Illicit use of systems, network, and technology

Cyber Security
Cyber security encompasses computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data security. IT security is also known as electronic data security or data encryption. Computer, network, program, device, and data security are all items that cyber security methods can protect. One of its essential purposes is to protect against cyber-attacks and illicit use of systems, networks, and technology. This paper gives a detailed analysis of cyber security\
The global cyber threat is proliferating, with a rising number of data breaches occurring yearly. According to a Risk-Based Security assessment, data breaches impacted 7.9 billion records in the first nine months of 2019. Compared to the number of records affected over the same period in 2018, this figure is 112% greater (Maurer et al. 24-27). Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly common.
Most breaches resulted from hostile criminals targeting healthcare providers, businesses, and government entities. Some sectors appeal to cybercriminals because they collect financial and medical data. However, any company that uses networks might be targeted for customer data, corporate espionage, or consumer attacks. With the scale of the cyber threat expected to grow, the International Data Corporation forecasts that worldwide spending on cyber-security solutions will reach a staggering $133.7 billion by 2022 (Marie and Osama 859-865). In response to the growing cyber threat, governments worldwide have given businesses advice on how to build good cyber-security practices.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States has developed a cyber-security architecture. The framework recommends continuous, real-time monitoring of all electronic resources to combat the spread of malicious code and aid in early detection. The “10 phases to cyber security” instructions released by the United Kingdom government’s National Cyber Security Centre reflect the importance of system monitoring. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) in Australia regularly guides how businesses should deal with the most recent cyber-security risks.
The term “cyber security” is used in various contexts, from corporate networks to mobile devices. The action of protecting a computer network against intruders, whether deliberate attackers or opportunistic malware, is known as network security. Application security is concerned with preventing attacks on software and devices. Compromise software may provide access to the data it is designed to protect. Security begins in the design stage before a program or device is deployed. Data integrity and privacy are protected by information security in both storage and transfer. All procedures and decisions to safeguard sensitive information are part of operational security. This area includes data storage and sharing regulations and how users get network access.
Disaster recovery and business continuity describe how a corporation recovers from a cyber-security incident or another catastrophe that causes a loss of operations or data and may benefit from cyber security. The disaster recovery policy outlines how a corporation can return to pre-disaster levels of functioning. When a corporation loses access to critical resources, it creates a “business continuity” strategy. The education of the end user, the most unpredictable variable, is a critical component of good cyber security. Anyone might unintentionally undermine a secure system by failing to follow adequate security protocols. The security of every business needs to tell employees to delete suspicious email attachments, not use USB drives that have not been approved, and take other similar precautions.

Cybersecurity research covers a wide range of topics. It may be divided into various fundamental pillars, such as network security. Network security devices are designed to identify and prevent the many attacks that might occur via a computer network. Application limits, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Identity and Access Management (IAM), Network Access Control (NAC), and Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) are all part of the solutions available to guarantee that users follow company-wide norms for responsible online conduct (Sengupta et al. 1909-1941). IPS (Intrusion Prevention System), NGAV (Next-Generation Antivirus), Sandboxing, and CDR (Conditional Denial of Service) are examples of cutting-edge, layered ways to prevent network attacks used by security experts. It is also essential to automate security orchestration and response (SOAR), analyze networks, and look for threats.
As more firms use cloud computing, the need for cloud security rises. Protecting a company’s full cloud deployment (apps, data, infrastructure) is just one component of a comprehensive cloud security strategy, including cyber security solutions, controls, policies, and services. Many cloud providers’ security solutions fail to offer enterprise-grade security in the cloud. When you store data in the cloud, you need more third-party solutions to protect against data breaches and targeted attacks.
Endpoint protection. The zero-trust security idea involves creating micro-segments around data in any location. Endpoint security is one technique for doing this with a mobile workforce. Endpoint security lets businesses protect end-user devices like desktops and laptops by putting in place data and network security controls, advanced threat prevention measures like anti-phishing and anti-ransomware, and forensics technologies like endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions.
Often overlooked mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones allow access to corporate data, exposing businesses to threats like malicious programs, zero-day attacks, phishing, and IM (Instant Messaging) assaults. Modern mobile platforms and devices resist harmful efforts such as rooting and jailbreaking due to the safeguards built into them. With this and a Mobile Device Management (MDM) system, organizations can ensure that only authorized mobile devices can access essential data.
IoT devices boost productivity and offset organizations’ susceptibility to new security threats. Threat actors aggressively seek vulnerable devices that have been mistakenly connected to the Internet to achieve nefarious aims, such as getting access to a company’s internal network or adding another bot to a global bot network. IoT security maintains the safety of these devices by using techniques such as auto-segmentation to manage network activity and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) as a virtual patch to prevent attacks against vulnerable IoT devices. In some situations, small agents may be used to update the device’s firmware to avoid vulnerabilities and runtime attacks.
Application safety. Web apps, like anything else connected to the Internet, are targets for malicious actors. Since 2007, OWASP has tracked the top ten threats to critical web application security vulnerabilities, such as injection, failed authentication, misconfiguration, and cross-site scripting, to name a few. The OWASP Top 10 dangers may be avoided with application security (Fredj et al.)… Application security is also prevented by bot attacks, as is any harmful interaction with applications and APIs. Even if Da Vinci reveals new information, programs that learn all the time will still be safe to use.
There is no trust. The traditional method of security is to build a wall around a facility’s perimeter to safeguard its most valuable assets. However, there are some issues with this method. Insider assaults are a concern, as is the rapid eroding of the network perimeter. Traditional ways of securing firm data are no longer enough with the development of remote work and cloud computing. Zero trust takes a more detailed approach to security, protecting each resource with a mix of micro-segmentation, monitoring, and role-based access rule enforcement.
Cyberattacks of many forms are common in today’s environment. To protect our networks and systems adequately, we must be aware of the many shapes cyberattacks might take. Malicious software includes spyware, computer viruses, and Internet worms. When a user clicks on a “planted” harmful link or email attachment, malware infiltrates the system and executes destructive code. Malicious software and files may block users from accessing critical network components. Data may be recovered from the hard drive to get information. Trigger a system problem or complete shutdown.
Because malware is so prevalent, various attack methods have arisen. The most common examples are: Viruses are harmful programs that multiply by embedding themselves in the starting function of an application. The virus replicates itself and inserts its copies into other programs to propagate. Viruses may infect or associate themselves with executable files by creating a clone of the original file with the same name but an.exe extension.
Trojans are malicious programs that masquerade as usual to achieve their objectives. A Trojan is a kind of malicious software that does not replicate itself but instead opens a backdoor that attackers may use (Datta et al. 155-170). Computer worms, like viruses, propagate from computer to computer but do not affect the host system. Email attachments are typical for worms to propagate since they send copies of themselves to everyone in the victim’s address book. They are often employed in denial-of-service assaults against email systems.
Ransomware is a kind of harmful software that encrypts user data and demands payment for the guarantee that the data will not be leaked or destroyed. Advanced ransomware programs use crypto viral encryption to encrypt their victims’ data. Spyware is software that covertly observes a user’s computer or internet behavior to disclose such information to a third party. If the attacker gets hold of this information, he or she could use it to blackmail the victim or spread more viruses.
Phishing strategies are often used to bombard customers with spam emails that seem to be from trustworthy organizations. These emails may seem authentic, but they include a link to a malicious file or script that the attackers may use to take control of your computer, gather intelligence, install additional malware, steal your personal information, and more. Direct messages from people with harmful intent are another route for phishing efforts on social networks and other online organizations. Phishers have a leg up on you in their efforts to fool you into believing they are whom they claim to be by acquiring information about your career, interests, and other activities via social engineering and other publicly accessible sources.
There are many phishing attacks, including but not limited to: Spear phishing refers to targeted attacks on specific organizations and individuals. Whaling refers to high-level CEOs and other significant people in a business being attacked. Hackers steal users’ credentials by using a bogus login page and DNS cache poisoning. The two most frequent techniques are voice phishing and text message phishing (SMS phishing). Please continue reading to discover more about phishing attacks and how to avoid them.
Assaults in which a third party poses as a trustworthy middleman, often known as “Man in the Middle” attacks. It is not enjoyable when a third person interferes with a transaction between two individuals. Data in transit may be intercepted and used to the hacker’s advantage. To capture data exchanged between a visitor’s device and a network, these attacks often use network security holes, such as a free Wi-Fi hotspot that is not adequately secured. One of the primary problems with this kind of attack is that it is difficult to detect since the victim feels the information is being transferred to a secure place. A MitM attack is often carried out via malware or phishing.
Service disruption is another way of cyber threat. DDoS assaults work by flooding systems, servers, and networks with traffic to bring them down (Salim et al. 5320-5363). As a result, genuine requests are entered into the system but are never handled. Another kind of DoS attack is distributed denial-of-service (DDoS). DDoS attacks attempt to overwhelm a system to delay its response time to service requests. On the other hand, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is conducted from numerous infected host computers with the goal of denying service, taking down a system, and obtaining access to the network or environment. The most common DoS and DDoS assaults include TCP SYN flood attacks, teardrop attacks, smurf attacks, ping-of-death attacks, and botnets.
SQL injection-based attacks. When an attacker employs SQL injection to insert malicious code into a server, the server is forced to divulge sensitive data (Tang et al. 105528). During this kind of assault, malicious code is often placed into a website’s comment box or search bar. SQL injections may be efficiently prevented by using safe coding techniques such as prepared statements with parameterized queries. When SQL instructions use arguments instead of simple value insertion, it is possible to inject malicious queries into the backend. The SQL interpreter treats parameters as data rather than code and does not execute them. Learn more about avoiding SQL injection by following safe coding standards.
The phrase “zero-day exploit” refers to the practice of exploiting a network defect as soon as it is detected but before a remedy is available. Zero-day attackers pounce during the short period when no patches or preventive measures are in place. Because of this, stopping zero-day attacks requires careful monitoring, early detection, and flexible methods for managing threats. A cross-site scripting attack involves malicious applications in the otherwise good website content. The malicious code is included in the user’s browser’s dynamic content. Although JavaScript is the most prevalent malicious code, other types, such as Flash, HTML, and XSS, are also conceivable.

Cracking Passwords are the most frequent method of authenticating access to a protected information system, so cybercriminals target them. An attacker who acquires a user’s password has access to all of that user’s data, the ability to edit or delete it, and control over any systems that contain it. Password attackers use various techniques to identify a particular password, including social engineering, breaking into a password database, network penetration testing to extract plaintext passwords and random guessing. The phrase “brute-force attack” refers to another technique carried out systematically. In a brute-force attack on a password, the software is used to try every possible way of putting characters together.
Another general approach is dictionary assaults, in which an attacker attempts many widely used passwords to gain access to a user’s system or network. Two-factor authentication and other account lockout measures may help against password assaults. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide a secondary code that is only available on their 2FA device. Account lockout features can lock the account after several failed password attempts.
When a rootkit is embedded in lawful software, it can access the system’s administrative operations and remotely manage the host machine. The attacker then employs the rootkit to access sensitive information and steal passwords, keys, and credentials. Rootkits are placed on the host (computer, server) and remain dormant until activated by the attacker or triggered by a persistence mechanism. Email attachments and insecure website downloads are common channels for rootkit spread.
IoT devices offer security risks. While extensive internet connection on almost all consumer gadgets enhances people’s quality of life, it also presents hackers with an ever-increasing and potentially endless number of entry points to create havoc. Because everything is connected, hackers may quickly get access to one device and then exploit it to compromise others. The rapid proliferation of IoT devices, along with the (often) low priority given to embedded security in these devices and their operating systems, has resulted in a rise in the frequency of IoT attacks. A hacker used an internet-connected thermometer set in a fish tank to access a Las Vegas casino. All IoT devices on your network should have the most current operating system installed, a strong password, and frequent password updates to help combat attacks.

Threats to cyber security have evolved throughout time. Cybersecurity threats have changed dramatically in recent years. Organizations must defend against the current and future methodologies, tools, and strategies cybercriminals utilize as the cyber threat environment changes. New generations of cyber threats regularly arise due to changes in the cyber security threat environment. Traditional defenses become ineffectual as cyber threats change over time. In response to virus attacks on single systems, Firewalls werecreated in the late 1980s (Oloyedeet al. 4993-5000). Firewalls were developed in response to the increasing frequency of Internet-based assaults. The exploitation of application vulnerabilities drove the widespread adoption of intrusion prevention systems. Anti-bot and sandboxing solutions were required to identify new threats as malware became more specific and could evade signature-based defenses. Cyber threats are the most recent type. They use large, multi-vector attacks, so they need cutting-edge ways to defend against them.
Even though ransomware has been around for a long time, it has only lately emerged as the most popular kind of harmful software. The WannaCry virus outbreak demonstrated that ransomware attacks might be effective and profitable, significantly increasing ransomware activity. Ransomware as a notion has evolved significantly since then. Instead of just encrypting data, ransomware is increasingly stealing information to extort the victim and the victim’s consumers. DDoS attacks are another strategy used by some ransomware organizations to compel victims to pay the requested ransom.
The ransomware as a Service (RaaS) model, in which ransomware producers sell their malware to “affiliates” for distribution in exchange for a portion of the ransom, has aided in spreading ransomware. Many cybercriminal groups now have access to advanced malware in the age of RaaS, boosting the frequency with which incredibly complicated attacks may be conducted. Protecting against ransomware has become an essential component of enterprise cyber security plans.
For a long time, phishing attacks have been the principal means by which fraudsters infiltrate enterprise networks. Identifying and exploiting a vulnerability in an organization’s defenses is often much more complex than duping a user into clicking a link or opening an attachment. Phishing attacks have gotten more sophisticated in recent years. While early phishing scams were easily identified, today’s advanced attacks are so convincing that they may be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish from legitimate emails. Basic cyber security awareness training is insufficient to combat today’s sophisticated phishing attempts. To reduce the risk of phishing, it is essential to have cybersecurity solutions that can find and block fake emails before they get to users’ inboxes.
Malware has evolved considerably over time, heralding each new generation of intrusions. Malware authors and cyber defenders constantly exchange ideas on evading the most advanced security systems. Successful cyberattacks may pave the path for the next generation of attacks. Malware nowadays is fast, stealthy, and very complicated. Even if security analysts successfully identify and respond to a threat, the damage may have been done due to the outmoded detection techniques used by older security systems (such as signature-based detection). Malware detection is no longer adequate as a form of protection. Gen V malware is a threat that can only be lessened by cyber security solutions focusing on prevention.

Defending against cyber-attacks may be accomplished in a variety of ways. It would help if you kept frequent backups of your data. Many security experts suggest you preserve at least three backups of your data, ideally on two different media types, with a third copy kept off-site (cloud storage). As a result, even if a cyber-attack has infiltrated your machine, you may wipe its data and reload it from a recent backup. Passwords and a difficult-to-guess mix of letters, numbers, and symbols should be updated often. Passwords that are too difficult to remember are not recommended. Use a different password for each account.
Make sure your operating system and applications are always up-to-date. This is your first line of protection against any cyberattack. Hackers cannot misuse the system as they typically do until this is corrected. Using trusted antivirus software, you can keep your computer virus-free (Shimbo et al. 1-22). To keep hostile actors out of your network, deploy firewalls, IDS/IPS, access restrictions, and application proxies. Be cautious when opening attachments from someone you do not know. If you get emails, thoroughly examine them to check for errors. All employees should be aware of the best cybersecurity procedures. There are several types of cyberattacks, and they must understand how to fight each. It is strongly advised that you use two-factor or multi-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires the user to provide not one but two types of identification evidence. Multi-factor authentication is utilized if more than two different authentication methods (other than a username and password) are needed. This is a necessary precaution to keep your account secure.
Finally, cyber-attacks are becoming more complicated and diverse, with a new kind of attack being invented for each harmful purpose. Even though cyber security preventive tactics differ for each attack, good security practices, and basic IT hygiene help mitigate these attacks. When it comes to cyber security, your company should use several best practices, such as secure coding techniques, regular software updates, the deployment of firewalls and threat management tools, and solutions, the deployment of antivirus software on all systems, the management of user access and privileges, regular system backups, and the use of a managed detection and response service to watch for compromised systems.

Work Cited

Datta, Pratim Milton. “Cybersecurity Threats: Malware in the Code.” Global Technology Management 4.0. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2022. 155-170.
Fredj, Ouissem Ben, et al. “An OWASP top ten driven survey on web application protection methods.” International Conference on Risks and Security of Internet and Systems. Springer, Cham, 2020.
Marie, Osama Amin. “Security of social networking sites in e-learning in Palestine.” Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT) 11.2 2020: 859–865.
Maurer, Tim, and Arthur Nelson. “The global cyber threat.” Finance & Development (2021): 24-27.
Oloyede, O. A., et al. “Firewall Approach to Computer Network Security: Functional Viewpoint.” International Journal of Advanced Networking and Applications 13.3 (2021): 4993–5000.
Salim, Mikail Mohammed, Shailendra Rathore, and Jong Hyuk Park. “Distributed denial of service attacks and its defenses in IoT: a survey.” The Journal of Supercomputing 76.7 2020: 5320–5363.
Sengupta, Sailik, et al. “A survey of moving target defenses for network security.” IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 22.3 (2020): 1909-1941.
Shimbo, Kana, Shun-ichi Kurino, and Noriaki Yoshikai. “Credibility of Alert Messages for Computer Virus Infection.” 2019 International Conference on Computing, Electronics & Communications Engineering (iCCECE). IEEE, 2019.
Tang, Peng, et al. “Detection of SQL injection based on artificial neural network.” Knowledge-Based Systems 190 (2020): 105528.