Dod and Cyber Attacks

¶ … gathered on the DOD

The tools and a description of the how they are used

What sort of attacks would work in this case? Give some examples and how you would carry them out

What social engineering and physical security aspects were discovered / devised? Give a detailed explanation

What methods could you employ to help secure these vulnerabilities? What suggestions would you make to the organization if you were a penetration tester?

Attack Project Paper

Over the last several years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has become the subject of cyber attacks. This is because of the information, which is possessed on their networks and the large turnover of people is exposing them to more threats. A good example of this can be seen with information compiled by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They found that the DOD is receiving a total of 10 million attacks per day. ("How Many Cyber Attacks Hit the U.S. last year," 2014) This is problematic, as it has the potential to create severe disruptions and a loss of sensitive information.

To address these issues a new strategy must be implemented. This involve analyzing the information which is gathered, the tools, the kinds of attacks that work, social engineering / physical security and the methods to deal with vulnerabilities. Together, these elements will illustrate the best avenues for preventing these kinds of attacks against the DOD.

The information that was gathered on the DOD

The various sources are showing how the DOD is vulnerable to a variety of cyber attacks. The most notable include: social engineering, password based, and Trojans types of attacks. Each one of them has been utilized in the past to disable their networks and make it difficult for personnel to access them. This exposes the DOD to major breaches, with hackers able to steal a number of classified documents in the process. (Insinna, 2013) To make matters, worse they are planning on rolling out their own version of 4G. This is supposed, to allow personnel to have access to greater amounts of information. However, the problem is that it exposes them to more threats with hackers being able to breach these devices and the information that is on them. (Roulo, 2013)

The tools and a description of the how they are used

There are a number of tools which are used by hackers to attack the DOD's network. The most notable include: social engineering, password based and Trojan types of attacks. Social engineering is when there is an attempt to use deception to gain access to information. This is achieved utilizing a number of tactics such as: cloning IDs or emails to tricking an individual into thinking it is from an important source. Once this happens, is when they can gain access to employee names, numbers or passwords. Password-based techniques are trying to break into the site through trying a series of user names and passwords. This is used in conjunction with social engineering or brute force to find methods that are successful. A Trojan is when a malicious email is sent to individuals inside the organization. The basic idea is to encourage them to open it and visit the link inside. This will enable the hackers to gain access to organization's information. (Amoroso, 2012) (Pelt, 2014)

What sort of attacks would work in this case? Give some examples and how you would carry them out.

The most effective attacks are to use a combination of techniques. This means that there will be times when social engineering is integrated with a Trojan email and to gain sensitive passwords. The basic idea is to fool the person into think that they received an important message and go to the link. A good example of this occurred when the Chinese Army was able to send officials at the Pentagon a fictitious email and break into the DOD's network. This enabled them to gain access to a variety of programs including: missile defense, aircraft and U.S. military strategies. In these kinds of situation, the best way to do this is to send out fictitious emails to contractors, government officials or anyone who is connected with the DOD. If just one of them opens it and clicks on the link, they will give hackers access to the DOD's network. At the same time, they could focus on targeting mobile devices and using this to obtain sensitive data. (Santos, 2013) (Pelt, 2014)

What social engineering and physical security aspects were discovered / devised? Give a detailed explanation.

Social engineering has become increasingly complex as it was linked with physical security. In this case, hackers are utilizing sites such as Facebook to establish connections and send them links of interest. The basic idea is to build a rapport with these individuals and then exploit them. For instance, Iran has been using these techniques to gain access to sensitive information among DOD personnel. This is a part of an effort, to extract revenge for Western efforts to sabotage their nuclear program. In this case, social engineering is a good way of befriending someone and then exploiting their trust. (Pelroth, 2014)