Past Cybersecurity Attacks Flashcards
Computer Virus
Malicious code written to interfere with computer operations and cause damage to data and software
How does the computer virus spread?
The virus attaches itself to programs or documents on a computer then spreads to one or more computers in a network
Viruses are more commonly referred to as _________ in todays world
Malware
What is malware
Software designed to harm devices or networks
What are two examples of early malware attacks?
Brain virus, and the Morris worm
Who and when was the Brain virus created
It was created in 1986 by the Alvi Brothers
What was the brain virus meant to do? and what did it end up doing?
The brain virus intended to track illegal copies of medical software and prevent pirated licenses but it instead infected any disc that was inserted into the computer after the original software. The virus would spread to a new computer every time someone used one of the infected disks and the virus spread undetected for the next few months. Although the virus did nothing to data and hardware, it slowed down productivity and significantly impacted business operations.
What did the morris worm intend to do and what did it actually do?
The morris worm was a program that intended to assess the size of the internet. The program crawled the web and installed itself onto other computers to tally the number of computers that were connected to the internet. The program failed to keep track of the computers it had already compromised and continued to re-install itself until the computers ran out of memory and crashed. This attack disrupted businesses and cost millions of dollars to for the effort required to remove the worm
What does CERTs stand for
Computer
Emergency
Response
Teams
What are two notable attacks that relied on the internet?
LoveLetter attack and Equifax breach
When was the LoveLetter malware made, who created it, and why?
It was made in 2000 byy Onel De Guzman. It sent users an email with the subject “I Love You”. There was an attachment in the email “Love letter for you” and when it was opened, the malware canned the user’s address book and automatically sent itself to each person on the list and installed a program to collect user information and passwords.
How many computers did the LoveLetter malware infect and how much damage did it cause.
It infected around 45 million computers globally and is believed to have caused over $10 billion dollars in damage.
What is social engineering?
Social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information, access, or valuables
What is fishing?
The use of digital communications to trick people into revealing sensitive data or deploying malicious software
What is the equifax breach, when did it happen and what damage did it cause?
In 2017 attackers infiltrated the credit reporting agency, equifax. Over 143 million customer records were stolen, and the breach affected approximately 40% of all Americans. In the end Equifax settled with the U.S. goverment and paid over $575 million dollars to resolve customer complaints and cover required fines
