Ethical Hacking - Introduction to Computer Security

Introduction To Computer SecurityIntroduction To Computer Security
• By :- Vibrant Technologies &
Computers

• In 1983, Kevin Mitnick did an intrusion on a Pentagon’s
computer
• Robert Tappan Morris created the first worm and sent it from
MIT to the web and caused $50,000 of damages
• In 1994, Vladimir Levin intruded in an American bank
computer and stole 10 millions dollars
• Jonathan James “c0mrade”, 16 years old, infiltrated a NASA
computer in 1999 and had access to data worth 1,7 millions
dollars
• Today (CSI Report, 2007):
o 46% of companies have admitted to suffering financial losses due to security
incidences. The reported loss amounted to a total of approximately
$66,930,000.
o 39% of companies have been unable (or unwilling) to estimate the cost of
their losses.
• Financial Losses, Personal losses, Privacy losses, Data
Losses, Computer Malfunction and more…..
Computer Security

Computer SecurityComputer Security
• Computer and Network security was not at all
well known, even about 12 years ago
• Today, it is something everyone is aware of the
need, but not sure what is really means
• Interesting topic of threats, countermeasures,
risks, stories, events and paranoia
o With some mathematics, algorithms, designs and software issues
mixed in
o Yet, not enough people, even security specialists understand the
issues and implications

Media StoriesMedia Stories
• Consumers are
bombarded with media
reports narrating dangers
of the online world
o Identity Theft
o Embezzlement and fraud
o Credit card
theft
o Corporate
Loss
• Just “fear
mongering”?

Security? What is that?Security? What is that?
• Lock the doors and windows and you are secure
o NOT
• Call the police when you feel insecure
o Really?
• Computers are powerful, programmable machines
o Whoever programs them controls them (and not you)
• Networks are ubiquitous
o Carries genuine as well as malicious traffic
• End result: Complete computer security is unattainable, it is
a cat and mouse game
o Similar to crime vs. law enforcement

Goals of Computer SecurityGoals of Computer Security
• Integrity:
o Guarantee that the data is what we expect
• Confidentiality
o The information must just be accessible to the authorized people
• Reliability
o Computers should work without having unexpected problems
• Authentication
o Guarantee that only authorized persons can access to the resources

Security BasicsSecurity Basics
• What does it mean to be secure?
o “Include protection of information from theft or corruption, or
the preservation of availability, as defined in the security policy.”
- The Wikipedia
• Types of Security
o Network Security
o System and software security
o Physical Security
• Very little in computing is inherently secure, you must
protect yourself!
o Software cannot protect software (maybe hardware can)
o Networks can be protected better than software

Some Types of AttacksSome Types of Attacks
• What are some common attacks?
o Network Attacks
• Packet sniffing, man-in-the-middle, DNS hacking
o Web attacks
• Phishing, SQL Injection, Cross Site Scripting
o OS, applications and software attacks
• Virus, Trojan, Worms, Rootkits, Buffer Overflow
o Social Engineering
• (NOT social networking)
• Not all hackers are evil wrongdoers trying to
steal your info
o Ethical Hackers, Consultants, Penetration testers,
Researchers
Need to know:
Networking,
Web
Programming,
Operating
Systems,
Programming
languages and
compilers.

Network AttacksNetwork Attacks
• Packet Sniffing
o Internet traffic consists of data “packets”, and
these can be “sniffed”
o Leads to other attacks such as
password sniffing, cookie
stealing session hijacking,
information stealing
• Man in the Middle
o Insert a router in the path between client and
server, and change the packets as they pass
through
• DNS hijacking
o Insert malicious routes into DNS tables to send
traffic for genuine sites to malicious sites
Need to know:
Networking
protocols,
routing, TCP-IP

Web AttacksWeb Attacks
• Phishing
o An evil website pretends to be a trusted website
o Example:
• You type, by mistake, “mibank.com” instead of “mybank.com”
• mibank.com designs the site to look like mybank.com so the user
types in their info as usual
• BAD! Now an evil person has your info!
• SQL Injection
o Interesting Video showing an example
• Cross Site Scripting
o Writing a complex Javascript program that steals data left by
other sites that you have visited in same browsing session
Need to know:
Web
Programming,
Javascript,
SQL

VirusVirus
• Definition
o Piece of code that automatically reproduces itself.
It’s attached to other programs or files, but requires
user intervention to propagate.
• Infection (targets/carriers)
o Executable files
o Boot sectors
o Documents (macros), scripts (web pages), etc.
• Propagation
is made by the user. The mechanisms are storage
elements, mails, downloaded files or shared folders
Infection
Propagation
Payload

WormWorm
• Definition
o Piece of code that automatically reproduces
itself over the network. It doesn’t need the user
intervention to propagate (autonomous).
• Infection
o Via buffer overflow, file sharing, configuration
errors and other vulnerabilities.
• Target selection algorithm
o Email addresses, DNS, IP, network
neighborhood
• Payload
o Malicious programs
o Backdoor, DDoS agent, etc.
infection
Propagation
engine
Payload
Target
Selection
algorithm
Scanning
engine

Backdoor, trojan, rootkitsBackdoor, trojan, rootkits
• Goal
o The goal of backdoor, Trojan and rootkits is to take possession of a machine
subsequently through an infection made via a backdoor.
• Backdoor
o A backdoor is a program placed by a black-hacker that allows him to access a system.
A backdoor have many functionalities such as keyboard-sniffer, display spying, etc.
• Trojan
o A Trojan is a software that seems useful or benign, but is actually hiding a malicious
functionality.
• Rootkits (the ultimate virus)
o Rootkits operate like backdoor and Trojan, but also modify existing programs in the
operating system. That allows a black-hacker to control the system without being
detected. A rootkit can be in user-mode or in kernel-mode.

Social EngineeringSocial Engineering

Social EngineeringSocial Engineering
• Why is this social engineering?
o Manipulating a person or persons into divulging
confidential information
• I am not dumb, so does this really apply to me?
o YES! Attackers are ALSO not dumb.
o Social Engineers are coming up with much better
and much more elaborate schemes to attack users.
o Even corporate executives can be tricked into
revealing VERY secret info
• What can I do to protect myself?
o NEVER give out your password to ANYBODY.
o Any system administrator should have the ability to
change your password without having to know an
old password
Need to know:
How to win friends
(victims) and influence
(scam) people (not
CS).

Password AttacksPassword Attacks
• Password Guessing
o Ineffective except in targeted cases
• Dictionary Attacks
o Password are stored in computers as hashes, and these hashes can
sometimes get exposed
o Check all known words with the stored hashes
• Rainbow Tables
o Trade off storage and computation – uses a large number of pre-
computed hashes without having a dictionary
o Innovative algorithm, that can find passwords fast!
• e.g. 14 character alphanumeric passwords are found in about 4-
10 minutes of computing using a 1GB rainbow table

Computer Security IssuesComputer Security Issues
• Vulnerability is a point where a system is susceptible to
attack.
• A threat is a possible danger to the system. The danger might
be a person (a system cracker or a spy), a thing (a faulty
piece of equipment), or an event (a fire or a flood) that might
exploit a vulnerability of the system.
• Countermeasures are techniques for protecting your system

Vulnerabilities in SystemsVulnerabilities in Systems
• How do viruses, rootkits enter a system?
o Even without the user doing something “stupid”
• There are vulnerabilities in most software systems.
o Buffer Overflow is the most dangerous and common one
• How does it work?
o All programs run from memory.
o Some programs allow access to reserved memory locations when
given incorrect input.
o Hackers find out where to place incorrect input and take control.
o Easy to abuse by hackers, allows a hacker complete access to all
resources

How can you achieve security?How can you achieve security?
• Many techniques exist for ensuring computer and network security
o Cryptography
o Secure networks
o Antivirus software
o Firewalls
• In addition, users have to practice “safe computing”
o Not downloading from unsafe websites
o Not opening attachments
o Not trusting what you see on websites
o Avoiding Scams

CryptographyCryptography
• Simply – secret codes
• Encryption
o Converting data to unreadable codes to prevent anyone form
accessing this information
o Need a “key” to find the original data – keys take a few million-
trillion years to guess
• Public keys
o An ingenious system of proving you know your password without
disclosing your password. Also used for digital signatures
o Used heavily in SSL connections
• Hashing
o Creating fingerprints of documents

Cryptographic ProtocolsCryptographic Protocols
Symmetric encryption
Authentication
Asymmetric encryption
Public Key Infrastructure

Why Care?Why Care?
• Online banking, trading, purchasing may be insecure
o Credit card and identity theft
• Personal files could be corrupted
o All school work, music, videos, etc. may be lost
• Computer may become too slow to run
o If you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem
• Pwn2Own contest - 2008
o Mac (Leopard) fell first via Safari, Vista took time but was hacked
via Flash Player, Ubuntu stood ground.
• Upon discovery, vulnerabilities can be used against many computers
connected to the internet.

ThankThank You !!!You !!!
For More Information click below link:
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Ethical Hacking - Introduction to Computer Security

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