michael k's List: Scholar

• Security and the Internet: Fighting  malware

   

  <!--Start AUTHORS-->Lyndon Thompson. <!--End AUTHORS--><!--Start PUB_TITLE-->Organisation  for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD Observer<!--End PUB_TITLE-->. <!--Start PM_QUAL-->Paris: <!--End PM_QUAL--><!--Start ISSUE_URL-->Jul  2008. <!--End ISSUE_URL--><!--Start PCISSUE-->, Iss. 268;<!--End PCISSUE-->  pg. 10, 2 pgs

  • ignore carrots
• Financial losses from malware are difficult to assess. Banks in the UK estimated  that losses from malware in 2006 were £33.5 million ($62 million), a 90%  increase over two years

  • This is a good stat. Shows the seriousness of internet security.
• US paid $7.8 billion over a two-year period to repair damages caused by malware.
• A 2005 report commissioned by the Australian government revealed that only one  out of three users ran up-to-date antivirus software and only one in seven  computers had a firewall. In the US, as many as 59 million users are believed to  have spyware or other malware on their computers

  • Another good stat.
• Each year the interval between the disclosure of a vulnerability and its  exploitation shortens. True, detection rates are increasing, though it is  unclear whether this is due to better detection or to a growing proliferation of  malware. The amplitude of attacks has also decreased, but this may signal a  change of strategy, replacing sudden big attacks with low-intensity ones to  escape notice. Computers are no longer the only targets, as new malware has  started to prey on mobile devices too.

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• Evaluating the virus threat: Is it safe to turn  on your PC?

   

  <!--Start AUTHORS-->Stu  Westin. <!--End AUTHORS--><!--Start PUB_TITLE-->Journal  of End User Computing<!--End PUB_TITLE-->. <!--Start PM_QUAL-->Hershey: <!--End PM_QUAL--><!--Start ISSUE_URL-->Jul-Sep  2000. <!--End ISSUE_URL--><!--Start PCVOLUME-->Vol. 12<!--End PCVOLUME--><!--Start PCISSUE-->, Iss. 3;<!--End PCISSUE--> pg. 35, 3  pgs

• Consider this second issue. The antivirus vendors  often list virus strains with minimal, inconsequential differences as being  distinct viruses. In doing so, their product can be touted as protecting against  more viruses than would otherwise be the case. A good example of this is the  Marijuana virus. When first released, the virus contained the phrase "legalise  marijuana" as part of its message (this message is called the virus "payload").  In a later incarnation of the virus, the payload phrase was changed to "legalize  marijuana" (note the Americanized spelling). Most antivirus vendors list these  two versions as unique viruses, although the detection and removal procedures  are identical (Rosenberger & Greenberg, 1996). Related to this is the fact  that many single virus strains are known by multiple handles (sometimes dozens).  This is often because viruses are "discovered", named, and reported  simultaneously from several different locations. The pseudonym problem is not a  trivial one. The situation is such that it is difficult, if not impossible, to  evaluate the true impact and infection rate of any particular virus.

  • Interesting point. Do research before you pick an antivirus program.
• It was noted above that there are surprisingly few unique computer viruses  posing a real threat to our application systems. Also, even the worst virus  outbreaks have had a relatively short lived, minor impact on the computing  world. Media hype, however, would have us believe something quite different.  Overblown, unsubstantiated virus reports seem to have been around as long as the  virus phenomenon itself.
• An article in Forbes more recently stated that at least a half dozen new  viruses are released into "the wild" by computer vandals each and every day  (Rao, 1996). Again, a little simple arithmetic indicates that, under this  scenario, we would have to deal with nearly 2,200 new viruses each and every  year! This just is not the case.
• The granddaddy of all virus hypes was undoubtedly the Michelangelo scare of  1992. According to the media, this virus was posed to bring the digital world to  its knees every March 6th, starting in 1992 (this trigger date happened to fall  on the birthday of renaissance artist Michelangelo, and thus the name).  Discovered in 1991, this relatively trivial virus lived in obscurity until a  coincidence in January of 1992 (the story of computer viruses is sprinkled with  a good measure of serendipity). A PC manufacturer, Leading Edge, admitted that  it had accidentally shipped 500 units infected with the virus. This information  was picked up by the press, by coincidence, on the same day that another PC  manufacturer announced that it had decided to include free AV software on their  products (Rosenberger, 1996). For some reason the news media latched on to the  story and wouldn't let it die. As the so-called M-day (or V-day) approached, the  media frenzy intensified to the point that the story earned top billing on just  about all of the major news media.

  • This is a really interesting point. What exaclty do we know about viruses. Who do we trust.
• On M-day of 1998, there were two documented cases.

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•   <!--End PUBLISHER_LOGO--><!--pm_type is set to PQ--><!--Start CITATION--> 

  Scammers hit Twitter with tainted tweet storm;  Cybervillains repurpose e-mail spam techniques

   

  <!--Start AUTHORS-->Byron Acohido. <!--End AUTHORS--><!--Start PUB_TITLE-->USA  TODAY<!--End PUB_TITLE-->. <!--Start PM_QUAL-->McLean, Va.: <!--End PM_QUAL--><!--Start ISSUE_URL-->Sep  29, 2009. <!--End ISSUE_URL-->pg. B.2

• Internet users should keep anti-virus suites current,  promptly install all software updates from Microsoft, Adobe and Apple, and  distrust messages that use scare tactics. Also, free tools are available; some  can unravel shortened Web links before you open them; others verify that a Web  link is safe.

• Two began when crooks created Twitter accounts en  masse, then sent tweets carrying links to promotions for fake anti-virus  protection, says Mikko Hypponen, senior researcher at F-Secure.

   

  One wave keyed off Twitter's top 10 "trending  topics," spreading bad links in tweets purportedly about subjects generating the  most microposts globally. Another copied tweets sent by real people and resent  them with links triggering fake anti-virus pitches, Sophos researcher Beth Jones  says.

   

  In a separate attack, private microposts -- called  direct messages, or DMs -- were blasted out to individual Twitter members.  "People have a built-in trust in messages that appear to be from friends," says  Sean-Paul Correll, Panda Security researcher.

   

  These DMs carried links designed to steal passwords  and recruit people for work-at-home schemes to toil as money mules, setting up  bank accounts to help thieves extract funds from hijacked financial accounts.  

• Security analysts expect attacks on social networks,  especially Twitter, to intensify in the coming holiday shopping season. "Twitter  hasn't done anything wrong," says Gerry Egan, director of Symantec's security  response team. "This is simply another case where malicious attackers are using  neutral technology as a means to their deceptive ends."

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• The Best Ways to Back Up Your Data

   

  <!--Start AUTHORS-->Lincoln Spector. <!--End AUTHORS--><!--Start PUB_TITLE-->PC  World<!--End PUB_TITLE-->. <!--Start PM_QUAL-->San Francisco: <!--End PM_QUAL--><!--Start ISSUE_URL-->Oct  2009. <!--End ISSUE_URL--><!--Start PCVOLUME-->Vol. 27<!--End PCVOLUME--><!--Start PCISSUE-->, Iss. 10;<!--End PCISSUE--> pg. 89, 7  pgs
• having a secure, up-to-date backup of your hard drive can be a lifesaver. Here  are seven practical strategies, including using USB storage, backing up via the  Internet or through your local network, backing up Windows itself, and  preserving huge media files like songs and videos.
• You can always reinstall Windows and your apps, if you have the original discs  or can download the programs. But if Windows becomes unusable or your hard drive  crashes, switching to a system backup (also called a disaster recovery backup)  that you create a couple of times a year can get your machine up and running  smoothly without much effort.

• But Rebit (www.rebit.com) offers the easiest backup  of all. You don't have to decide which files and folders to back up. The first  time you plug in the drive, it backs up everything on your regular hard drive -  data, applications, even Windows.

   

  Because Rebit backs up everything, you can recover  your entire system after a hard-drive crash or other disaster simply by booting  from a special CD (you can download the .iso file from Rebit' s Web site when  the time comes).

   

  Rebit makes recovering a specific file easy.  Right-click a file in Windows Explorer, select My Rebit, and pick a version of  the file from your backup. Or double-click the Rebit system tray icon for the  Windows Explorer-like Rebit Browser.

• A backup continuously connected to your computer is  vulnerable to the same dangers that might threaten your PC, as is a backup kept  in the same building as the PC. But if your system rarely lacks a fast Internet  connection, an online backup service can perform completely automated backups  that it saves to a server miles from your PC. You don't have to purchase  hardware or plug anything new into your computer, though you must install  software. This arrangement gives you access to your data from any  Internet-enabled computer.

• A number of online backup services, such as Comodo  (find. pcworld.com/63516) and SpiderOak (spideroak.com), are available. But I  recommend Mozy (mozy.com) for its versatile software and low price. As with  Rebit, you can right-click a file in Windows Explorer and restore any version of  it that Mozy has on hand. The MozyHome (mozy.com/home) service costs $5 per  month per computer, with no storage limit per PC. The company also provides a  professional service (mozy.com/pro).
• Can you trust an online company for longterm data storage? I sure wouldn't. See  "Will Your Data Disappear When Your Online Storage Site Shuts Down?" (find.  pcworld.com/63517) for some nightmare scenarios.
• How many gigabytes of multimedia files do you have? If you back up to an  external hard drive or a NAS drive, large media files don't cause problems. But  if your backup media has limited capacity (like a flash drive) or is slow to  upload (like the Internet), you may want to find another way to protect your  folders of digital pictures, music, and video.
• In a worst-case scenario, you lose a lot more than just your data. If your hard  drive crashes and has to be replaced, or if Windows becomes corrupted and  unusable, you'll have to start from square one- reinstalling Windows, removing  the garbage that came bundled with your PC, reinstalling your programs,  reinstalling your drivers, reconfiguring Windows, and restoring your data from a  recent backup.

• You have two ways to back up an entire drive so that  you can restore even Windows: cloning and imaging. Cloning involves transferring  an exact copy of your main hard drive to another drive. To restore Windows, you  can either clone in the other direction or physically swap the drives. CMS  BounceBack Ultimate (find.pcworld.com/63515), also included with CMS ABS Plus  hard-disk drives, is a popular cloning product.

• Imaging involves copying a drive's structure and  contents into a compressed, but still very large, file on another drive. To  restore the image to its full size, you must use the same image-backup software  that you created it with.

• The best time to make an image backup is immediately  after you set up a new PC. The second best time is today - if you are satisfied  with the way Windows is currently running. Retain your first backup for as long  as you keep that PC; it's a better recovery tool than the one that came with  your PC.

• Making additional image backups every so often -  after installing a big application, say, or a service pack upgrade - is wise. Or  make one every three to six months. You don't need to keep them all; just the  first one and the last one or two.

• You should protect immediately important files (as  opposed to long-term important ones) as you go, by e-mailing them to yourself-  preferably to an account that you access via the Web - as you work. For  instance, I just now used Microsoft Word's Mail To feature to e-mail this  article to my Gmail account. It will stay on Google's server until I delete  it.
• Get in the backup habit, and you'll be glad you did. Avoid backing up, and  you'll eventually regret it.

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• Malware: the new legal risk

   

  <!--Start AUTHORS-->Verine Etsebeth. <!--End AUTHORS--><!--Start PUB_TITLE-->The  Electronic Library<!--End PUB_TITLE-->. <!--Start PM_QUAL-->Oxford: <!--End PM_QUAL--><!--Start ISSUE_URL-->2007.  <!--End ISSUE_URL--><!--Start PCVOLUME-->Vol. 25<!--End PCVOLUME--><!--Start PCISSUE-->, Iss. 5;<!--End PCISSUE--> pg.  534

  • Ignore in carrots
• 2] Grimes (2001) defines malware as "any software program designed to move from  computer to computer and network to network to intentionally modify computer  systems without the consent of the owner or operator". This term may include  viruses, Trojan horses, worms, script attacks and rogue internet code. In the  past a more restricted meaning was ascribed to the term "malicious mobile code"  to include only viruses, Trojan horses and worms. Today however, because of  technological advances and the increase in complexity of modern malicious mobile  code the scope and application of this term has been broadened to include "all  harmful programs created by scripting language and powered by internet  technologies" ([2] Grimes, 2001).

  • Definition
• Put differently, may a third party who has suffered damages or sustained losses,  hold a company liable where the damages/loss suffered was as a result of the  company's failed or inadequate information security?

  • Good question.
• Consider this scenario: a person could be sitting in country A, writing a virus  which infects computers in country B, C and D. Under which country's laws should  this person be prosecuted?

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