A Sheild for Your Data: The Vital Role of Computer Immunity

Spencer Foulk

Old Dominion University

CYSE 280: Cyber Techniques and Operation

Professor Gladden

November 3, 2023

Introduction

Computers were invented in the eighteen hundreds for calculations when computing large sets of data. It was not until around the nineteen hundreds when we would soon receive revolutionary operating systems like Windows. This was a time when innovation and creativity truly took off due to the immense amount of creativity that was given to the end user. The invention of Windows would be the ultimate beneficiary for current and future generations to come. Speeding up to the year to twenty-twenty three, we find ourselves with vast improvements of operating systems like Linux, and MacOS which expand on the diversity of what is possible when using different systems. We can now content create to our hearts desire, play video games with whoever we want, and develop software. The list continues exponentially when considering the possibilities that can be acted upon on today’s sources of operating systems. While this is all an innovative success, it would be selfish to list only the virtuous deeds that come from using windows and other operating systems in today’s age. While there is a lot of good that can come from the use of computers, there are also devious acts of cyber criminality that can evolve if they are used against the intended design. Cyber criminals can operate indiscreetly, if talented enough, which is why we need to observe and determine the correct approach when dealing with such individuals because it is only a matter of time before they act on a vulnerability or secondary form of opening that can be used for their benefit.  In this research paper, I will informatively describe the unethical practices that can occur on operating systems, procedures to counteract these events, and tactics that can be used for extra security.

Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks are a common threat that can be used on almost any online website that has adware involved. To briefly explain phishing attacks, they are,” when attackers try to trick users into doing ‘the wrong thing’, such as clicking a bad link that will download malware or direct them to a dodgy website” (National Cyber Security Centre, 2018). For example, let us suppose that you are online shopping for a product on Amazon, Walmart, etc. and you happen to stumble upon an item that you find favorable towards your needs. You notice that the link seems odd and upon reaching the site it seems unfinished or unreliable with other ads and incoherent messages. However, you are relentless to buy this item that the site was offering since, it was on sale for a price unlike others, so you click the link to “buy” it. After clicking on buy, it redirects you to a page saying that the product that you were looking for cannot be reached. Unsatisfied after trying this several times you leave the page without your product. This is a perfect example that shows how easy it is for someone to stumble across a phishing swindle intended website with the intent to do harm to your computer. While it may not seem that the computer was harmed, it could turn out to be the opposite depending on the way that the phishing attack was coded. One of the more well-known ways, that these attacks have been used towards the benefit of the coder, is using mining tactics. Mining attacks are one of the scariest tactics since the issue could go unsolved for months due to the level of concealment that is involved. Let us redirect ourselves back to the example and suppose that this tactic was downloaded and used from the link without the user knowing. With the attack downloaded and used it would secretly mine data using the owner’s computer for the coder’s benefit. This means that your computer would become a mining rig for someone else without your knowing. The scary part is that some people will put it off as their hardware getting old since the resources that it uses to mine will slowly reduce your machines performance overtime. However, an effective way to counteract or figure out what is wrong with the issue is to use task manager to figure out which process is using the most resources. This, among other programs, is useful when dealing with attacks like so that are used to disable your personal computer. Phishing attacks are dangerous and can be prevented by second guessing yourself and thinking about whether a source or link is credible.

Spyware

Spyware is another intrusive form of unethical practice that is like phishing attacks since it can be one of the coded functions like mining attacks. Spyware is,” loosely defined as malicious software designed to enter your computer device, gather data about you, and forward it to a third-party without your consent” (Kaspersky 2023). Whie maliciously perceived in its definition, spyware is also,” legitimate software that monitors your data for commercial purposes like advertising, however malicious spyware is explicitly used to profit from stolen data” (Kaspersky 2023). Spyware can be used both ethically and unethically depending on the use case although its moral uses still seem slightly unethical. Unethical uses occur when the attack was placed onto the hosts computer without their consent while an ethical use implies that the user agrees to this being put onto their device. The unethical procedure is obviously immoral since it is not agreed upon. My issue lies with unethical agreements where the company will purposefully hide the use of spyware threaded between a descriptive agreement page with the hopes of users skipping through it without time nor care to read it whole fully. This is exceptionally dangerous for past and current generations since our dopamine levels are beginning to feed off fast fueled media and entertainment which deters us from long readings, slow media, and other prompt related tasks. Similarly, to phishing attacks, there is also a way to prevent this from happening. Reading program usage agreement pages and deciding on whether the product/program is necessary for your benefit are useful options to counteract the collection of data and information using spyware.

Ransomware

Spyware and phishing attacks work in unison to compromise the end user’s system for mischievous acts of cyber criminality. While they can run without the immediate notice of the user, this is far but similar when considering other ruthless forms of invasion like ransomware attacks. Ransomware,” is a type of malware which prevents you from accessing your device and the data stored on it, usually by encrypting your files” (National Cyber Security Centre, 2018). Ransomware attacks can cause a user’s computer to cease operation at a moment’s notice and can be planted effortlessly. This act of intrusion is most noticeably done by penetration testers in an ethical sense although they do not infect the systems since it is meant to be a learning experience. A company will hire a penetration tester to test their security against cyber criminals looking to do harm to the company through their network.  The penetration testers job is to gain trust from the companies’ employees with the hopes of infecting their computers using a usb stick to plant malicious files. There have been countless occurrences of similar situations that have been spoken about on darknet diaries and similar sources of information. These attacks are usually geared towards large well-known organizations, and it can be situationally decerning since cyber criminals usually set up a trade deal or price to persuade the company into giving in for their vital information. The further troubling situation, with paying out or negotiating a trade deal with the person responsible for planting the ransomware attack, is the fact that it is not always guaranteed that they will hold up their end of the agreement. Not only will your computer and network remain compromised and infected, but who is also to say that they will not request something else or another trade offer. Not only should you consider against paying out criminals, but you should also consider the fact that it will make you a prime future target for other cyber criminals since it will be known that your company pays out criminals with the hopes of retrieving your data. When you are the culprit of a ransomware attack, the best course of action is to end the network connection between network devices and develop a solution whether that be to start over completely or use a backup. These attacks are not a good look for the company or its employees which is why it is important to encourage tactics that can be used for the prevention of such attacks. Ethical penetration testers and employee teaching sessions about cybersecurity and cyber criminality prevention tools are also useful to prevent the occurrence of ransomware attacks. These attacks can be tried by anyone which is why it is important to study the information and ensure that safety precautions are in check.

Adware

Adware is a common annoyance that has been going on for quite some time now. With the ease of use that exist when accessing software, websites, and apps, it is no surprise that adware is as prominent as it is in today’s standards. To summarize, Adware,” is a piece of software that downloads advertising material into your device without your knowledge” (Vigderman, Turner, 2023). Adware is known to target businesses and regular individuals. I do not find adware to be too much of a nuisance when compared to other forms of intrusion, but it is still a necessary one to talk about due to the spam and removal of other ads that are not geared towards what you have already viewed. I say this because adware can track websites that you previously view to give you recommended ads. This is not a dreadful thing when viewed upon by the average person but unpreferred by myself since I am missing other advertisements that could have spiked my interest. Why would I want something else geared to what I have already bought or considered when I have it already? This is my main fuss about adware and why I am slightly against the use of it. Thankfully when looking at the graph, based on the number of unique users that were affected by malicious or unwanted browser extension, we find that there was a decreasing trend from three million, six hundred sixty thousand, two hundred thirty-six, to one million, eight hundred twenty-three thousand, two hundred sixty-three in twenty eighteen.  This number continued to decrease in 2022 down to one million, three hundred eleven thousand, five hundred fifty-seven. While it is a good thing that the trend showed a negative curve at the end of the research, it is important to remember that this was only conducted on users of Kaspersky. This means that while Kaspersky was able to use prevention tactics and reduce the amount adware services that were introduced to their customers, this may not be true for a handful of other organizations that have problems with adware. Adware can be prevented by avoiding dishonest websites, using antivirus software, and avoiding pop up ads. These are all useful tips to avoid adware but there are also instances where adware can popup on the entire screen with nothing else to click. In this situation, clicking control double u simultaneously or opening task manager and closing the web browser will suffice.

Worms’ vs Viruses

            Whether it be phishing attacks, spyware, or sometimes adware, each of these tools have their specific set of use cases to perform to the best of their ability when infiltrating systems. These attacks are implemented as a virus onto a target machine, but this is different from ransomware that can be planted as a worm.

While viruses are targeted towards singular machines separately, worms are targeted towards a singular machine that will eventually spread to others if not all the computers on the network. For example, there was an incident in Ukraine that we heard about from Darknet Diaries based on a worm attack known as Not Petya. Not Petya is the combination of two exploits that are used in tandem which include Eternal Blue and Mimikatz. The use of this attack caused a numerous amount of computer systems to be considered useless and resulted in a ten-billion-dollar total cost in damages since it leaked out of Ukraine into other countries and surrounding nations. Worms and viruses are two vastly different concepts since one is used to infiltrate a singular system, while the other is used to attack multiple. Educating yourself about the difference between the two is important so that you will be able to act accordingly whether that be disconnecting computers from the network during a worm attack or using preventative software like MacAfee against a virus attack.

Conclusion

Cyber criminals will use every tool, opening, and vulnerability that they receive to compromise your system for their benefit. This paper has outlined the forms of intrusion that unethical hackers will use to steal, sell, or compromise your data. This is why it is important for us to educate ourselves about the dangers that can result from one simple action. Whether it be phishing attacks that can be downloaded unconsciously, spyware that can be used to record confidential information, ransomware that deems a system inoperable, or adware that can be used against the user’s belief, it is imperative that  we stay on top of this to provide protection against malware, viruses, and worms.  I believe that employing the use of anti-virus software, penetration testers, and Cybersecurity educators will be our most prominent choice when considering practical options against such attacks. The penetration tester will be useful when assessing the security and infrastructure of the company, while Cybersecurity educators will be helpful when teaching about preventative tactics against intrusive software. This leaves us with anti-virus software like MacAfee for example that should and can be installed on machines to guarantee an extra level of security on top of Microsoft’s Windows Defender. Using these three methods when dealing with malware and viruses will prove beneficial overall and hopefully reduce the number of cyber criminals in today’s age.

References

“What’s the Difference between a Virus and a Worm?” Kaspersky, published (2023) –

Vigderman, Aliza, Turner, Gabe, “What is Adware,” security.org, last updated (April 7,2023) –

“What is Spyware,” Kaspersky, published (2023) – https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-

center/threats/spyware

“Phishing Attacks: Defending your organization,” National Cyber Security Centre, published (February 5,

2018) – https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing

“A Guide to Ransomware,” National Cyber Security Centre, published (2018) –

“Virus Basics,” Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, published (March 17, 2023) –

“Computer Virus,” Malwarebytes, last updated (2023) – https://www.malwarebytes.com/computer-virus

Muhammad, Zia,”70 percent of malicious Browser Extensions have adware according to this report”,

Digital Information World, published (August 8,2022) – https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2022/08/70-percent-of-malicious-browser.html

Latto, Nica,” Worm vs. Virus: What’s the Difference and Does It Matter?” Avast, published (August 13,

2020) – https://www.avast.com/c-worm-vs-virus