Problem 1: Security in Practice [10 pt] We come across numerous computer securit
ID: 3890929 • Letter: P
Question
Problem 1: Security in Practice [10 pt]
We come across numerous computer security attacks as well as measures in our daily life.
Problem 1.1 Identify three security control measures on your computer or smartphone. Which of the three properties Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability do they aim at providing? What kinds of adversaries they cannot defend against?
Problem 1.2 Find two recent (2016 or 2017) computer security attacks that have been reported in the media, and analyze those incidences briefly. For example, what was the main vulnerability that was exploited, what security principles were violated, what could have done to prevent the incidence, etc.
Explanation / Answer
1.1
Three security control measures on your smartphone
Smartphone, which is referred to as a high-end mobile
phone, allow users to access not only restricted websites
dedicated to mobile phones, but also websites accessible
from PCs, and to freely use private applications or
applications used online by multiple users (NB:
applications are programs that provide various types of
functions).
However, the increase in the number of users brings another problem: an
environment with a large number of users becomes an easy target for wicked
people (i.e., attackers).
Smartphone is considered an
electronic storage medium containing various information, such as information
of one's own, prepaid money with the wallet capability, movies/image data
taken with a camera, moving images/music/application data purchased by
oneself, friends' information (e.g., registered in the
address book), and even the information obtained
through corporate activities so it is
analogous to a USB stick that has many functions.
i) When the smart phone is lost .
In the case of mobile phones, applying
PIN-lock or password-lock against certain
functions or forcibly locking phones from a
remote site in the event of theft /loss (i.e.,
using such service provided by the carrier) is
an effective security measure.This protection of device by locking it with a password or pin aims at providing Confidentiality.
When we talk about confidentiality of information, we are talking about protecting the information from disclosure to unauthorized parties.
ii)Countermeasures against Computer Virus
Users can freely install applications and use
them for various purposes. For this reason, like PC users, smartphone
users might suffer damages caused by computer viruses or unauthorized
access.
Installing only from credible sources and maintaining Antivirus program for the device aims at providing Integrity.
Integrity of information refers to protecting information from being modified by unauthorized parties.
iii) Counter measures against System Crash
In order to avoid sudden system collapse or crashes we have to take back up regularly.
This aims at availability of information.
Availability of information refers to ensuring that authorized parties are able to access the information when needed.
1.2
Shadow Brokers
The mysterious hacking group known as the Shadow Brokers first surfaced in August 2016,
claiming to have breached the spy tools of the elite NSA-linked operation known as the Equation Group.
The Shadow Brokers offered a sample of alleged stolen NSA data and attempted to auction off a bigger
trove, following up with leaks for Halloween and Black Friday in 2016.
This April, though, marked the group's most impactful release yet. It included a trove of particularly
significant alleged NSA tools, including a Windows exploit known as EternalBlue, which hackers have since
used to infect targets in two high-profile ransomware attacks
The identity of the Shadow Brokers is still unknown, but the group's leaks have revived debates about
the danger of using bugs in commercial products for intelligence-gathering.
WannaCry
On May 12 a strain of ransomware called WannaCry spread around the world, walloping hundreds of
thousands of targets, including public utilities and large corporations. Notably, the ransomware
temporarily crippled National Health Service hospitals and facilities in the United Kingdom, hobbling
emergency rooms, delaying vital medical procedures, and creating chaos for many British patients.
Though powerful, the ransomware also had significant flaws, including a mechanism that security experts
effectively used as a kill switch to render the malware inert and stem its spread. US officials later concluded
with "moderate confidence" that the ransomware was a North Korean government project gone awry that had been
intended to raise revenue while wreaking havoc. In total, WannaCry netted almost 52 bitcoins, or about
$130,000—not much for such viral ransomware.
WannaCry's reach came in part thanks to one of the leaked Shadow Brokers Windows
vulnerabilities, EternalBlue. Microsoft had released the MS17-010 patch for the bug in March,
but many institutions hadn't applied it and were therefore vulnerable to WannaCry infection.