Dillon Beresford saw Stuxnet as a challenge because he wanted to see if it was possible for a single individual to pull off an attack on a similar scale as Stuxnet that could disrupt industrial control systems. Due to the sophisticated nature of the attack, which used four separate zero-day vulnerabilities, and stolen digital certificates to craft and disguise a complex piece of malware that targeted Siemens SIMATIC Step 7 PLCs, Stuxnet was assumed to be the work of a nation-state. Surely a nation-state might have at its disposal the time and money needed to discover, or otherwise acquire these zero-day vulnerabilities, as well as the man power needed to use these flaws to compile and disguise such a clever cyberattack. An individual on the other hand would never be able to accomplish such an attack, or have such a high level understanding of the interworking of the control systems at the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities. Or so it was thought. Dillon Beresford was intrigued by the assumption that only a nation-state could pull off such a …show more content…
Governments, security companies, and criminals are all potential buyers of zero day vulnerabilities. Security companies buy zero day vulnerabilities in order to gain a competitive edge. They use the zero days to provide their clients with protection from security risks that their competitors are unaware of. Governments often buy zero days to aid in their cyber warfare campaigns, or to protect their own systems from outside attack. Criminals buy zero days in order to exploit computer systems to accomplish malicious tasks such as stealing information, or initiating denial of service attacks. However there is no guarantee that anyone will buy the zero day from Beresford, or that he would be able to sell it before someone else discovered the vulnerability or a patch was
Compared to past, today we have sound security policies, established cyber laws, active monitoring systems, and extra layers of security in form of firewalls etc., to prevent access to uninvited guests for your network and most importantly increased user awareness. But still there exist vulnerabilities in and around the cyber space of which the hackers exploit for different purposes. The monetary losses we suffer today are much greater in magnitude as well as in mass. But, we definitely are in a better place compared to the time the events in this book took place.
Anonymous. "Strategic Warning: If Surprise Is Inevitable, What Role for Analysis?" Www.cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency, 21 Apr. 2007. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
At this juncture, it may be somewhat difficult to accept the proposition that a threat to the telecommunications grid, both wired and wireless, in the United States could potentially be subject to a catastrophic cyber attack. After careful research on the subject, it appears the potentiality of an event of such magnitude, which either disrupts one or the other grids for a long period or destroys either, is both theoretically and realistically impossible. It may be that proponents—those who advance such theories—equate such “doomsday” scenarios as if a cyber attack would or could be of the same magnitude as a conventional or nuclear military strike. Terms such as “cyber Pearl Harbor,” “cyber 9/11” and “cyber Vietnam” have been used to describes potential catastrophic cyber attacks and yet, “Though many have posited notions on what a ‘real’ cyber war would be like, we lack the understanding of how such conflicts will be conducted and evolve.” (Rattray & Healey, 2010, p. 77). Yet, the U.S. government continues to focus on such events, as if the plausibility of small-scale cyber attacks were not as pressing.
...ing of the end for the world against digital crime or perhaps it could become a blessing in disguise. It is quite believable that this type of crime and much more will continue and even become more prominent. However, the Target breach could teach the information security world a lesson or two on exactly what to do to either eliminate these attacks where they can or simply mitigate them when elimination is not possible. Regardless of what the future holds, the most certain outcome that must be address is that the information security world must get better at catching these types of attacks prior to the occurrence or preventing them altogether. It would be wonderful to be able to say one day that these crimes no longer exist; however, that is more likely a dream that is quite farfetched that the reality of living with criminals inside of future networks permanently.
Getty, J. Arch, and Oleg V. Naumov. The Road to Terror. London, England: Yale University Press, 1999.
When you think of the internet, usually what first comes to mind is social networking, online marketplaces, and other places that don’t sound that bad. Look deeper and you’ll find that the internet isn’t as nice as you thought it was. This “dark side” of the net is comprised of everything looked down upon in the real world – drugs, weapons, false identities, and even hit men for hire exist in this rough-and-tumble darknet. Not just physical products, but virtual products float around as well; from term papers to file sharing and even e-currency populate this dark area.
1.Which mechanical part or feature listed in the section on Critical Vehicle Systems do you think is most important?
The threats to security from the United States Department of Defense, the national power grid and the Chamber of Commerce are very real and omnipresent. The Defense Department made an admission of the first major cyber attack upon its systems in August 2010. It was revealed that the attack actually took place in 2008 and was accomplished by placing a malicious code into the flash drive of a U.S. military laptop. “The code spread undetected on both classified and unclassified systems, establishing what amounted to a digital breachhead.” (2) This quote, attributed to then Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III, is just part of the shocking revelations that were disclosed in his speech made on July 14, 2011.
Project Zero From Google Google's part-time research team's success in various other areas has led to founding of a new, well-staffed security research team called Project Zero. According to the research team, users should be able to best use the Internet without fear that a hacker is
Founded by the Monterey Group (Terrorism Committee for the U.S. Legislature), the United States adopted a three-level categorization for cyber-terror including simple-unstructured, advanced-structures, and complex-coordinated (Findlay, 2014). At the first level of cyber-terror is a simple unstructured attack. Under this category, a simple-unstructured attack involves very diminutive target analysis, command and control, or learning skills. This type of attack is normally planned within a matter of months and targets a general organization. Next is the level of an advanced-structured attack, which requires a straightforward target analysis, command and control, learning skills, and a high amount of planning in order to cause extensive damage. For example, in 2007, there was a three-week period of cyber-attacks on Estonia (located in Northern Europe), which targeted the country’s government, financial, and security divisions. Due to the extensive planning of this sophisticated attack, Estonia’s government was thrown into chaos and was unable to operate at full capacity. Finally, at the last level of cyber terrorism is the complex-coordinated attack (Extremely rare). At the highest level of terror, these attacks require substantial time, specialized skills, resources, and a highly capable target analysis. One of these substantially rare attacks
BY DOUG HENWOOD What’s being touted in some circles as the future of money looks hardly more peaceful than its past. Bitcoin, a formerly obscure cybercurrency, is now all over the headlines with reports of bankruptcies, thefts and FBI lockdowns. If our fate is to buy and sell bitcoins, this instability is troubling. But despite the headlines, the triumph of Bitcoin and related cyber-currencies is a lot less likely than recent commentary suggests.
The universally known federal agency responsible for nuclear weapons is the Department of Defense, which of course, supervises the nation’s armed forces, as well as those military units qualified to control nuclear weapons and their means of delivery; for example, the missiles, bombers and submarines that are used to “deliver” the weapons to their intended targets. Within the Office of the Secretary of Defense are a number of agencies that deal with nuclear weapons concerns from erratic
Unequivocally speaking, the threat of a cyber-attack has become one of the most critical domestic and national security challenges we face as a nation today. Infrastructures supporting government operations are ...
The U.S. is facing a tough time with cybercrime. Cyber security is low, which means a huge cyberattack is possible. An attack that can shut down all networks in America. Unlike mass weapons of destruction, but much like a nuke and how difficult it can be to obtain one. Things equivalent to these things are possessed by anyone from criminal groups to superpowers. Attackers can go from one side of the nation to the other side in a matter of secon...