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Cyber Security - Cyber Crimes & Threats- Hacking and Malware World of Internet

"Cyber Security" Threats in Modern World



A Key Challenge in Internet's World 

Cyber Security - An Informative Article

Techniques of Hacking - What are Latest Threats to Cyber Security?

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ith the Advancement of Technology and Internet in the 21st Century, Protecting the Information and Keeping the Users Privacy Intact, has become a challenging task. Having basic information and awareness regarding the issue, can actually reduce the risk and vulnerability to Cyber Attacks. Having the basic knowledge of Cyber Security not only means, being aware of the most common Cyber Crimes, but also know the ways to deal with them. An Internet User must know how to remain safe and secure online, because it's not just Organizations that can be vulnerable to Hackers, Cyber Criminals also love to invade privacy of common Internet Users.   
 

Introduction to Cyber Crimes and Security

Cyber Crime includes but is not limited to, Data Breaches, Hacking, Privacy Invasion. Cyber Security refers to any system which targets to secure Internet, Computers and Information of it's users from Hackers and Cyber Criminals. Cyber Criminals may get unauthorized access to user data or they may modify sensitive information. Remaining Secure while using Internet is becoming more and more difficult, this is because Internet users are exponentially increasing while Cyber criminals are progressively advancing in their fields. 

Cyber Attackers have been preying on fears and lack of technical knowledge of Internet users.  Thus, it is inevitable to learn basics of securing data, to remain safe and keep our organizations working. In this Article Series, you will learn some most common threats that you face while online, along with safety measures to tackle them. In this part specifically, we will only discuss the most common cyber security issues that one faces.

Most Common Cyber Security Threats

Most of the Cyber Insecurities are mainly caused by Botnets, also known as Zombie Computers. Botnets were originally a very useful invention, as they were used to maintain a smooth user experience online, but it's misuse by the Hackers caused it to become a security threat.

Botnets are Networks of Inter-connected Robot Devices which are remotely controlled. Infected Bots in these networks of bots can spread through malwares and can use your computer for illegal activities without your knowledge. Botnets are groups of infected computers ran by bots, containing harmful softwares, which are designed to infect computers or steal information for their originator. Hackers spread Bots through malwares, which then get installed into your device with any unreliable software which is available online. These Bots then infect and modify your device so that it gets used to grow their widespread networks of bot computers.

Malware & Viruses
Introduction of Malwares into a device is one of the most frequently used technique to disturb it's functionality. Malware is a Malicious Software that is specifically designed to harm the computer or gain unauthorized access to it's User's data and settings.

Mode of Action for Different Types of Malware & Viruses
  • Computer Viruses:
Computer Virus is any harmful software that gets installed onto a user's device without any authorization. Computer Viruses pass on from one host to another and duplicate themselves by using another computer software as a means to spread. In other words, they get attached to a program which is already installed in device, and then replicate once the program runs, using the program as a medium to reproduce. Computer Virus can get access to your computer if you visit an infected website or install a harmful software, without knowing. The Mode of Action of Computer Viruses is not very different from biological viruses and pathogens which get attached to host cells in order to reproduce. The main function of Computer Virus is to alter the function of device without user's permission, gain access to sensitive data such as passwords and credit card information, or at most they can also cause your system to stop functioning altogether.

  • Trojan Horse:
You may be one of those people who categorize Trojan Horse as Computer Virus, which is an absolute misconception. Trojan Horses unlike viruses and worms, are unable to replicate themselves, or use any program as a medium to reproduce. Trojan Horse in Computing, is any misleading software that seems genuine and reliable but actually contains harmful software. Hackers design a whole smart plan, to trap the users through anything which might seem interesting to them such as free softwares and free games. In Majority of Cases, Trojan Horses go unnoticed for a long time, and they silently continue to do their job such as stealing information or technically harming your device. Alternatively, Trojan Horses make unauthorized changes to Security Settings of your device so other malwares can easily access the device and provide a backdoor to other viruses. These changes may also cause your computer to become part of the large Networks of Zombie Computers or Botnets.

  • Spyware & Adware:
As Apparent by it's name, spyware is any spying software which aims to gather user's personal information, and probably send it third parties. Spywares are only legal if they are used with User's Knowledge. Website Cookies are an example of Spyware, which stores user data and information and send it to the website owners for better online interference and experience, but with user's authorization. Whenever Spywares are meant for illegal activities, they get installed onto your computer along with a genuine software without your permission. They can then be enabled to, track your online browsing habits, active logins and passwords, credit card information, keystrokes and steal other confidential information. You should be aware, that once you are online, nothing is free of cost. You are paying to any software which pretends to be free, by allowing them to track your online activities to show user targeted ads. So in some instances, your information can be provided to marketing and advertising firms to show ads that are relevant to your interests, which is why spyware is also known as Adware. Spywares which track your keystrokes, such as logins, passwords or banking credentials, are typically named as keyloggers. In other cases, Spywares can also get access to your System's settings and modify it, which may lead to slowing down the speed of computer or other unauthorized changes to the system.

  • Scareware:
Scare ware is a type of pop-up message on an internet connected device, which provides the user with false information about their device's health. These type of pop-ups are often very convincing as they resemble system messages and pretend to be antivirus or anti-spyware softwares. Scare-ware popups deceives the users and frightens them by presenting a bogus messages such as, "device under cyber attack", "hacker attack", "security issues with device" and "device cleanup required". They can lead the user to infected websites, forced installation of potentially harmful softwares, or can access their credit cards to take payments for fake antivirus or PC cleaner softwares. The antivirus software provided by scare ware is actually a malicious software which can attack you by slowing down your computer, attempting identity theft, privacy invasion or by turning your computer into a bot.



  • Ransomware:

    Though it may seem to be some kind of mysterious stuff, ransom-ware is a real thing.  Ransomware is a sub category of malwares, in which hackers access the users device data. They can then lock and deny access of information to the victim of attack, usually by the means of cryptography (encryption). This can be done either by locking up the computer altogether, or simply locking up some specific files. The user is not allowed to access their own data until a demanded ransom money is payed to the cyber criminal. Ransomware typically threatens the victim to, either pay the ransom money to restore access of the data, or the sensitive information can be leaked out and publicized. But even if the ransom is paid, its very unlikely that you regain access of your device. Thus, the only way out, is to get the malware removed by a professional. Like other malwares, Ransomware could also be distributed through spam emails or infected websites and softwares. 

    Phishing, Spamming & Email Bombing
    Phishing is an attempt to steal sensitive information such as passwords and banking information. The victim is contacted by email, posing to be a legitimate website but actually attempting identity theft. Spam Emails are sent to users, impersonating a genuine website and asking the users to update their information such as username and passwords. Emails often provide direct links to false spoofed websites and steal user data once the person enters their information.


    Overflowing Emails in the Inbox can get really annoying and irritating. Spammers send loads of E-mails to specific person or organization which may be featuring some undesired advertising or malicious attachments. 
    The simplest type of spamming is, duplicating the same email and sending huge volumes of the same email to a specific person. These E-mails can be easily detected by Spam Filters. 

    Secondly, Spammers can get a users email subscribed to several email list subscriptions that you never signed up for, and the users will continue to receive emails until they unsubscribe from each list, one by one.
    An average internet user would typically keep deleting the spam emails on daily basis, but would most probably neglect the fact that spamming is covering up something bigger than just annoying the user. Mostly, the main purpose of spamming is to overflow the inbox capacity and exceed the Email receiving limit so the target could not receive any important email or message. Spamming for the purpose of exceeding the Inbox Limit is known as DDoS style Spamming as it serves the same function as DDoS.

    Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS Attack)
    Simple Mechanism of DDoS Attack

    DDoS attack is one of the main branch of Cyber attacks where Bot computers are put to work. DDoS attacks basically occurs when the undercover cyber crime culprits decide to make an online resource or website unavailable. This is done by flooding the website server with overflowing traffic, more than what it's bandwidth can handle. The attack is performed by a group of infected bot computers, which is known as a botnet. 

    As the perpetrators are spread worldwide the attack is known as "Distributed" Denial of Service. Once the control of all devices is gained, the attacker directs the botnet via remote control, to send requests to the victim. A flood of requests consumes all the available bandwidth, which in turn causes the web server to crash or significantly slow down. The goal of these attacks are to make it impossible for a common internet user to access the resource temporarily. As all the traffic is sent by real devices, it is difficult to differentiate between organic traffic and DDoS attack traffic. 


    PART 2 COMING REAL SOON!
    FEATURING, 
    THE MEASURES TO TAKE IN ORDER TO REMAIN SAFE ONLINE!
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