Introduction to hackers

Introduction to hackers

• 1.
  Hackers, Crackers, and NetworkIntruders Sponser www.harshpchacks.blogspot.com By Harsh Sharma
• 2.
  Agenda • Hackers andtheir vocabulary • Threats and risks • Types of hackers • Gaining access • Intrusion detection and prevention • Legal and ethical issues
• 3.
  Hacker Terms • Hacking- showing computer expertise • Cracking - breaching security on software or systems • Phreaking - cracking telecom networks • Spoofing - faking the originating IP address in a datagram • Denial of Service (DoS) - flooding a host with sufficient network traffic so that it can’t respond anymore • Port Scanning - searching for vulnerabilities
• 4.
  Hacking through theages • 1969 - Unix ‘hacked’ together • 1971 - Cap ‘n Crunch phone exploit discovered • 1988 - Morris Internet worm crashes 6,000 servers • 1994 - $10 million transferred from CitiBank accounts • 1995 - Kevin Mitnick sentenced to 5 years in jail • 2000 - Major websites succumb to DDoS • 2000 - 15,700 credit and debit card numbers stolen from Western Union (hacked while web database was undergoing maintenance) • 2001 Code Red – exploited bug in MS IIS to penetrate & spread – probes random IPs for systems running IIS – had trigger time for denial-of-service attack – 2nd wave infected 360000 servers in 14 hours • Code Red 2 - had backdoor installed to allow remote control • Nimda -used multiple infection mechanisms email, shares, web client, IIS • 2002 – Slammer Worm brings web to its knees by attacking MS SQL Server
• 5.
  The threats • Denialof Service (Yahoo, eBay, CNN, MS) • Defacing, Graffiti, Slander, Reputation • Loss of data (destruction, theft) • Divulging private information (AirMiles, corporate espionage, personal financial) • Loss of financial assets (CitiBank)
• 6.
  Types of hackers •Professional hackers – Black Hats – the Bad Guys – White Hats – Professional Security Experts • Script kiddies – Mostly kids/students • User tools created by black hats, – To get free stuff – Impress their peers – Not get caught • Underemployed Adult Hackers – Former Script Kiddies • Can’t get employment in the field • Want recognition in hacker community • Big in eastern european countries • Ideological Hackers – hack as a mechanism to promote some political or ideological purpose – Usually coincide with political events
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  Types of Hackers •Criminal Hackers – Real criminals, are in it for whatever they can get no matter who it hurts • Corporate Spies – Are relatively rare • Disgruntled Employees – Most dangerous to an enterprise as they are “insiders” – Since many companies subcontract their network services a disgruntled vendor could be very dangerous to the host enterprise
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  Top intrusion justifications •I’m doing you a favor pointing out your vulnerabilities • I’m making a political statement • Because I can • Because I’m paid to do it
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  Gaining access • Frontdoor – Password guessing – Password/key stealing • Back doors – Often left by original developers as debug and/or diagnostic tools – Forgot to remove before release • Trojan Horses – Usually hidden inside of software that we download and install from the net (remember nothing is free) – Many install backdoors • Software vulnerability exploitation – Often advertised on the OEMs web site along with security patches – Fertile ground for script kiddies looking for something to do
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  Back doors &Trojans • e.g. Whack-a-mole / NetBus • Cable modems / DSL very vulnerable • Protect with Virus Scanners, Port Scanners, Personal Firewalls
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  Software vulnerability exploitation •Buffer overruns • HTML / CGI scripts • Poor design of web applications – Javascript hacks – PHP/ASP/ColdFusion URL hacks • Other holes / bugs in software and services • Tools and scripts used to scan ports for vulnerabilities
• 12.
  Password guessing • Defaultor null passwords • Password same as user name (use finger) • Password files, trusted servers • Brute force – make sure login attempts audited!
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  Password/key theft • Dumpsterdiving – Its amazing what people throw in the trash • Personal information • Passwords • Good doughnuts – Many enterprises now shred all white paper trash • Inside jobs – Disgruntled employees – Terminated employees (about 50% of intrusions resulting in significant loss)
• 14.
  Once inside, thehacker can... • Modify logs – To cover their tracks – To mess with you • Steal files – Sometimes destroy after stealing – A pro would steal and cover their tracks so to be undetected • Modify files – To let you know they were there – To cause mischief • Install back doors – So they can get in again • Attack other systems
• 15.
  Intrusion detection systems(IDS) • A lot of research going on at universities – Doug Somerville- EE Dept, Viktor Skorman – EE Dept • Big money available due to 9/11 and Dept of Homeland Security • Vulnerability scanners – pro-actively identifies risks – User use pattern matching • When pattern deviates from norm should be investigated • Network-based IDS – examine packets for suspicious activity – can integrate with firewall – require one dedicated IDS server per segment
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  Intrusion detection systems(IDS) • Host-based IDS – monitors logs, events, files, and packets sent to the host – installed on each host on network • Honeypot – decoy server – collects evidence and alerts admin
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  Intrusion prevention • Patchesand upgrades (hardening) • Disabling unnecessary software • Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems • ‘Honeypots’ • Recognizing and reacting to port scanning
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  Risk management Probability Impact Ignore (e.g. deludeyourself) Prevent (e.g. firewalls, IDS, patches) Backup Plan (e.g. redundancies) Contain & Control (e.g. port scan)
• 19.
  Legal and ethicalquestions • ‘Ethical’ hacking? • How to react to mischief or nuisances? • Is scanning for vulnerabilities legal? – Some hackers are trying to use this as a business model • Here are your vulnerabilities, let us help you • Can private property laws be applied on the Internet?
• 20.
  Port scanner example
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  Computer Crimes • FinancialFraud • Credit Card Theft • Identity Theft • Computer specific crimes – Denial-of-service – Denial of access to information – Viruses Melissa virus cost New Jersey man 20 months in jail • Melissa caused in excess of $80 Million • Intellectual Property Offenses – Information theft – Trafficking in pirated information – Storing pirated information – Compromising information – Destroying information • Content related Offenses – Hate crimes – Harrassment – Cyber-stalking • Child privacy
• 22.
  Federal Statutes • ComputerFraud and Abuse Act of 1984 – Makes it a crime to knowingly access a federal computer • Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 – Updated the Federal Wiretap Act act to include electronically stored data • U.S. Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1996 – Ammended the Electronic Communications Act to require all communications carriers to make wiretaps possible • Economic and Protection of Proprietary Information Act of 1996 – Extends definition of privacy to include proprietary economic information , theft would constitute corporate or industrial espionage • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 – Standards for the electronic transmission of healthcare information • National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 – Amends Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to provide more protection to computerized information and systems used in foreign and interstate commerce or communications • The Graham-Lynch-Bliley Act of 1999 – Limits instances of when financial institution can disclose nonpublic information of a customer to a third party