INTL440 discussion reply

Need two response to this week forum discussion. Reply must be at least 150 words.

First response:

Good Afternoon,

With this being our final we have been asked to reflect on everything we have learned and answer a few questions. I’ll break mine down by question.

What is cyber warfare?

Is the latest form of warfare. It is fought with keyboards and codes instead of guns and bullets. At times its and information and skills war. Presently, it is the only way one country can maliciously attack another country with little or no backlash from the international community since there are no rules in cyber warfare.

What are the potential targets?

Potential targets can be range from low hanging fruit to complicated network infrastructure of large companies and firms. Critical systems such as SCADA systems, electrical grids, Military and defense systems, and financial/banking systems are key targets.

What types of cyber weapons and tactics do intruders use?

Cyber weapons come in all sorts of varieties from the tame and curious to the destructive and malicious. Viruses and malware are some of the primary weapons used. Denial of service attacks are also very commonly used to disrupt or shut down a company’s systems or website. Some tactics they use are phishing and cross site scripting.

What type of defensive tools can we employ to protect our networks?

Some types of defensive tools we can use to protect our networks include intrusion detection, anti-malware, network access controls, upgraded firewalls, and sophisticated authenticated systems.

What is the future of cyber warfare?

The future of cyber warfare is very clouded. There is so much unknown associated with it. Likely, an incredibly significant cyber-related or caused event will have to take place before effort is made to fully outline what is and isn’t considered to be cyber war. In traditional wars you would have to declare that you were at war with the other nation. While we do seem to already be in some level of cyber war with multiple nations, not a single nation has declared war outright. With that, it is hard to hold anyone accountable for their actions online since there are no actual rules of engagement so to speak. So in order to get a grasp on cyber warfare the international community must come together and define in writing what cyber war truly looks like.

Danielle

Second response:

What is cyber warfare?

Cyber warfare has been defined as the actions by nation-state and non-state actors like terrorist, companies, or extremist groups to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage or disruption. The threats posed by this attacks are cyber-attacks and espionages. Cyberwarfare is a serious security problem. Hackers can access secure computers remotely and copy or delete files. Government systems, and critical resources such as electric grids, financial systems, or communication systems can be attacked.

What are the potential targets?

Similar to physical war, cyber warfare can have multiple motivators ranging from hacktivism to countries waging cyber warfare against one another (Andress et al, 2011). Any number of entities can be targeted and a wide range of systems can be attacked as well. Some of the potential targets can be SCADA systems for power plants, power grids, nuclear factories and potentially emergency operations. Hackers can also get access to wireless radio or infrared signals as well as interfere with cellular telephone networks and steal information while its being transmitted (Kostadinov, 2012). Government systems are also a major target for hackers around the world whether it is nation sponsored or by an individual or group (Kostadinov, 2012).

What types of cyber weapons and tactics do intruders use?

During the last seven weeks, we have seen the multiple tools that are used to infect and access computers during cyber warfare by different hackers and groups. Stuxnet was a worm used to bring down nuclear centrifuges in Iran and went unsuspected for quite some time. Other types of weapons exist such as Trojan horses, SQL injections, Denial of Service, spear phishing and social networking to name a few. These tactics can be used to penetrate enemy systems and networks (RT.com, 2015).

What type of defensive tools can we employ to protect our networks?

There are multiple tools available to protect networks and infrastructures from possible cyber-attacks. Ensuring the legitimacy of the firewall producers is imperative. We have seen the cases of some firewalls having malicious software preinstalled when it ships out of the factory and gives a backdoor access to the manufacturing country such as China. Anti-Virus and malware are also crucial to any and all network protection. Training employees on safe ways to handle information and performing thorough background checks can help reduce the internal threat. In addition, deploying VLANs for traffic separation and coarse grained security and using encryption throughout the network can further ensure the security of any network (Snyder, n.d).

What is the future of cyber warfare?

Cyber warfare seem to be the new and emerging way to wage war between countries. The example of the Stuxnet worm exemplifies how a nuclear program was thwarted and almost disabled without having to resort to physical war. Stealing classified government information and classified projects give nations the upper hand against one another. Every country at this point needs to have a cyber security division to protect its most valuable information, because “the best defense is a good offense”. In conclusion, the internet is a great tool but it can be used by hackers and between nations to carry out cyber-attacks and cyber violence. Therefore it is imperative in our present day to be familiar with the cyber landscape and all the tools available for better security.

References:

Andress, J. and Steve W. (2011). Cyber Warfare: Techniques, Tactics and Tools for Security Practitioners. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu

Kostadinov, D. (2012, December 21). Cyberterrorism Defined (as distinct from “Cybercrime”). Retrieved from http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/cyberterrori…

Rouse, M. (2010). What Is Cyberwarfare? – Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/cyberwarfare.

Snyder, J. (n.d). Six Strategies for Defense-in-Depth. Retrieved from http://www.arubanetworks.com/pdf/technology/whitep…

https://www.rt.com/usa/321116-pentagon-lethal-cyber-weapons/

-Tiffany