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6 views

Lecture - 15 - New

Uploaded by

amaan44633
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Data Communications

Security Threats

School of Computing and Engineering


University of West London, UK

Dr. Ikram Ur Rehman


Data Communications Security Threats
 Threat: Potential to causing harm to an IT
network/infrastructure.

 Vulnerability: A security weakness that can be comprised of an


IT system (e.g. Outdated version of Windows).

 Exploit: Using a security weakness (vulnerability) in order to


cause harm to an IT system.

 Risk: Possibility of a successful attack and impact of that


attack.

 Mitigation: Methods to prevent possible attack.

Remember: Attacker will constantly develop new


Malware
 A malware is a malicious software/program which includes:

 Viruses: A virus involves human action the spread. It attaches


itself to other software and can spread from one computer to
another.

 Worms: A self-propagating virus that replicates itself.

 Trojan Horse: It is a malicious software that tricks humans to


be
a legitimate software. It also creates back doors.

 Ransomware: It is based on crypto-virology, which threats


Hacking Tools
 Penetration testing (Good guys use the same tools)

 Hacking tools often use Linux. These tools include:

 Password cracking tool

 Sniffers

 Ping Sweepers

 Port and vulnerability scanners


Common Attacks
 Reconnaissance:

 Obtain information about the potential victim.

 The attacker will start with searching online, phone directories and job
listings etc.

 Once the information is gathered, the attacker will then use ping sweepers
and port scanners.

Be careful about the information you are making public.


Common Attacks
 Social engineering:

 Use social engineering to deceive and manipulate individuals Into


providing confidential information.

 Typical methods include use of social networking, email and telephone.

 The attacker will pretend to be someone else to the victim.

Be careful about the information you are making public.


Common Attacks
 Phishing:

 Phishing is the most popular social engineering attack, where attacker


pretends to be someone from a reputable organisation and try to obtain
the individuals passwords and credit card information etc.

 The victim is then directed to an illegitimate website which looks exactly


similar to original website, convincing the victim to enter confidential
information.

Be careful about the information you provide.


Common Attacks
 Data Exfiltration:

 Leak of unauthorised data from an organisation.

 This can be done intentionally by the attacker or accidentally by internal


staff member.

 Example can be accidentally sending confidential information in email or


leaving USB at unsafe location.
Common Attacks
 Denial of Service (DOS) :

 DOS attack restricts legitimate users from accessing IT services.

 DOS attack typically overwhelms (floods) the network with unusual large
amount of traffic, which it cannot handle.

 If DOS attack comes from a single source it can easily be blocked by


blocking that host.
Common Attacks
 Spoofing :

 In spoofing, the attacker fakes their identity.

 Types of Spoofing:

1. IP address spoofing

2. MAC address spoofing

3. Application spoofing (fake DHCP server)


Common Attacks
 Man in the Middle:

 In man in the middle attack, the attacker puts itself


in between the communication path.

 This enables the attacker to read the data as well as


manipulate the data.
Common Attacks
 Password Attacks:

 The attacker tries to gain access to the network.

 Enumeration techniques are used to learn the usernames


and password cracking techniques are used to learn
passwords.

 These techniques include:

1. Guessing

2. Dictionary attack

3. Brute force attack Remember: Keep your passwords strong


Common Attacks
 Packet Sniffers:

 Once the attacker has managed to get into the network, they
can use packet sniffer tools such as Wireshark to read sent
and received packets.

 After learning sensitive information, the attacker can exploit


the organisation or plan an attack.
Solutions
 Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention
System (IPS)

 Similar to anti-virus software on your PC.

 Use signatures to inspect packet packets.

 Identify patterns similar to attack.

 Identify anomalies (e.g. a host sending more traffic


than
usual).
Solutions
 Cryptography

 Cryptography uses authentication and encryption methods to


send sensitive data securely across untrusted network i.e.
Internet.

 Services provided:

 Authenticity

 Confidentiality

 Integrity

 Non-deniability
Solutions
 Cryptography:

 Symmetric Encryption: A same key is shared between source and


destination, which is used to encrypt and decrypt data.

 A shared key is known to both source and destination.

 Examples: DES, 3DES and AES etc.


Solutions
 Cryptography:

 Asymmetric Encryption: Asymmetric encryption uses both public


and private keys.

 If public key is used for encryption then private key is used for
decryption and vice versa.

 Data cannot be decrypted using a public key.

 Examples: RSA and ECDSA


 Cryptography:
Solutions
 Hash-Based Message authentication codes (HMAC):

 HMAC provides data integrity.

 An encrypted hash value using symmetric key is sent alongside


data.

 If hash code is not changed between source and destination that


means the data has not been modified. Example: MD5, SHA
Packet Tracer Demo
Security Best Practices
(Securing your device)

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