Cyber Attacks 2 - A cyber-attack is an assault launched by cybercriminals

CYBER ATTACKS; 2

TITLE PAGE; CYBER ATTACKS.

A cyber-attack is an assault launched by cybercriminals using one or more computers against a single or multiple computers/networks. A cyber-attack can maliciously disable computers, steal data, perform a money fraud activity, or use a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks. The methods used seem to rotate in order to throw organizations off their defenses (Lucasik and Longhurst, 2003).

The lack of powerful general countermeasures means that attacks on computer systems and networks will continue to increase in the future.  A shift in attackers from amateurs to professionals will continue as basic countermeasures become more effective at deterring amateurs.  Among the countermeasures are;

a. Patches – it is important to fix flaws or bugs in soft wares as soon as they are discovered since attacks are launched within days of discovery flaws.

b. Backups – since many attacks destroy data or programs, making copies (backups) of digital information is essential to aid in recovery after an attack in the future.

c. Legal responses – attackers don’t worry about being caught since it’s hard to trace them, laws can then be effectively implied against offenders in a given jurisdiction.

d. Encryption – any attempt to modify encrypted data will result in indecipherability, that way it will be easy to tell tampered data or programs.

e. Back tracing – this is a form of active network defense that tries to find where an external attack is coming from so as to stop it more easily.

f. Intrusion detection and Computer forensics – this method can be set up to check and record the events that might indicate an attack, alerting system administrators when matters become serious (Proctor, 2001).

Countermeasures must in the future be employed in a coordinated information-security strategy to help curb cybercrime activities in the growing technology world (Spitzner, 2003).

REFERENCES;

Lucasik, S., Goodman, S., & Longhurst, D. (2003). National strategies for the protection of critical infrastructures from cyber-attack.

Spitzner, L. (2003).  Honeypots: tracking hackers.

Proctor, P. E. (2001).  Practical intrusion detection handbook.