Cloud Computing and Network Security

Running Head: COMPUTER SECURITY AND OTHER ISSUES 1
Title: Computer Security and other issues
Name:
Institution:

COMPUTER SECURITY AND OTHER ISSUES 2
Case Project 1-2 Attack Experiences
A friend described to me an instance when the bank he was working for was hit by a
cyber attack two years ago. The criminals posed as clients, who wanted to open a bank account.
They persuaded the accounts opening officer to plug in a disk drive in to his computer so that he
could download the clients documents and images. The flash disk was infected with a virus
which quickly spread to the other computers in the organization, attempting to hijack core
banking credentials and other information. The attack did not inflict any type of damage since
the IT department was fast in arresting its spread. At the same time, the bank was hesitant to
divulge any details because they feared it would affect the trust customers had in them.
The attack was mainly successful because the customer service agent was not following
the company policy regarding the use of disk drives, regardless of whether they were personal or
from third parties. The company could have blocked disk drive access from the computers to
further ensure that people who failed to follow policy did not hurt the company’s interests. The
computers which were affected by the attack were quarantined and taken off the network, as IT
auditors ascertained the extent of the spread. Thereafter, an antivirus capable of neutralizing the
threat was procured and applied on the infected computers, as well as the network. The security
system used by the company was also reviewed. Had the employee in question and other
received thorough training on the danger that such devices posed, it is likely that the attack could
have been prevented. The attack could also have been prevented through the use of software that
blocks disk drive access to the computer, requiring the customers to bring their documents in
hard copy or have photos taken at the bank.
Case Project 2-5: Ransomware Attacks

COMPUTER SECURITY AND OTHER ISSUES 3
The Wannacry, Petya and NotPetya ransomware attacks have recently hit the global
computer networks, affecting systems from Ukraine to the United States and Australia. The
attacks were able to get into the computer systems of government bodies and companies, lock
them and demand payment to reopen them or decrypt data they held. The payment demand was
in terms of bitcoins, to reduce the chances of being tracked down. The ransomware was highly
successful, at least in terms of how fast and wide they spread. It was aided in this by the fact that
it was highly sophisticated, the tools used to make it being stolen from the NSA. They used the
vulnerabilities found in Microsoft Windows to bypass security systems, and used emails as one
of the tools of spreading, making its pace fast and not easily detectable.
According to information released by Kaspersky after the third attack, NotPetya, all
companies were advised to update their security systems and operating systems. This was based
on the belief that vulnerabilities which had since been fixed (before the attack) were used to
hijack computers. Users were also warned not to open any emails they found suspicious while
reviewing their security setup frequently. The perpetrators of the attacks demanded a payment in
bitcoins be sent to them o that they could then give the victim a code to decrypt the files in their
computers. Kaspersky and other computer systems security companies soon issued decryption
tools to get rid of the ransomware. The decryption tool would roll back the effects of the
ransomware, though this is an extensive process owing to the complex nature of the attack itself.
Case Project 3-4: Zero-Day Attacks
The ransom ware described above – Wannacry, Petya and others can also qualify as
being zero-day attacks. The attacks were able to find vulnerabilities in Windows operating
systems, which had not been patched before. The vulnerabilities were discovered by research
going into years, and initially performed by the NSA. The NSA later lost these tools and