The New-age dangerzone: Cyberwarfare

What is Cyberwarfare?

Cyberwarfare is a form of machine or network-based conflict in which a nation-state targets another nation-state for political reasons. Nation-state actors aim to disrupt the operations of organisations or nation-states in these forms of attacks, especially for political or military reasons, as well as cyber espionage.

History of cyberwarfare

In 2010, the world’s perception of cyberwar was permanently altered. It all began when VirusBlokAda, a Belarusian security company, discovered a strange piece of malware that caused its antivirus programme to crash.

Although the attack began in Ukraine, it soon spread across the world. While the precise amount of damage caused by this attack is still unknown, it is expected to be in the billions of dollars.

Motivation behind cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare is the use of digital threats to invade a nation, causing similar damage to traditional warfare and/or disabling critical information systems. Experts disagree about what constitutes cyber warfare and whether such a thing exists.

Cyber attacks on companies are often planned and inspired by monetary gain. Reaching a social or political argument – for example, by hacktivism – can be another inspiration. Spying on rivals for undue advantage is an example of espionage.

Types of Cyberwarfare

Spionage is a form of espionage

 

PRISM is a secret monitoring scheme in which the National Security Agency (NSA) receives consumer data from companies like Facebook and Google.

Traditional spying, like cyber-espionage, is not an act of war, but both are often thought to be underway between major powers. Despite this presumption, certain events can result in severe conflicts between nations, and they are often referred to as “attacks.”

espionage

Computers and satellites that coordinate other operations are sensitive system elements that could cause equipment to fail. Military networks, such as C4ISTAR modules that handle commands and messages, maybe hacked or maliciously replaced if they are compromised. Infrastructure such as power, water, diesel, communications, and transportation may all be affected. The civilian domain is also at risk, according to Clarke, who points out that cyber breaches have now extended beyond compromised credit card numbers, and that future targets include the electric power grid, trains, and the stock exchange.

A denial-of-service (DoS) attack is a form of cyber-attack that

A denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make a computer or network resource inaccessible to its intended users in computing. DoS attackers also target high-profile web servers, such as banks, credit card payment gateways, and even root nameservers, for their attacks. To carry out these large-scale attacks, DoS attacks frequently use internet-connected computers with insecure security mechanisms. DoS threats aren’t only limited to computer-based methods; strategic physical attacks on networks can be almost as damaging.

Grid of electrical power

The United States federal government acknowledges that the electric power grid is vulnerable to cyberwarfare.

  The US Department of Homeland Security works with businesses to find bugs in control device networks and to help them improve their security. As the next generation of “smart grid” networks is created, the federal government is still working to ensure that protection is built-in.  According to current and former national security officials, rumours emerged in April 2009 that China and Russia had compromised the US electricity grid and left behind automated systems that could be used to sabotage the infrastructure.

Publicity stunts

Cyber propaganda is an attempt to manipulate public opinion by controlling information in whatever shape it can take. It’s a kind of psycholEconomic upheaval. WannaCry and Petya (NotPetya) ransomware attacks in 2017 caused widespread disturbances in Ukraine, as well as in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, pharmacy firm Merck, shipping firm Maersk, and other organisations around the world. These attacks are classified as cybercrimes, especially financial crimes since they have a negative impact on a business or entity like Russia. “This is a form of system warfare that aims to delegitimize the political and social framework that our military’s strength is based on.”

Unexpected cyber-attack

Scholars have questioned the concept of a “cyber Pearl Harbor,” drawing parallels to the historical act of war. Others also coined the phrase “cyber 9/11” to emphasise the nontraditional, asymmetric, or unconventional nature of cyber activity against a regime.

Conclusions and Future directions

Cyber protection is a multifaceted issue. There is a large body of literature on the subject that discusses how it is linked to a variety of issues that lead to the advancement of cybersecurity research and practice.

What Is Cyber Warfare’s Next Step?

Both cyber-attacks are now organised and coordinated by humans. Artificial intelligence is likely to formulate and carry out these tasks in the future. AI programmes will be able to analyse and hack into safe systems quicker than humans, and they will be able to interrupt systems on a much larger scale than ever.

Blockchain can be one of the most effective ways to protect from cyber-attacks. It will keep networks safe and defend data from intruders. Cyber-attacks are expected to become more frequent in the coming years, and we will almost certainly see a full-scale cyber-warfare incident in the next decade.

Your Cyber Security Partner, Texial

Texial will help you protect your organisation from advanced and nuanced cyber attacks from beginning to end. It is a private forensic lab with a presence throughout India.

 

Texial has hand-picked cyber and remote forensic experts as well as a state-of-the-art forensics laboratory. It has both the knowledge and the practise of supporting organisations in identifying and mitigating cyber risks. Texial aims to remain one step ahead of the competition in keeping a nation “cyber secure” by staying up to date with the latest in technologies and the current threat environment.

Are you afraid that you are the next Cyberbully victim? Understand Cyberbullying and Anticyberbullying laws.

What is Cyberbullying anyway?

Bullying that occurs over digital platforms such as mobile phones, laptops, and tablets is known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can take place offline in social media, forums, or gaming where people can access, engage in, or exchange information, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content.

History

With the growth of social media over the past two decades, cyberbullying has been a major problem. It no longer only affects adolescents, but also teenagers and adults. Let us go back in time to investigate the origins of cyberbullying. Since internet-connected personal computers became readily accessible on the mass market in the 1990s, cyberbullying began. The number of incidents has risen, with social media currently being blamed for 92 per cent of cyberbullying attacks. Megan Meier’s case from 2007 is one of the first known cases of cyberbullying.

Cases of Cyberbullying for the First Time:

Megan Meier: In 2007, a 13-year-old girl died sadly because of online abuse. A group of neighbours harassed the young girl by creating a false profile called Josh Evans for the sole intention of tormenting her.

Is Cyber Bullying a crime?

The repercussions for cyberbullies vary depending on the situation. Many incidents of cyberbullying are punished as harassment. Some lawsuits end up in civil court, while others can result in felony charges and conviction for hate crimes, impersonation, stalking, cyberbullying, and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act offences (CFAA).

 

Different states with their own codes for cyberbullying in comparison to the broader regulations. Stopbullying.gov has a state-by-state map that highlights the laws in each state.

 

So where do we draw the line between what is and isn’t cyber bullying? What are some of the offences that can be committed as a result of cyberbullying?

Stomp Out Bullying has compiled a list of allegedly illegal ways of cyberbullying:

 

Harassment, particularly when it is motivated by a person’s gender, race, or other protected characteristics.

Threatening with violence

Threatening to kill

Calling and texting obscene and harassing people

Sexting Sextortion, or sexual harassment, is a form of sexting.

pornography involving children.

Stalking an individual

Hate crimes are crimes committed for a specific reason.

Taking a picture of someone in an area where they expect to be alone.

Extortion is extortion.

What are cyberbullying’s long-term consequences?

Cyberbullying will result in you being sued, sacked, expelled, or even arrested. However, there is the possibility that cyberbullies will have problems with police in a specific trial.

Anti-cyberbullying laws, with context to India

In India, cyberbullying has manifested itself in a variety of forms, and it is only getting worse with each passing day. However, it is surprising that India has yet to enact anti-cyberbullying legislation. However, there are several cyber laws in India that cover some of the activities that are known as cyberbullying.

 

Sec.66A – Using a chat service to send hostile messages, etc.

 

Identity Theft (Section 66C)

 

Sec.66D – Using the machine resource to cheat by personation.

 

Violation of privacy (Section 66E)

 

Sec.67B – Penalties for printing or distributing in electronic form content showing children in any sexually suggestive act, etc.

 

Sec.72 – Breach of privacy and secrecy

 

Sending threatening messages by email is punishable under Section 503 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

 

IPC Section 509 – Insulting a woman’s modesty with a phrase, expression, or behaviour.

 

Sending defamatory messages via email (Section 499 IPC)

 

IPC Sec. 500 – Email Abuse

Gaps in literature

In the past decade, scholars, politicians, and educators have paid more attention to cyberbullying. However, there is a general lack of a consolidated and systemic view of modern bullying awareness. We need a clearer idea of which young people are more likely to be bullies, suspects, or bystanders online, as well as the situations under which young people are more likely to stand up to cyberbullying. Documenting the features of emerging anti-cyberbullying programmes being used in US colleges, as well as youth perceptions of these interventions, is a vital part of this study.

This knowledge will aid in determining which programmes should be strengthened and expanded, as well as which should be replaced.

Future Directions and Conclusion

Cyberbullying and cybersafety prevention initiatives are still now being established and tested. Parents can get information about how to better protect their children from websites, tip sheets, and other online tools. However, it appears that these online services are often marketed by product-selling organisations and are seldom based on science.

If this evidence isn’t backed up by research, there’s a chance it might be dangerous. When evaluating content on these pages, parents, students, school officials, and health care professionals can exercise caution and rely on online tools offered by government departments and policy organisations that use data to direct their recommendations.

In the case of cyberbullying, health care professionals should advise parents about how to set reasonable screen time limits, track their children’s use of devices, speak to their children about Internet protection and privacy, and figure out why their children are not telling them about their online interactions. In brief, more analysis is needed to decide how best to engage in the different areas that schools, families, and health care services are dealing with cyberbullying.

Texial is your ally in the fight against cyberbullying!

Texial is a private forensic laboratory that provides cyberbullying consulting and digital forensic facilities. If you need help preventing or reporting cyberbullying in India, Texial is here to help.

 

The new advanced forensics instruments and software are housed in Texial’s state-of-the-art digital forensics laboratory. This allows them to collaborate with law enforcement agencies in the investigation of online defamation and cyberbullying cases.

Do not take the bait! Understanding Email Phishing

What precisely is phishing?

Phishing is a tactic used by hackers to trick you into providing personal information or account data. Hackers steal sensitive data by generating new user passwords or inserting malware (such as backdoors) into your device once they have your knowledge.

Financial frauds or identity hacks perpetrated using the victim’s private information are the more serious consequences of phishing. Phishing is responsible for almost 90 percent of all data breaches.

What are the various kinds of phishing scams?

Depending on the perpetrator, phishing attacks will hit a wide variety of people. It is likely that this is a generic email phishing scam searching for someone with a PayPal account. However, these are almost certainly phishing attempts. Phishing may also take the form of an email that is sent to only one user. Because of their access, the attacker would devote time and effort to crafting an email for a single recipient. If the email is on this end of the continuum, even the most suspicious individuals are likely to fall victim to it. According to statistics, 91 percent of data security breaches begin with some form of a phishing scheme.

What is the concept of Email Phishing?

Since the 1990s, email phishing has possibly been the most prevalent form of phishing. These are the emails that a hacker sends to any and all email addresses he or she can get his hands on. The email normally advises the user that their account has been compromised and that they must reply immediately by clicking on the ‘this page’. Since the English are not always plain, these assaults are normally easy to detect. It sometimes gives the idea that someone used translation software to go through five different languages before deciding on English.

suspect source if you search the email source and the actual connection that you are being led to.

Sextortion is a form of a phishing scheme that involves giving someone an email that seems to be from themselves. The hacker appears to have broken into your email server and then into the machine in the email. They claim to have two crucial pieces of information: your password and a video of you. The sextortion takes place on the captured footage.

They claim to have two crucial pieces of information: your password and a video of you. The sextortion takes place on the captured footage. According to the claim, you were viewing adult entertainment videos on your monitor while the camera was recording. You must pay them, normally in bitcoin, otherwise, they will reveal the video to your relatives or co-workers.

How to Recognize a Phishing Email?

Every month, users all over the world receive an average of 16 malicious emails! Furthermore, given the plethora of email newsletters that we knowingly sign up for, a detailed review of an email prior to answering can be time-consuming. Nonetheless, being aware is crucial in thwarting future efforts to steal your personal or company information.

Here are few pointers on recognizing a phishing email:

  1. Avoid any email requests for sensitive information.

Remember that a legal company will never send you an email requesting confidential personal or financial information. Furthermore, an organization with which you are familiar would like to have a phone call with you about some account details. Unsolicited emails demanding personal information and containing a connection or attachment should be avoided. It is unquestionably a ruse. Generic Email Salutations Should Be Avoided

  1. Avoid emails that address you as a “respected member,” “favorite client,” “customer,” or “account manager,” among other words. 

    Emails with such generic salutations should be stopped at all times since they are almost invariably spam. Bear in mind that a legal business will call you by your name. Any cyber con artists, on the other hand, totally disregard the salutation portion of the text! As a consequence, make sure you check the other things on this guide and see whether it’s deceptive or not.

  2. Verify the Sender’s Domain in the Email Address

Examining the sender’s address is one of the most effective ways to detect a phishing text. Check the domain in the email address, which is the part after the @. This will give you a good sense of the email’s sources and therefore its validity. Cybercriminals sometimes change the spelling of a domain to make it seem legal. But proceed with caution! But, since businesses often use special or random domains to reach out to their clients, this is not a foolproof tip. Small businesses, in particular, rely on third-party email providers to deliver emails. As a consequence, the dubious-looking domain could be real!

  1. Spelling Errors Can Serve as a Warning Flag

One thing to keep in mind! Any brand and business invest heavily in their proofreaders and copywriters. This is to ensure that the material they distribute to consumers is error-free, factually correct, and grammatically correct. An error in material, particularly in an email to a prospective or current client, is a major source of embarrassment for an organization. As a consequence, it’s self-evident that an email from a legitimate organization must be well-written. Scam texts, on the other hand, are easily detected by their grammatical and spelling mistakes. Hackers, obviously, are not idiots! They know who they’re after, and these phishing emails are often aimed at people in the lower echelons of the educational ladder.

  1. Be wary of uninvited attachments

If you know what the most often used phishing email bait is? Attachments and connections that are unsolicited and suspicious-looking. Emails with random attachments or connections are never sent from a legitimate entity. They would rather take the user to their own website to retrieve the required documentation or files. Companies that have your contact information, on the other hand, can give you white papers, newsletters, and other materials as attachments. So, though you can be careful of attachments with extensions.exe,.scr, and.zip, this isn’t a completely secure trick. In case of uncertainty, the safest course of action is to contact the sender directly.

  1. It makes no difference if you have the world’s most reliable surveillance system. It only takes one untrained employee to be duped by a phishing attack and hand over the information you have worked so long to safeguard. 

Be sure you and your colleagues are all aware of these particular email phishing scenarios, as well as all of the warning signs of a phishing attempt.

Gaps and Limitations and how to tackle them 

Both consumers and companies must take action to defend themselves from phishing attacks. Vigilance is important for consumers. A spoof message sometimes includes inconsequential errors that reveal its true identity. As seen in the previous URL example, these may involve spelling errors or domain name changes. Users should also consider that they are sending such an email in the first place.

The foregoing phishing email detection tips will undoubtedly raise your tolerance and vigilance of phishing attacks. Phishing attacks, on the other hand, are becoming stealthier and more subtle by the day. And seasoned users can find it difficult to spot a phishing email before it’s too late, thanks to changing techniques.

It’s shocking to hear that almost half of all phishing or bogus websites already have SSL Certification or HTTPS encryption! To escape tracking, they are increasingly using tactics such as web page redirects. Fake fonts and other encoding methods are often used by some fake banking websites to give the impression of a real website. Also, the most vigilant customer is finding it more difficult to detect phishing attempts as a result of these tactics.

Texial’s – Phishing Attack Victims Investigation Services

Texial is a forensics laboratory that focuses on optical and Cyber Forensics. Texial’s Lab delivers investigative and cybersecurity expertise and technologies, supported by a roster of the best-in-class forensic experts. Texial’s Lab also delivers cybercrime detection training and information to corporations and law enforcement authorities.

Sick And Tired Of Doing Artificial Intelligence The Old Way? Read This

What is Artificial Intelligence? 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad field of computer science that focuses on creating intelligent machines that can execute functions that would otherwise require human intelligence. AI is a multidisciplinary discipline with many methods, but advances in machine learning and deep learning are causing a paradigm change in almost every industry.

AI is a field of computer science that seeks to mimic or emulate human intelligence in computers at the most basic level. Artificial intelligence’s large objective has ignited a slew of questions and debates. So much so that there is no widely agreed description of the field.

HOW DOES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORK?

Artificial intelligence can be classified into two categories:

AI with a limited scope: This kind of artificial intelligence, also known as “weak AI,” works in a restricted sense and is a simulation of human intelligence. Although narrow AI is always based on executing a single task exceedingly well, these devices work under much more restrictions and limits than even the most simple human intellect. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): AGI, also known as “Strong AI,” is the kind of artificial intelligence that we see in movies like Westworld’s robots or Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Data. AGI is a computer that has general intelligence and can use that intelligence to solve any problem, just as a human can.

HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Ancient Greek mythology included intelligent robots and artificial beings for the first time. The development of syllogism and its introduction to deductive logic by Aristotle was a watershed moment in humanity’s attempt to comprehend its own intellect. Despite its long and deep origins, artificial intelligence as we know it today has only been around for a century.

Basics in Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to systems that can comprehend, read, and function in obtained and generated data. AI today operates in three ways:

Assisted data, which is already freely accessible, enhances what individuals and organisations are already doing.

People and organisations will now do something they couldn’t do before thanks to augmented reality, which is just getting started.

Autonomous intelligence is a form of artificial intelligence that is being designed for the future. It consists of computers that operate independently. Self-driving cars, as they become widely used, would be an example of this.

AI may be said to have certain elements of human intelligence, such as a store of domain-specific knowledge, mechanisms for acquiring new information, and mechanisms for bringing the information to use.

Today’s AI technology includes machine intelligence, expert algorithms, neural networks, and deep learning, to name a few instances or subsets.

Machine learning employs mathematical methods to allow computers to “learn” (e.g., boost output over time) from data rather than being directly programmed. Machine learning performs well when it is focused on a single goal rather than a broad mission.

Expert systems are computer programmes that address problems in specific domains. They solve problems and make decisions using fuzzy rules-based logic and closely selected bodies of information, mimicking the thinking of human experts.

Neural networks are a programming model inspired by biology that allows a machine to learn from observational data. Each node in a neural network assigns a weight to its data, showing how right or incorrect it is in relation to the process at hand. The sum of these weights is then used to calculate the final product.

Deep learning is a form of machine learning that is focused on learning data representations rather than task-specific algorithms. Deep learning-based image processing is now often superior to humans in a range of fields, including autonomous vehicles, scan analyses, and medical diagnosis.

Applying artificial intelligence to cybersecurity

AI is well-suited to solving some of the world’s most challenging challenges, and cybersecurity is surely one of them. Machine learning and AI will be used to “keep up with the bad guys” in today’s ever-evolving cyber-attacks and the explosion of smartphones, automating vulnerability identification and responding more effectively than conventional software-driven approaches. Cybersecurity, on the other hand, poses several special challenges:

A wide assault field.

Thousands or tens of thousands of computers per company

There are hundreds of attack vectors to choose from.

There are significant shortages of trained security personnel.

Massive amounts of data that have developed beyond the reach of a human issue

Many of these issues should be solved by a self-learning, AI-based cybersecurity posture management system. There are technologies available to better train a self-learning machine to collect data from around the business information systems in a continuous and autonomous manner.

Following that, the data is processed and used to conduct pattern correlation across millions to billions of signals specific to the enterprise attack surface. As a result, new levels of intelligence are being fed to human teams in a variety of cybersecurity categories, including:

IT Asset Inventory – compiling a full and comprehensive list of all computers, customers, and programmes with links to information systems. In inventory, categorization and calculation of market criticality are also important.

Threat Exposure – Hackers, like anyone else, track patterns, so what’s trendy for hackers shifts on a daily basis. AI-driven cybersecurity tools can provide up-to-date awareness of global and industry-specific risks, allowing you to prioritise threats based not just on what might be used to target your company, but rather on what is most likely to be used to attack your company.

Controls Effectiveness – To sustain a strong security strategy, it’s critical to consider the effects of the different security tools and processes you’ve implemented. AI will help you find out where the information security software excels and where it falls short.

AI-based programmes can forecast if and when you are most likely to be compromised, taking into account IT asset inventory, vulnerability presence, and controls effectiveness, so you can allocate resources and tools to places of vulnerability. Prescriptive knowledge obtained from AI research will assist you in configuring and optimising controls and processes to produce the best performance.

Incident response – AI-powered applications may have a better background for prioritising and responding to vulnerability threats, for fast incident response, and for surfacing root causes in order to eliminate bugs and prevent potential problems.

Explainability of recommendations and review is key to using AI to complement human information security teams. This is crucial for achieving buy-in from stakeholders around the company, recognising the effect of various information management initiatives, and reporting relevant data to all stakeholders, including end customers, security operations, the CISO, auditors, the CIO, CEO, and the board of directors.

Adversaries’ Use of AI

Instead of actively running after malicious behaviour, IT security practitioners will use AI and machine learning (ML) to implement sound cybersecurity policies and shrink the threat surface. State-sponsored criminals, terrorist cyber-gangs, and ideological hackers, on the other hand, may use the same AI tactics to bypass protections and evade detection.

The “AI/cybersecurity conundrum” exists here. Companies will need to be aware of the possible drawbacks of AI as it matures and expands into the cybersecurity space:

Hackers can defeat security algorithms by targeting the data they train on and the warning flags they search for, so machine learning and artificial intelligence can help protect against cyber-attacks.

Hackers may also use AI to circumvent protections and build mutating malware that alters its configuration in order to prevent detection.

AI systems can provide misleading findings and false negatives if they are not fed large amounts of data and incidents.

Organizations would fail to retrieve the right data that feeds their AI programmes if data theft goes undetected, with potentially catastrophic results.

Conclusion 

AI has emerged as a necessary technology for augmenting the contributions of human information management teams in recent years. Since humans can no longer defend the complex organisational attack surface effectively, AI offers much-needed research and vulnerability detection that can be used by cybersecurity experts to reduce intrusion risk and enhance protection posture. In the field of security, AI can recognise and prioritise danger, detect malware on a network instantly, guide incident response, and detect intrusions before they occur.

AI enables cybersecurity teams to form powerful human-machine collaborations that extend our expertise, enhance our lives, and propel cybersecurity in ways that seem to be greater than the number of their parts.

Do You Hear The Sound Of Bot?

What is a Bot?

A bot (short for “robot”) is an Internet-based automated software. Many bots operate on their own, while others only execute commands when given explicit orders. Easy, structurally repetitive tasks are performed much faster by bots than by humans. Bots are usually innocuous and important for making the internet valuable and useful, but when used by cybercriminals, they can be malignant and harmful.

History

The advent of Internet Relay Chat, abbreviated IRC, in 1988 gave rise to some of the first internet bots. Early IRC bots supported users with automatic resources and sat in a channel to discourage the server from shutting it down due to inactivity. Web crawlers with the first search engines is another early bot used on the internet. WebCrawler, which was developed in 1994, was the first bot to search web sites. AOL was the first to use it in 1995 and Excite acquired it in 1997. BackRub was the name assigned to the most popular internet crawler, Googlebot when it was first created in 1996. Some of the earliest botnet programs were Sub7 and Pretty Park, which were a Trojan and a worm, respectively. They were relinquished into the IRC network in 1999. The purport of these bots was to install themselves furtively on machines when they connect to an IRC channel so they could heedfully auricularly discern for maleficent commands. In the year 2000, the next notable botnet programme, GTbot, appeared on the IRC network. This bot was a spoof mIRC client capable of launching some of the first DDoS attacks. In the years since, botnet creators have been able to use infected machines to carry out a variety of attacks, including ransomware and data theft. Botnets eventually moved away from IRC and began communicating via HTTP, SSL, and ICMP. Botnets have become more common in recent years, and experts consider them to be a hacker’s favourite tool. “Storm” was the name of one of the largest botnets that appeared in 2007. This bot was thought to have infected up to 50 million computers and was used for a variety of criminal activities, including stock price manipulation and identity theft.

How Bots have shaped today’s internet

Without bots, the internet as we know it today does not work. Web crawlers, such as Googlebot, help us to easily locate the most important information by browsing through millions of webpages in a matter of seconds. Chatbots, also known as “chatterbots,” have become important for the seamless running of chat rooms and dialogue windows on a number of websites. Chatterbots have advanced to the point that they can also trick humans, as shown by the Cleverbot. Bot traffic currently accounts for nearly half of all internet traffic. Bots are important for the internet to act as an efficient and useful platform, but they also pose a serious threat to networks, ISPs, and users when generated by criminals. In the coming years, the IT industry will develop more sophisticated methods for distinguishing bots from humans, while search engines will continue to optimise bots to better understand human language and behaviour in order to improve the internet.

Good Bots Vs Bad Bots

Good Bots

Bots that are ‘good’ are an important aspect of the internet. In 2015, good bots accounted for roughly 36% of all web traffic. In 2015, bots developed primarily to damage websites, steal data, or conduct other malicious actions accounted for at least 18 per cent of all web traffic.

Bad bots

Bots that commit malicious actions, steal data, or inflict harm to sites or networks by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which include overwhelming a site with much more data requests than it can manage, are known as bad bots. Poor bots are commonly used to search servers, machines, and networks for exploits that can be exploited to hack them. Botnets are used to coordinate bad bots. C&Cs, or command and control servers, are in possession of these botnets. This centralization on a few C&Cs made botnets very vulnerable for Take-Downs. Make sure the C&Cs goes offline and the botnet will be not actionable anymore. Botnets communicating via P2P are increasingly replacing this definition, making it much more difficult to identify and rendering some current security solutions redundant. Bot identification is (or should be) a high priority for any organisation that has an online presence. Malicious bots currently account for about a third of all web traffic, and they are responsible for many of the more serious security risks that online companies face today.

Bot Detection

Bot Detection is (or should be) a high priority for any organisation that has an online presence. Malicious bots currently account for about a third of all web traffic, and they are responsible for many of the more serious security risks that online companies face today.

Bot management

Bot management is a technique for filtering which bots are granted access to your site properties. You may make helpful bots like Google crawlers while blocking harmful or unwanted bots like those used in cyberattacks using this technique. Bot control techniques are meant to identify bot activity, find the origins of the bot, and assess the purpose of the activity. Bot management utilises a combination of security, machine learning, and web development tools to reliably analyse bots and block malicious behaviour while leaving legitimate bots untouched.

How does Bot management work?

Bot control strategies have developed to balance attackers’ bot strengths and uses. Modern bot management faces a two-pronged challenge: detecting intruder bots who are becoming highly adept at imitating human users and separating malicious bots from legitimate bots, which can be crucial to an organization’s day-to-day operations. To detect and control bots, three major methods are currently used.

  1. Static approach—identifies header information and site requests that are considered to be associated with bad bots using static analysis methods. This is a passive technique that can only detect recognised and active bots.

  2. To classify bots, a challenge-based approach is used, which uses active tasks or tests that are challenging or impossible for bots to achieve. CAPTCHA verification, the ability to run JavaScript, and cookie acceptance are all common challenges.

  3. Behavioural approach—evaluates prospective consumers’ activity and correlates it to known trends to validate their identity. This approach classifies behaviour and distinguishes between human users, good bots, and bad bots using multiple profiles.

To ensure that a greater number of bots are detected, the most successful bot management methods incorporate all three techniques. Combining techniques improves your chances of detecting bots, even if they were created recently or have dynamic behaviours.  There are bot mitigation services available in addition to self-management of bots. To apply the above techniques and identify bots, these services use automated tools. To prevent API abuse, most services monitor your API traffic and implement rate-limiting. Instead of focusing on a single IP, rate-limiting allows services to restrict bots across your entire landscape.

Conclusion

In the future, more and more businesses will create software. Bots may gather information and interpret it in order to take critical actions. Bots are used to automate personal tasks and everyday activities such as exercise, childcare, infants, e-learning, and so on. Chatbots are becoming more popular in a number of market functions and user applications. Automation will make the origins extra clear in the future. Moving forward, automation will deepen its roots ever further and solve all of the chatbot problems that companies face. Your customer path and engagement would be positively impacted if you have a thorough understanding of your company criteria and introduce bots accordingly.

Ransom in the world of Malware: Understanding Ransomware

Understanding the basics

Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to data or systems unless a ransom is paid and threatens to publish it, Some Ransomware has a deadline. If the victim fails to pay up by the deadline then they may lose the data. Most exchanges are done via Bitcoin. 

Ransomware is a rapidly increasing threat to the data files of individuals and companies. On an infected computer, it encrypts data and retains the key to decrypt the files before the user pays a ransom. This malware is responsible for damages of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Due to the large amounts of money to be made, new versions appear frequently.

Mechanics of Ransomware

There is a very compressed timeline of an attack. From exploitation and poisoning to getting the ransom note, you frequently have 15 minutes.

Step 1: Infection-Ransomware is downloaded and installed on the computer secretly the most common way of sending ransomware is phishing mail.

Step 2: Execution-Ransomware searches and maps locations for targeted types of files, including locally stored files, and network-accessible mapped and unmapped networks. Any ransomware attacks also erase all backup files and directories or encrypt them.

Step 3: Encryption-Ransomware uses the encryption key to share a key with the Command and Control Server to scramble all files located during the execution step. Access to the data is also blocked.

Step 4: User Notification-Ransomware adds instruction files that detail the method of pay for decryption and uses those files to show the user a ransom note.

Step 5: Cleanup – Ransomware normally terminates and destroys itself, leaving behind the instruction files for payment.

Step 6 : Payment: In the payment directions, the victim taps a connection that brings the victim to a web page with extra details about how to make the appropriate payment. To prevent detection by network traffic monitoring, secret TOR services are also used to encapsulate and obfuscate these messages.

Step 7 : Decryption: The victim will obtain the decryption key after the victim pays the ransom, normally from the Bitcoin address of the offender. There’s no assurance, that the key will be delivered as promised.

Types of Ransomware

There are primarily two kinds of ransomware:

  1. Locker Ransomware – Ransomware from Locker denies access to computing services. It is based on blocking access to a computer such that it is difficult to access the GUI. From there, it prompts payment by users to unlock the unit.
  2. Crypto ransomware – Crypto ransomware denies access to files on the computer. It’s possible to access the user interface on the computer, but the files can’t. By encrypting the files and requesting payment for decryption, it does this.

Examples of Ransomware Attacks

CryptoLocker

Cryptolocker was one of 2010’s first global ransomware attacks; it infected more than 500,000 computers at its peak in 2013 and 2014. A botnet, distributed through spam email, was used to encrypt user files. Overall, CryptoLocker harvested around $3 million with its variants taken into account.

Teslacrypt

Gamers were aimed at TeslaCrypt, capitalizing on the importance that devoted users put on files such as saved maps, sports, and material for downloadable video games. For ransom, it encrypted these files. Interestingly enough, the attack developers ended up releasing the encryption key publicly.

Simplelocker

SimpleLocker is one of the first smartphone ransomware attacks on a wide scale. It encrypts mobile files through a Trojan downloader, targeting Android users.

Wannacry

One of 2017’s most notable attacks, WannaCry has raced across the United States and Europe, affecting hospitals in particular. A noted Microsoft vulnerability known as EternalBlue took advantage of the attack. Although the patch was released, many systems were unable to implement updates and were left vulnerable, leading to a high volume of infections.

Is there a way to avoid this? 

Preventive mechanisms 

Proactive approaches are a must when it comes to preventing ransomware attacks. An organization needs to plan to stop a computer infection, similar to immunizing yourself from a physical virus.

Update Security – New variants of ransomware are regularly published. Safety tools and operating systems are continuously modified to prevent becoming the target of the latest upgrade. Upgrade any obsolete and unpatched applications and keep up to date on anti-virus rules and signatures. Do not make the work of cybercriminals easy.

Bolster Firewalls- To distinguish and evaluate different kinds of network traffic, firewalls are used. Data is provided when ransomware attacks are publicized to help filter out the threat. In WannaCry, for example, the call was to directly reject all (TCP) Port 445-SMB, (UDP) 137, (UDP) 138, and (TCP) 139 traffic.

Back up your files regularly and frequently – The harm caused by a ransomware attack can be greatly reduced by getting vigilant data backup processes in place, as encrypted data can be recovered without paying a ransom.

A Guide to a career in Cyber Forensics

What is Cyber Forensics?

Cyber Forensics, also known as computer forensics, plays a vital role in investigation of Cyber attacks and Cyber crime. It involves extraction and analysis of digital evidence such as an electronic document and storage mediums.

Cyber Forensics deals with the extraction, preservation, collection, validation, identification, analysis, interpretation, documentation, and presentation of digital evidence derived from any such device that has a storage memory and basic computing power. Cyber Forensics experts are proficient in data recovery that encompasses recovering lost, encrypted, deleted, or damaged data and discovering hidden data residing in a system for investigation.

History

  • In 1978,first computer crime was recognized in Florida.
  • 1984 work began in the FBI Computer Analysis and Response Team (CART).
  • In 1992, Computer Forensics was introduced in academics.
  • 1995,International Organization on Computer Evidence (IOCE) came into force.
  • In 2000, the First FBI Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory was setup.
  • In 2002, first book on digital forensic called “Best practices for Computer Forensics” was published by Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE).

Since then, several agencies, each with their own cyber crime divisions,digital forensics labs, dedicated onsite and field agents, collaborating actively in an effort to take on tasks.

India on Digital Forensics

India ranks 15 in the 2019 ranking and moved up to 18 in the 2020 rankings,in inverted scoring system.India also ranks 11th worldwide in the number of attacks caused by servers that were hosted in the country, which accounts of 2,299,682 incidents in 2020 as compared to 854,782 incidents detected in 2019, says the source.

The need for computer forensic experts is growing rapidly. According to a source, the Global Digital Forensics Market is estimated to reach $7 billion by 2024.As India continues to embrace technology and digitization, cybersecurity and digital forensics must be given maximum priority. Cyber forensics is the foundation for an effective and defensive measure against cyberattacks on civilians and government targets. It enables investigators to analyze computer systems after an attack to determine the extent of damage, recover lost data and find the perpetrators.

Opportunities

Several private investigation and cyber security firms hire freshers to perform data recovery.The average salary of a Computer Forensic Investigator is 758,388 per annum and may rise to 11-12 Lakhs pa within 5 years. This super-specialization field allows individuals to get into security and opens the widely acclaimed field of Cyber Security and Incident Response where packages can begin from 4 lakhs and rise up to 12 pa within a span of 5 years.These roles can be satisfied by Digital forensic students. Computer science engineers with knowledge in digital forensics can also cater to the field. Software engineers can perform source-code forensics. Although they are far and rare in India,they come with heavy packages. If you are planning a career in Cyber Forensics, the future is bright.

How to become a Computer Forensic Investigator

Get certified

A Certification in Cyber forensics will provide you with a foundation investigation and computer use,technologies and techniques used in the field. Experience will further advance one’s career and open senior job opportunies.

  • Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator(CHFI)
  • Texial Cyber Forensic Investigator

Get your first Job

Computer forensic jobs can be found in both Government and Private sector.

  • Security Consultant
  • Malware Analyst
  • Computer Forensic Investigator
  • Computer Forensic Technician
  • Information Security Analyst
  • Information Systems Security Analyst
  • Forensic Computer Analyst

Advance with experience

With years of experience one can advance their career as Senior Forensic Expert or start their own practice.

Skills needed

  • Knowledge of Digital storage,Computer OS,Basic programming,Malware & its types and Cyber Law.
  • Knowledge in Ethical/Legal aspects
  • Soft skills-Intuitive,Analytical,Logical,Critical,Problem solving,Communication.

Topics Covered in a Cyber Forensics Course 

The following section shall provide you an outline of the curriculum of Cyber Forensics, Cyber Crimes, Cyber Security & Cyber Law. 

  • Computer Forensics in Today’s World 
  • Computer Forensics Investigation Process 
  • Understanding Hard Disks and File Systems 
  • Operating System Forensics 
  • Defeating Anti-Forensics Techniques 
  • Data Acquisition and Duplication 
  • Network Forensics 
  • Investigating Web Attacks 
  • Database Forensics 
  • Cloud Forensics 
  • Malware Forensics 
  • Investigating E-mail Crimes 
  • Mobile Forensics 
  • Investigative Reports
Digital forensic has a board scope, thus copious amounts of tools go into an investigation. Digital forensic  has a number of sub categories ,for example  Mobile forensic, Memory forensic, Network forensic, Email forensic etc. Number of  tools are available for the same.Some of the major tools are:
Memory Forensic tools 
Autopsy 
X way forensic 
Ftk imager 
Bulkextractor 
Formost 
scalpel 
Email Forensic tools 
Xtraxtor 
Stellar email forensic 
Network Forensic tools 
Wireshark 
Network miner 
Mobile Forensic tools 
AF Logical OSE 
Open source android forensic 
LIME
 

Case Study

Krenar Lusha,2009

Krenar Lusha an illegal immigrant of the United Kingdom was arrested based on his internet search pattern. On conducting search on his laptop, it was found that he had downloaded a manual of 4300 GM to make explosives. When they searched his apartment for further investigation, the police also recovered documents entitled The Car Bomb Recognition Guide, 71.8 l of petrol, 4.5lb of potassium nitrate, Improvised Radio Detonation Techniques,Middle Eastern Terrorist Bomb Design, and The Mujahideen Explosives Handbook. The chats via MSN were also recovered from his laptop. He presented himself as a terrorist who wanted to see Jewish and Americans suffer. These conversations were retrieved from his computer and used as digital evidence in the court.

Cyber crime has been on rise for years.As people progressively conduct their personal lives and business online,the data becomes a leverage.With constantly growing cyber attacks the need for Cyber Forensic experts is growing rapidly.According to a source,the job demand in Cyber Forensics will rise upto 32% by 2028.

Texial Cyber Forensic Investigator-Texial Cybersecurity

The Texial Cyber Forensic Investigator training is a comprehensive program that consists of theoretical as well as practical training sessions to give students a hands-on learning experience in analyzing computer systems in the aftermath of a cyberattack and discern their causation.

Top 5 Cyber-Attack Predictions for 2025 and Prevention Strategies

Top 5 Cyber-Attack Predictions for 2022 and Prevention Strategies-texial

Let us understand what cyber-attacks are

In the simplest terms, Cyber-Attacks is an attack conducted against single or more computers or networks by cybercriminals using one or more computers. A Cyber-Attack will disable computers maliciously, steal data or use a damaged computer as a starting point for other attacks. Cybercriminals use a range of tools, including malware, phishing, ransomware, denial of service, among other methods, to launch a cyber-attack. 

Why should you be concerned about a Cyber-Attack? What damage can it cause you?

A total of at least 57 different ways in which cyber-attacks can have a detrimental impact on society, people, and corporations, and even nations have been described by cybersecurity analysts, varying from threats to life, triggering depression, regulatory penalties, or disturbing everyday operations. Cyber miscreants are a big deal. Electrical blackouts, failure of military equipment, and violations of national security secrets can be caused by cyber-attacks. They will allow important, confidential documents such as medical records to be compromised. They can disrupt the networks of phones and computers or paralyze systems, rendering data unavailable. 

What impact do Cyber-Attacks have on us?

The effects of a single, successful cyber-attack can have far-reaching consequences, including financial losses, intellectual property theft, and loss of confidence and trust among consumers. 

  1. Monetary impact– There could be immense overall monetary damages from cybercrime. Every day, more than 1.5 million people fell victim to some form of cyber fraud, ranging from basic login theft to extensive monetary scams, according to a 2012 study by Symantec. This adds up to more than $110 billion dollars lost to cyber fraud globally last year, with an estimated loss of $197 per victim.
  2. Emotional impact– Nearly 65% of global internet users and 73% of US web surfers are victims of cybercriminals, including computer viruses, online credit card fraud, and identity theft. America ranks eighth, behind China (83%) and Brazil and India, as the most abused nations (76 percent). A study conducted co-related emotional well-being to the effect of cybercrime reveals that the greatest responses of victims are felt furious (58 percent), frustrated (51 percent), and deceived (40 percent), and they are blamed for being assaulted in certain instances. Just 3% do not believe that would happen to them, and almost 80% do not expect cybercriminals to be taken to justice, resulting in an ironic hesitation and a feeling of helplessness to act.

    The cybercrime of piracy has had a significant influence on the fields of film, music, and applications. Victim reports are difficult to quantify and much more difficult to validate, with figures varying from hundreds of millions to hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

    3. Social Impact– Cyber predators take full advantage of the Internet’s anonymity, transparency, and interconnectedness, thereby attacking the very roots of our current knowledge system. Bots, computer viruses, cyberbullying, cyber harassment, cyber warfare, cyber pornography, denial of service assaults, hacktivism, stealing of identity, ransomware, and spam may be part of cybercrime. Law enforcement agencies have failed to keep pace with cybercriminals, who cost billions each year to the global economy. 

Let us see some examples of cyber-attacks in the past to comprehend the threat of cyber-attacks better

Defense Hack Department-

 Those who yearn for a Department of Defence security position will have their job cut out for them. Want-to-be hackers attempt to attack his security system on a regular basis, and back in 1999, a Florida teenager managed to compromise the computer system of the military. Jonathan James was able to intercept highly classified emails by installing backdoor software within the computer system of the Defence Threat Reduction Agency. These included information on the International Space Station life support code and many other important matters. 

Virus Melissa–

Perhaps Melissa was created in 1999 by a New Jersey programmer with too much idle time on his hands, the first major computer virus that made the world’s population realize that their computers were not always safe. As a simple Microsoft Word program, David L. Smith disguised his virus, and he sent it to innumerable unsuspecting recipients. It then resends itself from the address book of each infected computer to the first 50 individuals. Melissa had compromised a full 20% of the world’s computers a long time ago, and big businesses such as Intel and Microsoft were forced to shut down all outgoing mail programs until the problem could be resolved.

The 1988 Robert Tappan Morris and the Morris Worm–

Morris, a student at Cornell University in the USA, maker of the first digital worm distributed via the Internet, believed that his progeny was not meant to hurt but was created with the harmless intent to determine the vastness of cyberspace. When a worm encountered a critical error, things went pear-shaped and morphed into a virus that replicated rapidly and began infecting other computers, resulting in a denial of service. The harm? 6000 computers were reportedly affected, causing repair bills of an estimated $10-$100 million dollars. While this incident may be called an unfortunate tragedy, it played a role in inspiring the calamitous style of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that we see today.

Predictions of cyber-attacks for 2022

One of the major concerns of the upcoming threats to society regarding Cyberattacks must prevail along the lines of Invasive Technology.

  1. Invasive Technology- With sensors, cameras, and other devices that are embedded in homes, offices, factories, and public spaces, new technologies will further invade every element of daily life. Between the digital and physical worlds, a constant stream of data will flow, with attacks on the digital world directly affecting the physical world and creating dire consequences for privacy, well-being, and personal safety. With little knowledge about cyber threats, people may not understand the importance of cybersecurity, hence leaving a weakling in the infrastructure of their core business set-up. While big companies will not face much of the heat from attackers as they invest big in cybersecurity, it is the little business owners that will perhaps take the hit.
  2. Neglected Infrastructure– Threats from an increasing number of sources will face the technical infrastructure upon which organizations rely on man-made, natural, accidental, and malicious. Even short periods of downtime will have serious consequences in a world where constant connectivity and real-time processing are vital for doing business. Opportunistic attackers will find new ways to exploit vulnerable infrastructure, steal or manipulate critical data and cripple operations. It is not only the availability of information and services that will be compromised. Opportunistic attackers will discover new ways to target fragile networks, intercept or control sensitive data and cripple operations. It is not just the provision of information and resources that will be affected.
  3. The undermining of the business digital landscape- As new technology and the next generation of workers tarnish corporate reputations, undermine the credibility of knowledge, and inflict financial loss, bonds of confidence will break down. There will be a public criticism of those who lack accountability, put trust in the wrong people and controls, and use technologies in immoral ways. This morale crisis between companies, staff, customers, and clients would threaten the capacity of organizations to perform digital business.
  4. The threat to healthcare companies- Health care companies are under threat as they are the most targeted victims of phishing.
  5. Cloud under attack- The growing popularity of public cloud systems has resulted in a spike in cyber-attacks targeting infrastructure inside these networks and confidential data. As a result, a wide array of attacks has been perpetrated by cloud assets. Misconfiguring cloud environments this year was one of the key triggers of many cases of data misuse and assaults faced by organizations around the world. With updated techniques capable of evading simple cloud security products, cloud crypto-mining campaigns have increased. Docker hosts have been exposed and the crypto-mining campaigns of rivals operating in the cloud have been shut down. Researchers from Check Point have also seen a spike in the number of exploits against public cloud infrastructures that could stretch to and past 2022.
  6. Mobile devices under attack- Malware capable of stealing payment records, passwords, and funds from victims’ bank accounts has been driven out of the general threat environment in combination with the rising use of banks’ mobile apps and has also become a very widespread mobile threat.

  Prevention Strategies

Despite the prevalence of cyber threats, 99 percent of companies are not adequately covered, Check Point report states so. A cyber-attack, however, is preventable. An end-to-end cybersecurity infrastructure that is multi-layered and covers all networks, endpoints, mobile devices, and the cloud is the secret to cyber protection. You can consolidate monitoring of several security levels with the right design and control policies into a single glass pane. This helps you to correlate incidents through all network environments, mobile infrastructures, and cloud providers.

Main Cyber Attack Protection measures:

  1. Maintaining ventilation for protection.
  2. Choose avoidance over-identification.
  3. Protect all vectors for attack.
  4. Implement the most sophisticated innovations.
  5. Maintain up-to-date threat information.

The Definitive Guide to Steganography with examples using latest tools.

Steganography texial

Introduction to steganography and its analysis

Steganography is an practice of concealing a message inside an file,here the recipient or the intruder is unaware of the fact that observed data contains concealed information. Steganalysis is a study of detecting concealed messages from the steganography

Origin

The term ‘Steganography’ is derived from Greek word meaning ” covered or hidden writting” which dates back to 440 BC when the Greeks scraped the wax off of tablets, wrote on the wood underneath, and cover the message with the scraped off wax. The leaders used this technique to hide messages sent to other leaders.

The Germans introduced microdots during World War II, which were complete images, documents, and plans reduced into size of a dot and were attached to normal paperwork. 

Null Ciphers were also used to hide secret messages in an innocent looking normal message.

Steganography vs Cryptography

With the drastic growth of digital media, assurance of protection has become a genuine concern. Cryptography and Steganography are security providing techniques. 

Cryptography is about concealing the content of the message whereas Steganography is about concealing the existence of the message. In steganography the latter does not attempt to hide the fact that a concealed message exists. 

The advantage of Steganography is that stego image does not attract attention while a visible encrypted message can arouse suspicion. Whereas cryptography protects the confidentiality of a message, Steganography can be said to protect both messages and communicating parties. 

Steganography is a practice of concealing messages where apart from the sender and intended recipient,no one suspects the existence of the message, a form of security is assured.

Types of Steganography

  • Text Steganography
  • Image Steganography
  • Audio Steganography
  • Video Steganography
  • Network Steganography (Protocol Steganography)

Text Steganography

Text Steganography is concealing message within a text file.Techniques used to conceal the data are:

  • Lingustic method
  • Formed based method
  • Random and statistical generated method

Image Steganography

Image Steganography is concealing message within an image file. The image selected called the cover-image and the image obtained after steganography is called the Stego-image. Techniques used to conceal the data are:

  • Encrypt and scatter
  • Least significant bit insertion
  • Reduntant pattern encoding
  • Coding and cosine transformation
  • Masking and Filtering

Audio Steganography

In Audio Steganography the message is embedded in the audio signal which alters the binary sequence of the corresponding audio file.Techniques used to conceal the data are:

  • Least Significant Bit Encoding 
  • Priority Encoding 
  • Phase Coding 
  • Spread Spectrum

Video Steganography

In Video Steganography the message is embedded in digital video format. Also large amount of data can be concealed.The two classes of Video Steganography are:

  • Embedding data directly into the compressed data stream.
  • Embedding data in uncompressed raw video and compress it later.

Network Steganography(Protocol Steganography)

In Network Steganography the message is embedded within network control protocols used in data transmission such TCP, UDP etc.

Latest tools used for Steganography

Xiao Steganography

Xiao Steganography is an open source tool,which also allows users to encrypt the concealed file with a number of encryption algorithms (including RC4 and 3DES) and hashing algorithms (including SHA and MD5).

Download

rSteg

rSteg is an user friendly java based tool,let’s you conceal the message in image files.

Download

Steghide

Steghide is an open source tool,let’s you conceal the message in image and audio files.

Download

SSuite Picsel

SSuite Picsel is an open source tool,let’s you conceal the message in image files.

Download

OpenPuff

OpenPuff is an professional tool,let’s you conceal the message in image, audio ,video and flash files.

Download

Steganography has become one of the most dangerous forms of Cybersecurity attacks,here’s how

The hacker’s use steganography as weapon by concealing malicious data,it contains the ability to go undetected without the use of too many tools and systems. It is extremely complicated for organizations to detect this attack. Hence, organizations have to up-scale their security techniques and tweak the defense mechanism using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.Security and Vigilant techniques are incorporated into the strategy and infrastructural security.Using these pointers steganographic-based attacks can be taken care of significantly.

Texial undertakes comprehensive Cybersecurity training. Training in cybersecurity help in establishing measures and also enables a rapid response to attacks.Check out our Cybersecurity certification program  

Top 99 Ethical Hacking & Cyber Security Interview Question for Job Placement

Top 99 Ethical Hacking & Cyber Security Interview Question for Job Placement texial

Over the years, Cyber Security has gained momentum as a career. Many companies are up scaling their online presence leaning to latest technologies and recent advances. With much of client information found on the internet, assurance of protection has become vital. Any kind of cyber attack is a genuine concern and a risk companies can not take. Thus Cyber Security is a critical requirement in today’s industry.Here are a number of interview questions and answers that would help one get to a better job.

Q1.What is hacking?

Hacking is identifying weakness in computer systems or networks to exploit its weaknesses to gain access.

Q2.What is ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking is an process of locating weaknesses and vulnerabilities of computer and information systems by duplicating the intent and actions of malicious hackers. Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, intrusion testing, or red teaming. 

Q3.What are the types of hackers? Explain.

White hat hackers- A hacker who gains access to systems with a view to fix the identified weaknesses.

Black hat hacker- A hacker who gains unauthorized access to computer systems for personal gain .The intension is usually to steal corporate data, violate privacy rights, transfer funds.,etc

Grey hat hacker- A hacker who is between ethical and black hat hackers, he/she breaks into computer systems without authority with a view to indentify weaknesses and reveal them to the owner.

Hacktivists-A hacker who utilizes technology to announce a social, ideological, religious, or political message.

Script Kiddie- A non-expert who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others, usually with little understanding of the underlying concept ,hence the term kiddie.

Q4.What are the responsibilities of ethical hacker?

·        An ethical hacker must seek authorization from the organization that owns the system. Hackers should obtain complete approval before performing any security assessment on the system or network.

·        Determine the scope of their assessment and make known their plan to the organization. 

·        Report any security breaches and vulnerabilities found in the system or network. 

·        Keep their discoveries confidential. As their purpose is to secure the system or network, ethical hackers should agree to and respect their non-disclosure agreement. 

·        Erase all traces of the hack after checking the system for any vulnerability. It prevents malicious hackers from entering the system through the identified loopholes.

Q5.What are the pros &cons of ethical hacking?

Pros 

·        To fight against cyber terrorism and national security breaches. 

·        To take preventive measures against hackers. 

·        To detect vulnerabilities and close the loop holes in a system or a network. 

·        To prevent access to malicious hackers. 

·        To provide security to banking and financial settlements. 

Cons 

·        Possibility of using the data against malicious hacking activities. 

·        May corrupt the files of an organization. 

·        Possibility to steal sensitive information on the computer system.

Q6.What are the types of hacking?Explain.

Website hacking-Hacking a website means taking unauthorized control over a web server and its associated software such as databases and other interfaces.

Network Hacking: Hacking a network means gathering information about a network by using tools like Telnet,Ping, Netstat, etc. with the intent to harm the network system and hamper its operation.

Email Hacking: It includes getting unauthorized access on an Email account and using it without taking the consent of its owner.

Ethical Hacking: Ethical hacking involves finding weaknesses in a computer or network system for testing purpose and finally getting them fixed.

Password Hacking: This is the process of recovering secret passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system.

Computer Hacking: This is the process of stealing computer ID and password by applying hacking methods and getting unauthorized access to a computer system.

Q7.What are the phases of hacking?

·        Information Gathering 

·        Scanning & Enumeration 

·        Vulnerability assessment 

·        Exploitation 

·        Clearing log

Q8.What is CIA Triangle?

·        Confidentiality : Keeping the information secret. 

·        Integrity : Keeping the information unaltered. 

·        Availability : Information is available to the authorized parties at all times.

Q9.What are the types of ethical hackers?

·        Grey Box hackers 

·        Black Box hackers 

·        White Box hackers

Q10.What is the difference between IP and MAC address?

IP (internet protocol)address

MAC(machine access control) address

To every device IP address is assigned, so that device can be located on the network(logical address).

A MAC address is a unique serial number assigned to every network interface on every device(physical address).

Q11.What are the tools used for ethical hacking?

The most popular tools are listed below: 

·        John the Ripper 

·        Metasploit 

·        Nmap 

·        Acunetix 

·        Wireshark 

·        SQLMap 

·        OpenVAS 

·        IronWASP 

·        Nikto 

·        Netsparker

Q12.What is a virus?

It is a type of malware that spreads by embedding a copy of itself and becomes a part of other programs. Viruses spread from one computer to other while sharing the software or document they are attached to using a network, file sharing, disk, or infected email attachments. 

Q13.What is a worm?

They replicate functional copy of themselves and do not require a host program or human help to propagate. Advanced worms leverage encryption, ransomware, and wipers to harm their targets.

Q14.What is Phishing?

Phishing involves a process of contacting the target user by email, phone or text message and gathering sensitive information like credit card details, passwords, etc.

Q15.What is DDoS Attack?

 Distributed denial of service is a malicious attempt to interrupt regular traffic of a targeted server or network by flooding the target with a profuse internet traffic.

Q16.What is SQL injection?

SQL injection is a web hacking technique used to destroy a database. It executes malicious SQL statements and controls a database server behind a web application. Hackers make use of these statements to bypass the security measures of the application.

Q17.What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malware, which restricts users from accessing their personal files or system and demands a ransom to regain access to them. Depending on the severity of the attack ransomware is categorized into three types, they are: 

·         Master boot record(MBR) ransomware 

·         Lock screen ransomware 

·         Encryption ransomware

Q18.What is Cryptojacking?

Malicious crypto mining or Cryptojacking is a type of online threat which uses the machine resources to mine forms of digital money known as cryptocurrency. This process can be carried out on a mobile device or on a computer.

Q19.What is Trojan Horse?

A type of malware usually hidden inside of software that user downloads and installs from the net.

Q20.Name & explain types of Trojans.

Trojan-Downloader: It is a type of virus that downloads and installs other malware.

Ransomware: It is a type of Trojan that can encrypt the data on your computer/device. 

                

Trojan-Droppers: These are complex programs used by cybercriminals to install malware. Most of the antivirus programs do not identify droppers as malicious, and hence it is used to install viruses.

 

Trojan-Rootkits: It prevents the detection of malware and malicious activities on the computer. 

 

Trojan-Banker: These steal user account-related information such as card payments and online banking.

 

Trojan-Backdoor: It is the most popular type of Trojan, that creates a backdoor to attackers to access the computer later on from remote using a remote access tool (RAT). This Trojan provides complete control over the computer.

Q21.What is Keylogger Trojan?

A malicious software that can monitor your keystroke, logging them to a file and sending them off to remote attackers. When the desired action is observed, it will record the keystroke and captures your login username and password.

Q22.What is Data Breach?

 Data breach comes under the process of a Cyber attack that enables cybercriminals to get unauthorized entry to a computer or a network. This allows them to steal private, confidential, sensitive and financial data of customers or existing users.

Q23.What is cowpatty?

Cowpatty is implemented on an offline dictionary attack against WPA/WPA2 networks utilizing PSK-based verification . Cowpatty can execute an enhanced attack if a recomputed PMK document is accessible for the SSID that is being assessed.

Q24.What is firewall?

A firewall is a network security system that allows or blocks network traffic as per predetermined security rules. These are placed on the boundary of trusted and distrusted networks.

Q25.What is scanning?

Scanning is a set of procedures for identifying hosts, ports and the services attached to a network. Scanning is a critical component for information gathering. It allows the hacker to create a profile on the site of the organization to be hacked. Types of scanning are: 

·        Port scanning 

·        Vulnerability scanning 

·        Network scanning

Q26.What is exploitation?

Exploitation is a part of programmed software or script that allows hackers to gain control over the targeted system/network and exploit its vulnerabilities. 

Q27.What is enumeration?

 Enumeration is the primary phase of ethical hacking that is information gathering. In this phase, the attacker builds an active connection with the victim and tries to gain as much information as possible to find out the weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the system and tries to exploit the system further.

Q28.What is SMTP?

Simple Networking Management Protocol is a protocol for remote monitoring and managing hosts, routers, and other devices on a network.

Q29.What are the different types of numeration in ethical hacking?

·        DNS enumeration 

·        SNMP enumeration 

·        NTP enumeration 

·        SMB enumeration 

·        Linux/Windows enumeration

Q30.What is the difference betweenVulnerability Scanning and Penetration testing?

Vulnerability Scanning

Penetration testing

Automated test

Manual test

Instructive method

Non-Instructive method

Detects and reports vulnerability

Exploits vulnerability and determines the type of access

Continuous

Done once a year

Q31.What is Burpsuite?

Burp Suite is an integrated platform used for attacking net applications. It contains all the tools a hacker would need for attacking any application.

Q32.What is spoofing attack?

A spoofing attack is when a malicious party impersonates another device or user on a network so as to launch attacks against network hosts, steal data, unfold malware or bypass access controls.

Q33.Types of spoofing.

·        ARP Spoofing attack 

·        DNS Spoofing attack 

·        IP Spoofing attack

Q34.What is active reconnaissance?

In active reconnaissance, the attacker engages with the target system, usually conducting a port scan to find any open ports.

Q35.What is passive reconnaissance?

In passive reconnaissance, the attacker gains information regarding the targeted computers and networks while not actively participating with the systems. 

Q36.What is Cross-site scripting?

Cross site scripting is exploiting applications, servers or plug -ins by inserting malicious coding into a link which appears to be a trustworthy source. When users click on this link the malicious code will run as a part of the client’s web request and execute on the user’s computer, allowing attacker to steal information.

Q37.Types of Cross-site scripting

·        Non-persistent 

·        Persistent 

·        Server side versus DOM based vulnerability

Q38.What are the tools in Burp Suite?

·        Spider 

·        Scanner 

·        Proxy 

·        Repeater 

·        Intruder 

·        Comparer 

·        Sequencer 

·        Decoder

Q39.What is Defacement?

 The attacker replaces the organization website with a different page with an intention of defaming the organization. It contains the hackers name, images and may even include comments and background music.

Q40.What is CSRF?

 Cross site request forgery is an attack by a malicious website that will send a request to a web application that the user is already authenticated against from a different website.

Q41.What is Pharming?

The attacker compromises the Domain name system(DNS)servers or the user system so the traffic is directed to the site.

Q42.What is Footprinting?

The process of gathering user’s data and finding possible ways to penetrate into a target system. A hacker tries to collects all the information about the host,organization, network and people before penetrating into a network or a system.

Q43.Name the programming languages used for hacking?

·        C-language 

·        SQL 

·        Python 

·        C++ 

·        JavaScript 

·        Java 

·        Ruby 

·        Lisp 

·        Perl 

·        PHP

Q44.Define malware.

Any form virus with malicious intension which executes without consent of the user or administrator.

Q45.Define Spyware.

A type of malware that is used to spy on an individual or an organization by accessing the system, specific files, camera, voice or keylogging.

Q46.Explain what is Brute Force Hack?

Brute force hack is a technique for hacking password and get access to system and network resources, it takes much time, it needs a hacker to learn about JavaScripts. For this purpose, one can use tool name “Hydra”.

Q47.What are the types of computer based social engineering attacks?Explain what is Phishing?

·         Phishing

·         Baiting 

·         On-line scams

Phishing technique involves sending false e-mails, chats or website to impersonate real system with aim of stealing information from original website.

Q48.What is Mac Flooding?

Mac Flooding is a technique where the security of given network switch is compromised. In Mac flooding the hacker or attacker floods the switch with large number of frames, then what a switch can handle. This make switch behaving as a hub and transmits all packets at all the ports. Taking the advantage of this the attacker will try to send his packet inside the network to steal the sensitive information.

Q49.Explain what is DHCP Rogue Server?

A Rogue DHCP server is DHCP server on a network which is not under the control of administration of network staff. Rogue DHCP Server can be a router or modem. It will offer users IP addresses, default gateway, WINS servers as soon as user’s logged in. Rogue server can sniff into all the traffic sent by client to all other networks.

Q50.Explain how you can stop your website getting hacked?

By adapting following method, you can stop your website from getting hacked

• Sanitizing and Validating user’s parameters: By Sanitizing and Validating user parameters before submitting them to the database can reduce the chances of being attacked by SQL injection

• Using Firewall: Firewall can be used to drop traffic from suspicious IP address if attack is a simple DOS.

 

• Encrypting the Cookies: Cookie or Session poisoning can be prevented by encrypting the content of the cookies, associating cookies with the client IP address and timing out the cookies after some time.

• Validating and Verifying user input: This approach is ready to prevent form tempering by verifying and validating the user input before processing it.

• Validating and Sanitizing headers: This technique is useful against cross site scripting or XSS,this technique includes validating and sanitizing headers, parameters passed via the URL, form parameters and hidden values to reduce XSS attacks.

Q51.Explain what is NTP?

To synchronize clocks of networked computers, NTP (Network Time Protocol) is used. For its primary means of communication UDP port 123 is used. Over the public internet NTP can maintain time to within 10 milliseconds.

Q52.Explain what is MIB?

MIB (Management Information Base) is a virtual database. It contains all the formal description about the network objects that can be managed using SNMP. The MIB database is hierarchical and in MIB each managed objects is addressed through object identifiers (OID).

Q53.Mention what are the types of password cracking techniques?

• AttackBrute Forcing

• AttacksHybrid

• AttackSyllable

• AttackRule

Q54.What is data leakage? How will you detect and prevent it?

Data leak is nothing but data knowledge getting out of the organization in an unauthorized manner. Data will get leaked through numerous ways in which – emails, prints, laptops obtaining lost, unauthorized transfer of data to public portals, removable drives, pictures etc. There are varied controls which may be placed to make sure that the info doesn’t get leaked, many controls will be limiting upload on web websites, following an internal encryption answer, limiting the emails to the interior network, restriction on printing confidential data etc.

Q55.What is Cyber squatting in Cyber security?

Cyber squatting is registering, trafficking or using a domain name with malicious intent to profit from the trademark belonging to someone else.

Q56.Define adware.

A type of malware that will load and display some online or offline Ads in your computer system.

Q57.What is STRIDE?

Spoofing, Tampering, Reputation, Information disclosure, denial of service, Elevation of privilege.

Q58.Define asset.

An asset is any data, device, or other component of the environment that supports information related activities.

Q59.Define threat.

A threat represents a possible danger to the computer system. It represents something that an organization does not want to happen. A successful exploitation of vulnerability is a threat.

Q60.Define vulnerability.

Vulnerability is a flaw or a weakness inside the asset that could be used to gain unauthorized access to it.

Q61.Define risk.

A risk is defined as the impact (damage) resulting from the successful compromise of an asset.

Q62.Define Exploit.

An exploit is something that takes advantage of vulnerability in an asset to cause unintended or unanticipated behavior in a target system,which would allow an attacker to gain access to data or information.

Q63.What is Encryption?

Encryption is a process of converting plain text (normal message) to meaningless text (Cipher text).

Q64.What is Decryption?

Decryption us a process of converting meaningless text (Cipher text) back to its original form (plain text).

Q65.What is TCP/IP?

TCP/IP (Transmission control protocol/internet protocol) is the basic communication language or protocol of the internet. It can also be used as a communications protocol in a private network (either an intranet or an extranet).

Q66.What is OSI model?

The Open Systems Interconnection model(OSI model) is a conceptual model that characterizes and standardizes the communication functions of a telecommunication or computing system without regard to their underlying internal structure and technology.

Q67.What are Network services ?

Network service is an application running on the system. A daemon server is the program that provides a network service. For example: 

·         File server 

·         Online game

·         Printing 

·         File sharing 

·         Directory services 

·         DNS

·         E-mail 

·         Instant messaging

Q68.What are Ports?

A port is essentially a way for 2 devices to connect using a specific protocol. Every service on a machine is assigned a port.

Q69.What is sniffing?

Sniffing is the process of monitoring the network traffic without consent of the user.

Q70.What is Packet sniffing?

Packet is the smallest unit of communication over a computer network. It is also called a block, a segment, a datagram or a cell. The act of capturing data packet across the computer network is called packet sniffing.

Q71.How to prevent packet sniffing?

• Encrypting data you send or receive. (HTTPS) 

• Using trusted Wi-Fi networks. 

• Scanning your network for dangers or issues. 

• Using VPN(Virtual private network).

Q72.What is ARP?

ARP poison routing (APR) or ARP cache poisoning or ARP Spoofing, a method of attacking an Ethernet LAN by updating the target computer’s ARP cache with both a forged ARP request and reply packets in an effort to change the Layer 2 Ethernet MAC address to one that the attacker can monitor.

Q73.What is GPS spoofing?

GPS spoofing is an attack in which a radio transmitter located near the target is used to interfere with a legitimate GPS signals. The attacker can transmit no data at all or could transmit inaccurate coordinates.

Q74.What is Email Spoofing?

Email spoofing is the forgery of an email header so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source.

Q75.What is SSL?

• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security protocol. 

• In this case, SSL is a standard security way for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client. 

• SSL allows sensitive information such as credit card numbers and login credentials to be transmitted securely. 

• The browser and the server need what is called an SSL Certificate to be able to establish a secure connection. 

• Internet users have come to associate their online security with the lock icon that comes with an SSL-secured website or green address bar that comes with an Extended Validation SSL-secured website. SSL-secured websites also begin with https rather than http.

Q76.What are the types of sniffing?

Active sniffing: The traffic is locked and monitored, can be altered. It is used to sniff a switch-based network. It involves injecting the address resolution packets into a target network to switch on the content addressable memory table.

 Passive sniffing: The traffic is locked but can’t be altered. It works with hub devices, and traffic is sent to all the ports. Any traffic that is passing through the unbridged or non-switched network segment can be seen by all the machines on the segment.

Q77.What is data diddling?

The attack that involves altering raw data just before a computer processes it and then changing it back after the processing is completed. The electricity board faced similar problem of data diddling while the department was being computerized.

Q78.What is Salami attack?

The attack is normally prevalent in financial institutions or for the purpose of committing financial crimes. An important feature of this type of offence is that the alteration is so small that it would normally go unnoticed.

Q79.What are Logic bombs?

These are event dependent programs. This implies that these programs are created to do something only when a certain event (known as a trigger event) occurs. E.g. The Chernobyl virus.

Q80.What are Passive security attacks?

Passive attacks are in the nature of eavesdropping on, or monitoring of, transmissions. The goal of the opponent is to obtain information that is being transmitted. Two types of passive attacks are release of message contents and traffic analysis.

Q81.What are Active security attacks?

Active attacks involve some modification of the data stream or the creation of a false stream and can be subdivided into four categories: masquerade, replay, modification of messages, and denial of service.

Q82.What is Symmetric cryptography?

This form of encryption uses a secret key, called the shared secret, to scramble the data into unintelligible gibberish. The person on the other end needs the shared secret (key) to unlock the data—the encryption algorithm. You can change the key and change the results of the encryption. It is called symmetric cryptography because the same key is used on both ends for both encryption and decryption.

Q83.What is Asymmetric cryptography?

Asymmetric cryptography uses encryption that splits the key into two smaller keys. One of the keys is made public and one is kept private. You encrypt a message with the recipient’s public key. The recipient can then decrypt it with their private key. And they can do the same for you, encrypting a message with your public key so you can decrypt it with your private key.

Q84.What are the Encryption applications? Explain.

·         Hashes- Hashes are a special use of one-way functions to provide authentication and verification using encryption. A hash function takes a file and puts it through a function so that it produces a much smaller file of a set size. By hashing a file, you produce a unique fingerprint of it. This gives you a way to make sure that the file has not been altered in any way. 

·         Digital certificates- Digital certificates are the “signature” of the Internet commerce world. These use a combination of encryption types to provide authentication. They prove that who you are connecting to is really who they say they are. Simply put, a certificate is a “certification” of where the information is coming from. A certificate contains the public key of the organization encrypted with either its private key or the private key of a signing authority.

Q85.What are security mechanisms?

A security mechanism is any process (or a device incorporating such a process) that is designed to detect, prevent, or recover from a security attack. Examples of mechanisms are encryption algorithms, digital signatures, and authentication protocols.

Q86.What do you mean by MIB?

MIB stands for Management Information Base. It’s the network’s hierarchical virtual database that holds every data regarding the objects in the network. It’s used by remote monitoring 1 and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol).

Q87.What are the different forms of DOS attacks?

• SYN attack 

• Smurf attack 

• Buffer overflow attack 

• Teardrop attack

 • Viruses

Q88.What is Footprinting?

Footprinting means uncovering or collecting all data about the targeted system or network before trying to acquire access.

Q89.What is scanning and their types?

Scanning is a collection of procedures for detecting the services, ports, and hosts attached to a system or network. It is one of the important components for gathering data. It enables the hacker to make a profile on the organization’s website to be hacked. There are three different types of scanning namely: 

• Vulnerability scanning

• Port scanning 

• Network scanning

Q90.Define Pentesting.

Penetration testing (or pentesting) is a security exercise where a cyber security expert attempts to find and exploit vulnerabilities in a computer system. The purpose of this simulated attack is to identify any weak spots in a system’s defence which attackers could take advantage of.

Q91.Explain Black box testing.

In Black-Box Testing the pentester will not have any knowledge whatsoever about the target(s) theyare going to hit. As a result, this kind of pentest can take a very long time to conduct, and automated tools are heavily relied upon. This kind of exercise is also known as a trial-and-error approach.

Q92.Explain White box testing.

White-Box Testing is also known as clear-box testing. In these instances, the pentester has advanced knowledge to some degree about the Web application that they are about to hit and its underlying source code.This kind of attack takes a shorter amount of time to launch when compared to the black-box test.

Q93.Explain Grey box testing.

Grey-Box Testing is a combination of both of black-box and white-box testing. This simply means that the pentester has some advanced knowledge on the targets they plan to attack. This kind of exercise requires both the use of automated and manual tools. When compared to the other two tests, this one offers the highest chances of discovering unknown security holes and weaknesses.

Q94.Abbreviate the acronyms used in Pentesting: 2FA,2S2D,2VPCP,3DES,3DESE,3DESEP.

• 2FA means “Two-Factor Authentication” 

• 2SD2D means “Double-Sided, Double Density” 

• 2VPCP means “Two-Version Priority Ceiling Protocol” 

• 3DES means “Triple Data Encryption Standard” 

• 3DESE means “Triple Data Encryption Standard Encryption” 

• 3DESEP means “Triple Data Encryption Standard Encryption Protocol”

Q95.What are the teams that can carry out a pentest?

• The Red Team 

• The Blue Team 

• The Purple Team

Q96.Explain Red team.

This group of pentesters acts like the actual cyber-attack. That means this team is the one that launches the actual threat, in order to break down the lines of defence of the business or corporation and attempt to further exploit any weaknesses that are discovered.

Q97.Explain Blue team.

These are the pentesters that act like the actual IT staff in an organization. Their main objective is to thwart any cyber-attacks that are launched by the Red Team. They assume a mindset of being proactive as well as maintaining a strong sense of security consciousness.

Q98.Explain Purple team.

This is a combination of both the Red Team and the Blue Team. For example, they have the security arsenal that is used by the Blue Team and possess a working knowledge of what the Red Team is planning to attack. It is the primary job of the Purple Team to help out both these teams out. Because of that, the pentesters of the Purple team cannot be biased in any regard and have to maintain a neutral point of view.

Q99.What are the main objectives of pentesting?

• To test adherence to the security policies that have been crafted and implemented by the organization.

• To test for employee pro-activeness and awareness of the security environment that they are in. 

• To fully ascertain how a business entity can face a massive security breach, and how quickly they react to it and restore normal business operations after being hit.