"DDoS cyber attacks get bigger, smarter, more damaging"
-Reuters
"McAfee uncovers 200 new cyber
attacks per minute in 2013" -v3.co.uk
"World's biggest cybe rattack detected, 360 million accounts, 1.25 billion email addresses hacked" -The Times of India
Cyber attacks have become a major threat to the world. The importance of cyber threats can be gleaned by the fact that the US government in its recent budget proposal reduced the overall defense spending, but increased the spending to counter the cyber threats. This is not only a national security concern in today's world but also a major concern in consumer space as hackers try to get personal information of users, steal their identities to make money and use them for other nefarious activities.
Given the vast amount of recent attacks, I wanted to highlight a couple of threats that has gotten media attention lately.
- In recent months Twitter, gained a lot of attention due to its IPO. But that was not the only reason why Twitter was in the news. This newly formed company was at the receiving end of a major cyber attack .According to news reports 250,000 user's email addresses, user names and passwords may have been compromised . Even more disturbing was the fact that Twitter took almost a week to discover the live attack that had taken place.
- Target fell victim to a major security breach during last year's holiday season and is believed to be one of the biggest retail security breaches in US history. This breach compromised the credit /debit card as well as personal information of a whopping 70 million customers. The attackers stole the information by hacking the credit card swipe systems at their stores. The scary part is that there are rumors circulating that personal information is being sold in the dark corners of the Internet. This one attack drove down quarterly revenues of Target by twenty percent.
Given the vast amount of recent attacks, I wanted to highlight a couple of threats that has gotten media attention lately.
- In recent months Twitter, gained a lot of attention due to its IPO. But that was not the only reason why Twitter was in the news. This newly formed company was at the receiving end of a major cyber attack .According to news reports 250,000 user's email addresses, user names and passwords may have been compromised . Even more disturbing was the fact that Twitter took almost a week to discover the live attack that had taken place.
- Target fell victim to a major security breach during last year's holiday season and is believed to be one of the biggest retail security breaches in US history. This breach compromised the credit /debit card as well as personal information of a whopping 70 million customers. The attackers stole the information by hacking the credit card swipe systems at their stores. The scary part is that there are rumors circulating that personal information is being sold in the dark corners of the Internet. This one attack drove down quarterly revenues of Target by twenty percent.
We live in a world dominated by connected devices running on software and have our personal information online . Also, rapid growth of mobile phones and tablets along with the proliferation of apps, each asking for our personal information and location has meant hackers today have multiple routes to gain consumer information. Thus cyber security is all the more important in today's world.
While there is always a threat of falling prey to any cyber attack there are several ways in which one can secure themselves from cyber threats. Software can be made more safe by doing several code reviews and testing so that bugs can be kept to a minimum. It is usually these bugs that allow a back door entry for hackers to exploit. Software reverse engineering attacks can be prevented by adding dead code or using code obfuscation techniques. In order to have a secure online transaction, one must use a secure connection and pay heed to the security warnings that browser suggests. Such counter fixes along with common sense measures such as changing passwords frequently ,using strong passwords, deleting cookies and logging out of public computers, etc can go a long way in preventing personal information from getting hacked easily.
References:
[1] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/internet/Worlds-biggest-cyberattack-detected-360- million-accounts-1-25-billion-email-addresses-hacked/articleshow/31133867.cms
[2] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/05/us-cyber-ddos-idUSBREA240XZ20140305
[3] http://mosesike.org/is-information-technology-really-a-good-force/
[4] http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-top-cyber-attacks-of-2013- 20130530,0,1649624.photogallery?index=la-fi-tn-top-cyber-attacks-of-2013-20130530-007
[5] http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2333178/mcafee-uncovers-200-new-cyber-attacks-per-minute-in-2013
[6] http://www.gfi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/web-security-threats.jpg
[6] http://www.gfi.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/web-security-threats.jpg
Hi Swapna,
ReplyDeleteOverall I enjoyed your blog and also that you reported the latest popular Target breach. I like the way you framed and covered various topics in the article. You have given a wide perspective on the topic by mentioning the US government budget, a software developer's view and also a consumer's perspective.
Though, I found your blog is a little more of an Op Ed style than a technical one. Having enjoyed your Op Ed style, I would like to see a more technical article also. Looking forward for your next articles.
A great blog which clearly tells about your interest in the area and how the interest developed. The reference to the news articles about security breaches clearly illustrates the importance and the necessity of cyber security. The details of what you did in the security project give an insight into the endless possibilities (though harmless here) for attackers.
ReplyDelete