CYBER ATTACKS

Cyber Attacks

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Difference between Hackers and Crackers1

Discussion2

What Motivates Hackers?2

How Hacking is done?2

Cost and Impact of Cyber Security4

Effects on Individuals5

Effects on Economy and Organisation5

Social and Economic Impact5

Legal Schema7

Tools and methods of Hacking9

Some Hacking Techniques9

Why Catching Hackers is almost an Impossible Task?10

Brief Case Study11

Conclusion12

Securing Systems from Hacking12

References14

Bibliography15

Cyber Attacks

Introduction

Internet has become an essential part of our lives these days, and our life has been dependent on the internet. Cyber world has opened numerous opportunities for us, for example, reference material, electronic commerce, email, collaborative computing, information distribution and advertisements etc. Cyber attacks are defined as breaking into some computer which results in undermining of the integrity, availability and confidentiality of the computer or the data saved within it (Carrforeword and Shepherd, 2009).

The most common form of cyber attack is hacking. Hacking can be defined as creative innovation as well as a form of unlawful behaviour. This is a form of activity that has occupied two extreme positions. Hacking is defined as cut chop, something that is used to improve the performance of the battle boredom by the mainframe operators. There are different types of hacking including, software hacking and information hacking etc (Randall, 2000).

Difference between Hackers and Crackers

According to their own definition, hackers are primarily "networks of fans." They want to understand the operation of computer systems and test both the capabilities of the tools and knowledge. Most hackers break into systems maintains a passion for computers and not with the aim to destroy or steal data. While cracker is a form of hacker and is a criminal pleat's computer whose primary purpose is to destroy or steal data, turn off computer systems or kidnap a computer system to ransom. Companies that are usually the victims of this breed of pirates prefer not to disclose information, for the sake of preserving the image of their companies, making the pirate business statistics are far below the actual values (Thomas, 2000).

Discussion

What Motivates Hackers?

Some say computer systems deal with just for fun, for the challenge. Some just want to make themselves reknowned or even find a job this way! Contrary to popular belief, hackers who attack servers to make money or access to financial data are not in a large number. Thus, this form of piracy requires a high level of skills; whereas, it does not require specialized skills to install Trojans downloaded from the Net (Randall, 2000).

How Hacking is done?

In the early sixties, in the middle of American social revolution, an anti-technology movement and anarchist institution was born. It is in this movement that is grafted on phreaking (diminutive of freak, and free phone, literally bitten the free phone), which is a practice of hacking the phone system (Pipkin, 1997). The purpose of phreakers was fully aware of the operation of the telephone system (often better than the technicians telephone companies), specially to know his faults, and so the foil to allow them to make free long distance calls. However, access to free long distance calls was often not the purpose of phreakers: they ...