Malicious Attacks
Brian Duff • Nidhi Doshi • Timmy Choi
Dustin Hellstern
Company
LOGO
Malicious Attacks
1. Introduction
2. Background and Evolution
3. Preventative Steps
4. Challenges
Introduction
What are malicious attacks?
Malicious attacks can be defined
Text
as any attempt to
undermine the privacy or security of a computer
system, usually taking one of the following forms:
Text
• Virus
A program that copies itself into other programs
Textare executed, in order to wreak havoc.
that
• Trojan Horse
A program that appears to be harmless, but which
causes damage when run.
• Phishing Text
The use of various forms of social engineering to
trick computer users into giving away personal
information.
Introduction
What are the goals of malicious attacks?
The hackers, or people who engage
Text in cyber attacks
often have one or more of the following goals:
• Identity Theft
Hackers often want to steal personal information,
such as social security numbers or credit card
Text
numbers
from a person or group of people.
• Denial-of-Service Attack
Some viruses infect many computers, which
combine to overload a secondary target, such as a
government- or company-owned network.
Text
• Just for Fun
Some hackers simply enjoy destroying other
people’s computers.
Background and Evolution
1980s
Popularization of the
personal computer.
Malicious software
first takes the form of
trojan horses posted
to bulletin boards
(early messaging
system) and simple
viruses on floppy
disks.
1990s – early 2000s
The Internet
becomes popular.
Viruses become
common as e-mail
attachments.
Examples include the
Melissa virus in 1999
and the ILOVEYOU
virus in 2000.
2000s - Present
Phishing and other
social engineering
attacks are on the
rise. Viruses occur
on a large scale in
computers that are
not protected.
Preventative Steps
What can be done to prevent malicious attacks?
The following measures can beText
taken to help prevent
a malicious attack:
• For Viruses, Trojan Horses, and Worms
• Install and maintain up-to-date antivirus software.
• Install all security updates.
•Text
Never download files from the Internet unless it is from
a trusted source.
• If you think your computer has a virus, get help right
away.
• For Phishing
Text
•Be careful
never to send personal information over email or click hyperlinks within e-mail text.
• If you ever doubt the authenticity of a message, contact
the sender or legitimate organization before taking
further action.
Challenges
What inhibits the prevention of attacks?
Various factors make it difficultText
for people to stay
protected from malicious computer attacks:
• Effective antivirus software is often too expensive for some
people to afford.
• TheText
source a virus is often difficult or impossible to
pinpoint.
• File sharing via the Internet or other means such as USB
drives is increasing and will continue to increase.
Text
• Many people
simply have not been taught how to recognize
phishing attempts and scams.
• Hackers are smart and are often one step ahead.
Our Opinion
How can we help?
We think the following would help
Textto decrease the
success of malicious attacks:
• Increased awareness of the dangers of the Internet and
file-sharing
Text
• Development
by trusted organizations of freely available
protective software
• Education about phishing and how to identify likely phishing
attempts
Text
• Government
involvement in countering large-scale viruses
and cyber attacks