Sample Assignment on Cybercrime PDF

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Cybercrime
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor's Name
Date

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Cybercrime
Sony Hacks
The attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment happened in December 2014 following the
release of a controversial film regarding the leadership of North Korea. Before the attack,
Sony planned to release a film ‘The Interview,’ which portrayed the assassination of a North
Korean supreme leader. The target ridicule of the film was Kim Jong-il and his son Kim
Jong-un, the North Korean leader. In the trailer released in October before the film's release,
the central intelligence agency (CIA) hires two Americans to travel to North Korea and
assassinate King Jong-un. The trailer mocked the North Korean leadership, which caused
their strong opposition to the release of that film in the United States. Besides, North Koreans
viewed the film as an act of war masterminded by the United States government. However,
Sony pushed forward to releasing the film despite the oppositions from the North Korean
government.
The movie was to be released on 25th December. Before the release, Sony was
attacked, and huge volumes of data were stolen from their servers. The cyberattack was
facilitated by a hacking group known as the Guardians of Peace (GOP), which is believed to
be hired by the North Koran government. The press claimed that Sony’s cyberattack occurred
due to lack of security or physical vulnerabilities in their servers. Besides, in the wake of the
attack, a team from an intelligence firm claimed to have walked directly into Sony’s security
office, which contained unlocked computers with access to their private network information
(Horton and DeSimone, 2018). Unlocking their security offices is an indication that the
company did not take proactive measures in securing its servers from unauthorized access.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the attack was an organized crime.
The hackers first breached the network in September. The hackers used phishing to access the

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network. Through phishing, they tricked Sony employees into giving out their personal
details, which enabled them to access the network from the outside. Besides, the hacking
group established fake websites that they used to collect employees’ credentials. They used
the credentials gained illegally to gain access to the company’s international network. The
attackers may also have used the drive-by type of attack to attack Sony’s network. Before the
attack, the hackers sent company executives emails threatening to damage the company’s
network. However, they disregarded the threats as the threats lacked credibility. The hackers
may have encrypted malicious codes into the sent emails to corrupt the recipients’ computers,
thus leaving them vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The hackers stole huge volumes of data and released the rest to the public. They did
steal not only information but also destroyed the company’s whole network. After the attack,
the company was forced to disconnect all its networks from the internet to prevent further
damage. As a result, it led to a significant financial loss as the attack rendered numerous
computers and servers useless. The company was forced to purchase new computers and
servers, leading to increased financial costs. Besides, the attack hindered the company's
operation by slowing down communication and information sharing processes due to the
shutdown of the communication network. As a result, Sony utilized traditional business
practices, which slowed down the company's operations and reduced productivity.
Additionally, the released information contributed to damaging the company’s reputation as
private company information is always unappealing to the public eye.
Nigerian Hacks
Nigerian hacks involve 419 scams where fraudsters conspire to send money out of the
country illegally. The hackers or scammers contact their victims, telling them about the large
amounts of cash trapped in banks, which they cannot access due to government restrictions in