of computers and networks to do so" (p. 21). In this regard, a script kiddie is an amateur juvenile hacker without adequate expert knowledge regarding the way to exploit weaknesses in computer systems. However, Ciampa (2017) asserts that teenage hackers utilize scripts developed by sophisticated and experienced hackers to engage in malicious activities. They scour the internet to find computers with security weaknesses rather that target corporate organizations. In this situation, they can purchase script codes from established hackers to perform their activities. Usually, the primary motivation for a script kiddie is to attract praise and admiration from peers. However, their actions do not impress experienced individuals in the hacking community because of their primary focus on the utility of hacking software and resultant power. They do not care about educating themselves to accumulate relevant hacking skills. Ciampa (2017) estimates script kiddies perform 40 percent of the malicious attacks that require little to no skills on the …show more content…
It could be vital in protecting the computer from data corruption, theft, or destruction, which could be costly for both individuals and organizations. According to Edwards (2014), anti-malware software that gets the highest rating is one that detects most threats accurately, prevents users from visiting malicious sites, and allows legitimate software to run smoothly. Such software enjoys a higher reputation in the industry. In this regard, a product that fails to detect most threats indicates that it is inefficient and compromised. In my opinion, both free and paid anti-malware software work well in threat detection and prevention. In his study, Edwards (2014) found that a free version of Norton security registered a 96 percent accuracy rating which was similar to a paid version. Perhaps, the only difference is that paid versions have extra protection features, such as parental controls, firewalls, data shields, and ransomware shield among others. However, the basic free version could be adequate to prevent malware
There are probably as many answers to that question as there are hackers (maybe more). It is important to realize that these people are individuals with their own hopes, fears, desires, and everything else that comes with being human. However, there are general patterns to the motivation behind the computer hacker's drive to manipulate technology. The problem of hacker motivation is probably one of the more interesting questions concerning this sub-culture (Hacker-Bible, 1995).
Our generation is the first to travel within cyberspace, a virtual world that exists with all the computers that form the global network. For most people today, cyberspace is still a bewildering and alien place. How computers work and how they affect our lives is still a mystery to all but the experts, but expertise doesn't necessarily guarantee morality. Originally the word hacker meant computer enthusiasts but now that the internet has revealed its potential for destruction and profit the hacker has become the outlaw of cyberspace. Not only do hackers commit crimes that cost millions of dollars, they also publicize their illegal techniques on the net where innocent minds can find them and be seduced by the allure of power and money.
When you think of hackers, you probably think of someone who is a little older, someone who's profession is working with computers.
”Attacks implemented by cyber terrorists via information systems to (1) significantly interfere with the political, social or economic functioning of a critically important group or organization of a nation, or (2) induce physical violence and/or create panic. We define hackers as individuals who (1) wish to access/modify data, files, and resources without having the necessary authorization to do so, and/or (2) wish to block services to authorized users. Cyber terrorists are individuals or groups who utilize computing and networking technologies to terrorize. In this paper, we study the behaviors of two groups of hackers: cyber terrorists and common hackers" (Hua & Bapna 2013).
Security is the safety net that which most humans depend upon politically, financially, and socially. It is believed that minimal risks
The motivations behind digital threats have been shifting since the first computer virus, “Creeper,” appeared in 1971. Starting as a fun research project during the era of the virus, malware’s purpose quickly changed pace when the projects turned into a fight for notoriety with the growth of computer worms. Sadly, cybercriminals did not stop there as the motivation behind coding computer malware took a turn for the worse with the introduction of the web threat era. Cybercriminals began coding with one goal in mind, profit. Fueled by sabotage and profit, the growing social networking market has most recently become the target of social malware. Vandalism, notoriety, profit and sabotage are just some of the motives behind malicious software. Since 1971, malware has been evolving, and the incentives of their coders, as well as their forms of spreading, have been changing as well.
The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,
Security helps the organization meet its business objectives or mission by protecting its physical and financial resources, reputation, legal position, employees, and other tangible and intangible assets through the selection and application of appropriate safeguards. Businesses should establish roles and responsibilities of all personnel and staff members. However, a Chief Information Officer should be appointed to direct an organization’s day to day management of information assets. Supporting roles are performed by the service providers and include systems operations, whose personnel design and operate the computer systems. Each team member must be held accountable in ensuring all of the rules and policies are being followed, as well as, understanding their roles, responsibilities and functions. Organizations information processing systems are vulnerable to many threats that can inflict various types of damage that can result in significant losses (Harris, 2014). Losses can come from actions from trusted employees that defraud the system, outside hackers, or from careless data entry. The major threat to information protection is error and omissions that data entry personnel, users, system operators and programmers make. To better protect business information resources, organizations should conduct a risk analysis to see what
autions to secure the software from being pirated. But it also means that there might be more problems, even inside the software’s code. So that gives the challenge to the programmer to construct a software that is the best that it can be. Conclusion Software piracy is not as bad as the companies want to appear it. They just want to gain as much money they can get without really care about the consumers.
The World Wide Web has become a catalyst for hackers, organize criminals, insider threats, political, social action groups, and anonymous groups to excite fear on individuals, private and the public sector. These threat actors can launch malware, rootkits, spam, botnets and a host of other threat vectors at any occasion. IT Specialist and system administrator’s job duties are to test, patch and install the latest security updates and software fixes on an organization existing system. However, this task can become a race against time in trying to mitigate a security breach.
As electronic commerce, online business-to-business operations, and global connectivity have become vital components of a successful business strategy, enterprises have adopted security processes and practices to protect information assets. But if you look at today's computing environments, system security is a horrible game of numbers: there are currently over 9,223 publicly released vulnerabilities covering known security holes in a massive range of applications from popular Operating Systems through to obscure and relatively unknown web applications. [01] Over 300 new vulnerabilities are being discovered and released each month. Most companies work diligently to maintain an efficient, effective security policy, implementing the latest products and services to prevent fraud, vandalism, sabotage, and denial of service attacks. But the fact is you have to patch every hole of your system, but an attacker need find only one to get into your environment. Whilst many organisations subscribe to major vendor's security alerts, these are just the tip of the security iceberg and even these are often ignored. For example, the patch for the Code Red worm was available some weeks before the worm was released. [02]
“Monitoring security would help organizations to minimize the window of exposure to risks and manage better their entire security process” (Priescu & Nicolaescu, 2008). Malware intrusion in businesses is costly and the outcomes are endless. One of the most efficient ways for businesses to protect themselves from malware is to have a prevention protocol. The first step in the recommended protocol is to identify vulnerabilities on networked systems. By doing this, internal and external risks are understood. This process must be continuous since vulnerabilities are changing constantly. Examples are software vulnerabilities, which are corrected by the vendors through the release of updates or patches, and incorrect system configurations like operating system-related or
The term “hacker” has been in use since the early 1980’s due to mass media usage to describe computer criminals. The use of this term is vastly used by the general population and most are not aware that there are different meanings to the word. People within the computing community especially within the programming subculture emphasize the use of the term “crackers” for computer security intruders (cyber criminals). Early hackers rarely used their skills for financial gain as a motivation for their criminal behavior in that time cybercrime was infantile and largely seen as a practical joke or game by those who committed it. Bob Thomas created the first credited computer worm n...
...ntial information from a user. Luckily, there are reliable ways of defending against them. The most reliable way is to install strong security software that has the capacity to defend against the multifaceted forms of threats. Avoiding P2P file sharing sites and scanning email attachments before downloading them are also a surefire way of protecting a computer against malware threats. Basic acts like using an updated browser and allowing Windows updates to install and update themselves are also necessary to keep a machine safe. Furthermore, checking validity of individual website addresses and installing authenticated software can also help a computer user remain safe from potential data theft and possible damage of useful programs. It may also pay good dividends to backup files. In case of a lethal malware attack, backed-up files can always be recovered easily.
The Art of exploring various security breaches is termed as Hacking.Computer Hackers have been around for so many years. Since the Internet became widely used in the World, We have started to hear more and more about hacking. Only a few Hackers, such as Kevin Mitnick, are well known.In a world of Black and White, it’s easy to describe the typical Hacker. A general outline of a typical Hacker is an Antisocial, Pimple-faced Teenage boy. But the Digital world has many types of Hackers.Hackers are human like the rest of us and are, therefore, unique individuals, so an exact profile is hard to outline.The best broad description of Hackers is that all Hackers aren’t equal. Each Hacker has Motives, Methods and Skills. But some general characteristics can help you understand them. Not all Hackers are Antisocial, PimplefacedTeenagers. Regardless, Hackers are curious about Knowing new things, Brave to take steps and they areoften very Sharp Minded..