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Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress
Order Code RL32114 Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress Updated January 29, 2008 Clay Wilson Specialist in Technology and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress Summary Cybercrime is becoming more organized and established as a transnational business. High technology online skills are now available for rent to a variety of customers, possibly including nation states, or individuals and groups that could secretly represent terrorist groups. The increased use of automated attack tools by cybercriminals has overwhelmed some current methodologies used for tracking Internet cyberattacks, and vulnerabilities of the U.S. critical infrastructure, which are acknowledged openly in publications, could possibly attract cyberattacks to extort money, or damage the U.S. economy to affect national security. In April and May 2007, NATO and the United States sent computer security experts to Estonia to help that nation recover from cyberattacks directed against government computer systems, and to analyze the methods used and determine the source of the attacks.1 Some security experts suspect that political protestors may have rented the services of cybercriminals, possibly a large network of infected PCs, called a “botnet,” to help disrupt the computer systems of the Estonian government. DOD officials have also indicated that similar cyberattacks from individuals and countries targeting economic, -
A the Hacker
A The Hacker Madame Curie once said “En science, nous devons nous int´eresser aux choses, non aux personnes [In science, we should be interested in things, not in people].” Things, however, have since changed, and today we have to be interested not just in the facts of computer security and crime, but in the people who perpetrate these acts. Hence this discussion of hackers. Over the centuries, the term “hacker” has referred to various activities. We are familiar with usages such as “a carpenter hacking wood with an ax” and “a butcher hacking meat with a cleaver,” but it seems that the modern, computer-related form of this term originated in the many pranks and practi- cal jokes perpetrated by students at MIT in the 1960s. As an example of the many meanings assigned to this term, see [Schneier 04] which, among much other information, explains why Galileo was a hacker but Aristotle wasn’t. A hack is a person lacking talent or ability, as in a “hack writer.” Hack as a verb is used in contexts such as “hack the media,” “hack your brain,” and “hack your reputation.” Recently, it has also come to mean either a kludge, or the opposite of a kludge, as in a clever or elegant solution to a difficult problem. A hack also means a simple but often inelegant solution or technique. The following tentative definitions are quoted from the jargon file ([jargon 04], edited by Eric S. Raymond): 1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. -
The Downadup Codex a Comprehensive Guide to the Threat’S Mechanics
Security Response The Downadup Codex A comprehensive guide to the threat’s mechanics. Edition 2.0 Introduction Contents Introduction.............................................................1 Since its appearance in late-2008, the Downadup worm has become Editor’s Note............................................................5 one of the most wide-spread threats to hit the Internet for a number of Increase in exploit attempts against MS08-067.....6 years. A complex piece of malicious code, this threat was able to jump W32.Downadup infection statistics.........................8 certain network hurdles, hide in the shadows of network traffic, and New variants of W32.Downadup.B find new ways to propagate.........................................10 defend itself against attack with a deftness not often seen in today’s W32.Downadup and W32.Downadup.B threat landscape. Yet it contained few previously unseen features. What statistics................................................................12 set it apart was the sheer number of tricks it held up its sleeve. Peer-to-peer payload distribution...........................15 Geo-location, fingerprinting, and piracy...............17 It all started in late-October of 2008, we began to receive reports of A lock with no key..................................................19 Small improvements yield big returns..................21 targeted attacks taking advantage of an as-yet unknown vulnerability Attempts at smart network scanning...................23 in Window’s remote procedure call (RPC) service. Microsoft quickly Playing with Universal Plug and Play...................24 released an out-of-band security patch (MS08-067), going so far as to Locking itself out.................................................27 classify the update as “critical” for some operating systems—the high- A new Downadup variant?......................................29 Advanced crypto protection.................................30 est designation for a Microsoft Security Bulletin. -
Post-Mortem of a Zombie: Conficker Cleanup After Six Years Hadi Asghari, Michael Ciere, and Michel J.G
Post-Mortem of a Zombie: Conficker Cleanup After Six Years Hadi Asghari, Michael Ciere, and Michel J.G. van Eeten, Delft University of Technology https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity15/technical-sessions/presentation/asghari This paper is included in the Proceedings of the 24th USENIX Security Symposium August 12–14, 2015 • Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-1-939133-11-3 Open access to the Proceedings of the 24th USENIX Security Symposium is sponsored by USENIX Post-Mortem of a Zombie: Conficker Cleanup After Six Years Hadi Asghari, Michael Ciere and Michel J.G. van Eeten Delft University of Technology Abstract more sophisticated C&C mechanisms that are increas- ingly resilient against takeover attempts [30]. Research on botnet mitigation has focused predomi- In pale contrast to this wealth of work stands the lim- nantly on methods to technically disrupt the command- ited research into the other side of botnet mitigation: and-control infrastructure. Much less is known about the cleanup of the infected machines of end users. Af- effectiveness of large-scale efforts to clean up infected ter a botnet is successfully sinkholed, the bots or zom- machines. We analyze longitudinal data from the sink- bies basically remain waiting for the attackers to find hole of Conficker, one the largest botnets ever seen, to as- a way to reconnect to them, update their binaries and sess the impact of what has been emerging as a best prac- move the machines out of the sinkhole. This happens tice: national anti-botnet initiatives that support large- with some regularity. The recent sinkholing attempt of scale cleanup of end user machines. -
Miscellaneous: Malware Cont'd & Start on Bitcoin
Miscellaneous: Malware cont’d & start on Bitcoin CS 161: Computer Security Prof. Raluca Ada Popa April 19, 2018 Credit: some slides are adapted from previous offerings of this course Viruses vs. Worms VIRUS WORM Propagates By infecting Propagates automatically other programs By copying itself to target systems Usually inserted into A standalone program host code (not a standalone program) Another type of virus: Rootkits Rootkit is a ”stealthy” program designed to give access to a machine to an attacker while actively hiding its presence Q: How can it hide itself? n Create a hidden directory w /dev/.liB, /usr/src/.poop and similar w Often use invisiBle characters in directory name n Install hacked Binaries for system programs such as netstat, ps, ls, du, login Q: Why does it Become hard to detect attacker’s process? A: Can’t detect attacker’s processes, files or network connections By running standard UNIX commands! slide 3 Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal (2005) • Sony BMG puBlished CDs that apparently had copy protection (for DRM). • They essentially installed a rootkit which limited user’s access to the CD. • It hid processes that started with $sys$ so a user cannot disaBle them. A software engineer discovered the rootkit, it turned into a Big scandal Because it made computers more vulneraBle to malware Q: Why? A: Malware would choose names starting with $sys$ so it is hidden from antivirus programs Sony BMG pushed a patch … But that one introduced yet another vulneraBility So they recalled the CDs in the end Detecting Rootkit’s -
CONTENTS in THIS ISSUE Fighting Malware and Spam
MARCH 2008 Fighting malware and spam CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE 2 COMMENT EVASIVE ACTION Home (page) renovations Pandex has attracted very little attention from the media and generated little 3 NEWS discussion between malware Botherders herded researchers and among the 29A folds general populace. Chandra Prakash and Adam Thomas provide an overview of the Pandex operation and take an in-depth look at VIRUS PREVALENCE TABLE 3 the underlying code that has allowed this malware to evade detection for so long. 4 MALWARE ANALYSIS page 4 Pandex: the botnet that could PACKING A PUNCH In the fi nal part of the series on exepacker 9 FEATURE blacklisting, Robert Neumann takes a look at how all the processing and analysis techniques are put Exepacker blacklisting part 3 into practice in a real-life situation. page 9 15 CONFERENCE REPORT AVG TURNS 8 Black Hat DC and CCC 24C3 John Hawes gets his hands on a preview version of the latest offering from AVG. 18 PRODUCT REVIEW page 18 AVG Internet Security 8 22 END NOTES & NEWS This month: anti-spam news and events, and Ken Simpson considers the implications of rising spam volume despite increasing accuracy of content fi lters. ISSN 1749-7027 COMMENT ‘It is hoped that within all sizes of business. It is hoped that the comment facility will promote discussion among visitors and that the comment facility in some cases the more knowledgeable of VB’s readers will promote will be able to guide and assist those less well versed in discussion among the complexities of anti-malware technologies. -
Lexisnexis® Congressional Copyright 2003 Fdchemedia, Inc. All Rights
LexisNexis® Congressional Copyright 2003 FDCHeMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony September 10, 2003 Wednesday SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY LENGTH: 4090 words COMMITTEE: HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM SUBCOMMITTEE: TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION POLICY, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, AND CENSUS HEADLINE: COMPUTER VIRUS PROTECTION TESTIMONY-BY: RICHARD PETHIA, DIRECTOR AFFILIATION: CERT COORDINATION CENTER BODY: Statement of Richard Pethia Director, CERT Coordination Center Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census Committee on House Government Reform September 10, 2003 Introduction Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Rich Pethia. I am the director of the CERTO Coordination Center (CERT/CC). Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the important issue of cyber security. Today I will discuss viruses and worms and the steps we must take to protect our systems from them. The CERT/CC was formed in 1988 as a direct result of the first Internet worm. It was the first computer security incident to make headline news, serving as a wake-up call for network security. In response, the CERT/CC was established by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency at Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, in Pittsburgh. Our mission is to serve as a focal point to help resolve computer security incidents and vulnerabilities, to help others establish incident response capabilities, and to raise awareness of computer security issues and help people understand the steps they need to take to better protect their systems. We activated the center in just two weeks, and we have worked hard to maintain our ability to react quickly. -
Flow-Level Traffic Analysis of the Blaster and Sobig Worm Outbreaks in an Internet Backbone
Flow-Level Traffic Analysis of the Blaster and Sobig Worm Outbreaks in an Internet Backbone Thomas Dübendorfer, Arno Wagner, Theus Hossmann, Bernhard Plattner ETH Zurich, Switzerland [email protected] DIMVA 2005, Wien, Austria Agenda 1) Introduction 2) Flow-Level Backbone Traffic 3) Network Worm Blaster.A 4) E-Mail Worm Sobig.F 5) Conclusions and Outlook © T. Dübendorfer (2005), TIK/CSG, ETH Zurich -2- 1) Introduction Authors Prof. Dr. Bernhard Plattner Professor, ETH Zurich (since 1988) Head of the Communication Systems Group at the Computer Engineering and Networks Laboratory TIK Prorector of education at ETH Zurich (since 2005) Thomas Dübendorfer Dipl. Informatik-Ing., ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2001) ISC2 CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional) (2003) PhD student at TIK, ETH Zurich (since 2001) Network security research in the context of the DDoSVax project at ETH Further authors: Arno Wagner, Theus Hossmann © T. Dübendorfer (2005), TIK/CSG, ETH Zurich -3- 1) Introduction Worm Analysis Why analyse Internet worms? • basis for research and development of: • worm detection methods • effective countermeasures • understand network impact of worms Wasn‘t this already done by anti-virus software vendors? • Anti-virus software works with host-centric signatures Research method used 1. Execute worm code in an Internet-like testbed and observe infections 2. Measure packet-level traffic and determine network-centric worm signatures on flow-level 3. Extensive analysis of flow-level traffic of the actual worm outbreaks captured in a Swiss backbone © T. Dübendorfer (2005), TIK/CSG, ETH Zurich -4- 1) Introduction Related Work Internet backbone worm analyses: • Many theoretical worm spreading models and simulations exist (e.g. -
Computer Security CS 426 Lecture 15
Computer Security CS 426 Lecture 15 Malwares CS426 Fall 2010/Lecture 15 1 Trapdoor • SttitittSecret entry point into a system – Specific user identifier or password that circumvents normal security procedures. • Commonlyyy used by developers – Could be included in a compiler. CS426 Fall 2010/Lecture 15 2 Logic Bomb • Embedded in legitimate programs • Activated when specified conditions met – E.g., presence/absence of some file; Particular date/time or particular user • When triggered, typically damages system – Modify/delete files/disks CS426 Fall 2010/Lecture 15 3 Examppgle of Logic Bomb • In 1982 , the Trans-Siber ian Pipe line inc iden t occurred. A KGB operative was to steal the plans fhititdtltditfor a sophisticated control system and its software from a Canadian firm, for use on their Siberi an pi peli ne. The CIA was tippe d o ff by documents in the Farewell Dossier and had the company itlibbithinsert a logic bomb in the program for sabotage purposes. This eventually resulted in "the most monu mental non-nu clear ex plosion and fire ever seen from space“. CS426 Fall 2010/Lecture 15 4 Trojan Horse • Program with an overt Example: Attacker: (expected) and covert effect Place the following file cp /bin/sh /tmp/.xxsh – Appears normal/expected chmod u+s,o+x /tmp/.xxsh – Covert effect violates security policy rm ./ls • User tricked into executing ls $* Trojan horse as /homes/victim/ls – Expects (and sees) overt behavior – Covert effect performed with • Victim user’s authorization ls CS426 Fall 2010/Lecture 15 5 Virus • Self-replicating -
MODELING the PROPAGATION of WORMS in NETWORKS: a SURVEY 943 in Section 2, Which Set the Stage for Later Sections
942 IEEE COMMUNICATIONS SURVEYS & TUTORIALS, VOL. 16, NO. 2, SECOND QUARTER 2014 Modeling the Propagation of Worms in Networks: ASurvey Yini Wang, Sheng Wen, Yang Xiang, Senior Member, IEEE, and Wanlei Zhou, Senior Member, IEEE, Abstract—There are the two common means for propagating attacks account for 1/4 of the total threats in 2009 and nearly worms: scanning vulnerable computers in the network and 1/5 of the total threats in 2010. In order to prevent worms from spreading through topological neighbors. Modeling the propa- spreading into a large scale, researchers focus on modeling gation of worms can help us understand how worms spread and devise effective defense strategies. However, most previous their propagation and then, on the basis of it, investigate the researches either focus on their proposed work or pay attention optimized countermeasures. Similar to the research of some to exploring detection and defense system. Few of them gives a nature disasters, like earthquake and tsunami, the modeling comprehensive analysis in modeling the propagation of worms can help us understand and characterize the key properties of which is helpful for developing defense mechanism against their spreading. In this field, it is mandatory to guarantee the worms’ spreading. This paper presents a survey and comparison of worms’ propagation models according to two different spread- accuracy of the modeling before the derived countermeasures ing methods of worms. We first identify worms characteristics can be considered credible. In recent years, although a variety through their spreading behavior, and then classify various of models and algorithms have been proposed for modeling target discover techniques employed by them. -
Wannacry Ransomware
KNOW THE UNKNOWN® Success Story: WannaCry Ransomware WHITE PAPER Challenge Stopping a Worm & Saving Millions Worms like WannaCry and Petya operate as essentially Even the most recent of these attacks like WannaCry and zero-day attacks: they can lie dormant on our networks Petya still echo the basic principles of past-worms, and as and then rapidly spread between devices upon waking up. such, they are both preventable and stoppable. During The consequences of being hit by one is dramatic: precious the Code Red, Nimda, and ILOVEYOU attacks of the early- data is either ransom-locked or wiped and thus often 2000s, businesses that had invested in a NIKSUN-like irrecoverable. This means millions in lost data, restoration solution were able to run a rapid report to get a list of fees, public relations, and stock-holder confidence. all infected devices and cut them off from their network. Instead of thousands of machines being affected, they When FedEx was hit by Petya, for example, their subsidiary were able to resolve the incident with minor losses of TNT Express experienced “widespread service delays” and hundreds or less. This process takes a mere few minutes were unable to “fully restore all of the affected systems and thus could have saved Reckitt Benckiser from their and recover all of the critical business data that was hour-long attack. encrypted by the virus.”1 Shares in the company dropped 3.4% in the wake of the attack.2 Total, 100% visibility is simply the only way to stop these worms from becoming too damaging. -
The Blaster Worm: Then and Now
Worms The Blaster Worm: Then and Now The Blaster worm of 2003 infected at least 100,000 Microsoft Windows systems and cost millions in damage. In spite of cleanup efforts, an antiworm, and a removal tool from Microsoft, the worm persists. Observing the worm’s activity can provide insight into the evolution of Internet worms. MICHAEL n Wednesday, 16 July 2003, Microsoft and continued to BAILEY, EVAN Security Bulletin MS03-026 (www. infect new hosts COOKE, microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.mspx) more than a year later. By using a wide area network- FARNAM O announced a buffer overrun in the Windows monitoring technique that observes worm infection at- JAHANIAN, AND Remote Procedure Call (RPC) interface that could let tempts, we collected observations of the Blaster worm DAVID WATSON attackers execute arbitrary code. The flaw, which the during its onset in August 2003 and again in August 2004. University of Last Stage of Delirium (LSD) security group initially This let us study worm evolution and provides an excel- Michigan uncovered (http://lsd-pl.net/special.html), affected lent illustration of a worm’s four-phase life cycle, lending many Windows operating system versions, including insight into its latency, growth, decay, and persistence. JOSE NAZARIO NT 4.0, 2000, and XP. Arbor When the vulnerability was disclosed, no known How the Blaster worm attacks Networks public exploit existed, and Microsoft made a patch avail- The initial Blaster variant’s decompiled source code re- able through their Web site. The CERT Coordination veals its unique behavior (http://robertgraham.com/ Center and other security organizations issued advisories journal/030815-blaster.c).