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1. Is cyberwarfare a serious problem? Why or why not?

Yes, cyberwarfare is a serious problem. This is because cyberwarfare is more complex than conventional warfare. Although many potential targets are military a country’s power grids, financial systems, and a communication network can also be crippled. Non-state actors such as terrorist ore criminal groups can mount attacks, and it is often difficult to tell who is responsible. Nations must constantly to be on the alert for new malware and other technologies that could be used against them, and some of these technologies develop by skilled hacker groups are openly for sale to interested governments. It involved big asset of nation state especially on their military and financial matter which must  be uphold from external intervention to ensure peace and harmony.

2. What solutions are available for this problem? Do you think they will be effective? Why or why not?

There have been several attempts to take effective measures against cyber attacks but none have been successful on international base. For example, in 2011 the Shanghai Cooperation Organization proposed to the UN the “International code of conduct for information security” which did not pass because it enabled to much internet censorship according to many western countries. Another measure taken by the US and Russia is the establishment of a cyberwar-hotline which should be used in ciris situation to prevent an accidential cyberwar. This might not prevent any cyber attacks but it is certainly an important step because as mentioned, cyber attacks can be commited through other computers which could lead to tensions between to countries caused by someone else. In order to effectively prepare for a possible cyberwar the USA has launched a simulation called Cyber ShockWave in 2010 which simulate the situation as realistic as possible. The results were shocking and showed that the USA isn’t prepared for such attacks, especially not if they would be attacked by surprise. Similar simulations have been conducted before by the USA. They have proved very efficient as it showed in which aspects the USA was unprepared and in which aspects they were.

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1.  Security isn’t simply a technology issue, it’s a business issue. Discuss.

It’s a business issue because most of the organization are depending on their technology and system to sustain their business. Any risk towards their security will give huge impact in their business as well as profit. The more problem related to their security such as leak of employees and consumer personal details will jeopardize their organization. This is because people will lose trust to keep their information with them as all the personal data is very crucial to be well protected to ensure there is no abuse of information. If the technology or system made unable to protect people security it shows that the organization had failed to protect their consumer right at first place.

2. Who poses the biggest security threat: insiders or outsiders?

The biggest security threat comes from the insiders. This is because the insider is the employees that directly involved with any transaction related. They are the one who control all the processes and there might be higher chances for them to easily breach the security. There is no doubt that employee itself can sabotage the organization if they feel dissatisfied with their organization.

3.  Suppose your business had an e-commerce Web site where it sold goods and accepted credit card payments. Discuss the major security threats to this Web site and their potential impact. What can be done to minimize these threats?

-The major security threats to e-commerce are malicious code threats. These code threats typically involve viruses, worms, Trojan horses.Viruses are normally external threats and can corrupt the files on the website if they find their way in the internal network. They can be very dangerous as they destroy the computer systems completely and can damage the normal working of the computer.

Worms are places itself directly through the internet. It can infect millions of computers in a matter of just few hours. A Trojan horse is a programming code which can perform destructive functions. They normally attack your computer when you download something.

-way to minimize this threat is look closely at the URL from any email for special characters, numbers. If your financial institution, or a site that you have an account with, sends you a ‘password reset’ email, log in to the bank directly instead of clicking on the link in the email.

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a) Describe ransomware

it is a form of malicious software or malware which encrypt documents on a PC or even across network. The malware encrypts your files so that they cannot be opened or it locks you out of your computer completely to prevent access to all of those important photos, videos and work documents. The malicious attackers responsible for sending you the malware the contact you to demand a ransom, promising to encrypt the files after you pay.

b) How do we prevent and protect our computer from ransomware?

Ransomware can be preventing by use an antivirus solution that is constantly updated and able to perform active scanning. Follow safe internet practices by not visiting questionable websites, not clicking links or opening attachments in emails from uncertain sources, and not providing personally identifiable information on public chats rooms or forums. Implement or enable ad-blocking capacities and anti-spam filters.

c) Effect of computer crime to an organization

It causes damage toward image of the organization especially when something goes wrong with their system. People usually afraid that their personal information are not well protected and being leaked to another party which make them lost trust toward that organization. For example is latest issue on CIMB Click which their online banking system had an error occurred which others can easily login to their account even with wrong password as long as their username is correct. This computer crime had negatively affect the organization as well as their businesses.

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a) Define authentication

Authentication is the process of recognizing a user’s identity. It is the mechanism of associating an incoming request with a set of identifying credentials. The credentials provided are compared to those on a file in a database of the authorized user’s information on a local operating system or within an authentication server.

b) Authentication technologies

-Password Based Technologies

Password may be of any form such as string of alphabets, numbers and special characters. This password is necessarily to be known by the entity or a person that is being authenticated.

-Certificate Based Technologies

It is a digital document which digitally signed by a reliable third party known as the Certificate Authority. Then this Digital Certificate can be reused for user aunthentication. It is stable as compared to password authentication.

-E-Token Based Technologies

This is a small device that develops a new or random value every time it is used. This random value becomes the basis for authentication such as an alternative to password. It can be implemented on a USB key fob or on a smart card. Data is protected on the device itself.

-Biometric Based Technologies

Biometric authentication mention is the recognition or identification of humans by their personality or characteristics such as face and fingerprint. It is used in computer science as a form of realization and access control.

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a) Define computer crime and appropriate example

Alternatively referred to as cyber crime, e-crime, electronic crime, or hi-tech crime. Computer crime is an act performed by a knowledgeable computer user, sometimes referred to as a hacker that illegally browses or steals a company's or individuals private information. In some cases, this person or group of individuals may be malicious and destroy or otherwise corrupt the computer or data files.

For example is copyright violation which is stealing or using another person's copyrighted material without permission.

b) Reasons why information system are vulnerable to destruction and abuse?

-Hackers can unleash denial of service (DoS) attacks or penetrate corporate networks to cause serious system disruptions.

-Wi-Fi networks can easily be penetrated by intruders using sniffer programs to obtain an address to access the resources of the network.

-Computer viruses and worms can spread rampantly from system to system, clogging computer memory or destroying programs and data. Software presents problems because software bugs may be impossible to eliminate and because software vulnerabilities can be exploited by hackers and malicious software. End users can introduce errors.

c) Most important tools and technology for safeguarding information resources.

- Ensuring Software Quality

In addition to implementing effective security and controls, organizations can improve system quality and reliability by employing software metrics and rigorous software testing. Software metrics are objective assessments of the system in the form of quantified measurements. Ongoing use of metrics allows the information systems department and end users to jointly measure the performance of the system and identify problems as they occur. Examples of software metrics include the number of transactions that can be processed in a specified unit of time, online response time, the number of payroll checks printed per hour, and the number of known bugs per hundred lines of program code. For metrics to be successful, they must be carefully designed, formal, objective, and used consistently.

- Identity Management and Authentication

Large and midsize companies have complex IT infrastructures and many different systems, each with its own set of users. Identity management software automates the process of keeping track of all these users and their system privileges, assigning each user a unique digital identity for accessing each system. It also includes tools for authenticating users, protecting user identities, and controlling access to system resources.

- Encryption and Public Key Infrastructure

Many businesses use encryption to protect digital information that they store, physically transfer, or send over the Internet. Encryption is the process of transforming plain text or data into cipher text that cannot be read by anyone other than the sender and the intended receiver. Data are encrypted by using a secret numerical code, called an encryption key, which transforms plain data into cipher text. The message must be decrypted by the receiver.

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Malicious Software programs are referred to as Malware. Describe FOUR (4) types of malicious software. (8 marks)

1)       Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware or malicious software that collects and shares information about a computer or network without the user’s consent. It can be installed as a hidden component of genuine software packages or via traditional malware vectors such as deceptive ads, websites, email, instant messages, as well as direct file-sharing connections. Unlike other types of malware, spyware is heavily used not only by criminal organizations, but also by unscrupulous advertisers and companies who use spyware to collect market data from users without their consent.

2)    Virus
A virus is a program or programming code that replicates by being copied or initiating its copying to another program, computer boot sector or document. Viruses can be transmitted as attachments to an e-mail note or in a downloaded file, or be present on a diskette or CD

3)       Worm
A worm is a self-replicating virus that does not alter files but duplicates itself. It is common for worms to be noticed only when their uncontrolled replication consumes system resources, slowing or halting other tasks. A computer worm is a type of malware that spreads copies of itself from computer to computer. A worm can replicate itself without any human interaction, and it does not need to attach itself to a software program in order to cause damage.

4)       Logic bomb
A logic bomb is programming code, inserted surreptitiously or intentionally, that is designed to execute or explode under circumstances such as the lapse of a certain amount of time or the failure of a program user to respond to a program command. It is in effect a delayed-action computer virus or Trojan horse. A logic bomb, when "exploded," may be designed to display or print a spurious message, delete or corrupt data, or have other undesirable effects.

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a) Without protection against malware and intruders, connecting to the Internet could be very dangerous. Firewalls, intrusion detection system and antivirus software have become the tools to overcome this problem. Briefly explain these THREE (3) tools.

i) Firewalls
Firewall is a combination of hardware and software that prevents unauthorized users from accessing private networks. The technologies include static packet filtering, stateful inspection, network address translation (NAT) and application proxy filtering. A firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set of security rules. They establish a barrier between secured and controlled internal networks that can be trusted and untrusted outside networks, such as the Internet.

ii) Intrusion detection system
Intrusion detection system is a monitor’s hot spot on corporate networks to detect and deter intruders. This examines event as they are happening to discover attacks in progress. An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a system that monitors network traffic for suspicious activity and issues alerts when such activity is discovered. While anomaly detection and reporting is the primary function, some intrusion detection systems are capable of taking actions when malicious acitivity or anomalous traffic is detected, including blocking traffic sent from suspicious IP addresses.

iii) Antivirus software
Antivirus software is responsible to checks computers for presence of malware and can often eliminate it as well and it requires continual updating. Antivirus software is a type of utility used for scanning and removing viruses from your computer. While many types of antivirus (or "anti-virus") programs exist, their primary purpose is to protect computers from viruses and remove any viruses that are found. Most antivirus programs include both automatic and manual scanning capabilities.

b) Contrast between General Controls and Application Controls.

i) General Controls

General controls is govern design, security and use of computer programs and security of data files in general throughout organization’s information technology infrastructure. This type of controls can apply to all computerized applicationsThe general controls consists of many types which are software, hardware, computer operations, data security, implementation and administrative controls. On the whole, general controls apply to all computerized applications and consist of a combination of hardware, software, and manual procedures that create an overall control environment. General controls include software controls, physical hardware controls, computer operations controls, data security controls, controls over implementation of system processes, and administrative controls.

ii) Application Controls
Application controls is a specific controls unique to each computerized application, such as payroll or order processing. This include both automated and manual procedures and this type of control ensure that only authorized data are completely and accurately processed by that application. It is includes input controls, processing controls and output controls. Input controls check data for accuracy and completeness when they enter the system. There are specific input controls for input authorization, data conversion, data editing, and error handling while processing controls establish that data are complete and accurate during updating and last, output controls ensure that the results of computer processing are accurate, complete, and properly distributed.

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a) Sniffer

Sniffer is a program that used to breaks down information other than system traffic. It enables people to catch information as it is transmitted over a system. Sniffer is a program that screens and breaks down system traffic, distinguishing bottlenecks and issues. Utilizing this data, a system director can keep traffic streaming productively. However unapproved sniffer can turn into a treat in the event that it been controlled to pick up somebody individual data and can be to a great degree hazardous to network's security since they are basically difficult to recognize and can be inserted almost anyplace.

b) Phishing

Phishing is a cybercrime in which an objective or targets are reached by email, phone or instant message by somebody acting like an authentic organization to lure people into giving delicate information, for example, actually recognizable data, saving money and charge card subtleties, and passwords. The data is then used to get to essential records and can result in fraud and monetary misfortune. For example is sending e-mail messages by offering money to lure them to give personal data.

c) Pharming

Pharming refers to redirecting website traffic through hacking, whereby the hacker implements tools that redirect a search to a fake website. Pharming may cause users to find themselves on an illegitimate website without realizing they have been redirected to an impostor site, which may look exactly like the real site. Pharming occurs when hackers locate vulnerabilities in domain name server (DNS) software. Pharming can also occur by rearranging the host’s file on the targeted computer. Online banking websites as well as e-commerce organizations have become popular pharming targets.

d) Spoofing

Spoofing is the act of disguising a communication from an unknown source as being from a known, trusted source. Spoofing can apply to emails, phone calls, and websites. Spoofing can be used to gain access to a target’s personal information, spread malware through infected links or attachments. Spoofing is often the way a bad actor gains access in order to execute a larger cyber-attack. In addition, spoofing that leads to the rerouting of internet traffic can overwhelm networks or lead customers/clients to malicious sites aimed at stealing information or distributing malware.

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a) Distinguish the TWO (2) methods for encrypting network traffic on the Web.

1) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL):

Enable client and server computers to establish a secure connection session and manage encryption and decryption activities.

2) Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP)

Protocol used for encrypting data flowing over the Internet, but it is limited to individual messages.

b) Briefly explain the following terms.

i) Cyber warfare
Cyber warfare is state-sponsored activity designed to cripple and defeat another state or nation by penetrating its computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage and disruption. For example, it is refers to the use of digital attacks such as computer viruses and hacking by one country to disrupt the vital computer systems of another, with the aim of creating damage, death and destruction.

ii) Computer Forensic
Computer forensics is the application of investigation, scientific collection, examination, authentication, preservation and analysis of data from computer storage media for use as evidence in court of law. The goal of computer forensics is to perform a structured investigation while maintaining a documented chain of evidence to find out exactly what happened on a computing device and who was responsible for it.