Network Security

             With the evolution and continues growth in technology across the world, there is also a growth in vulnerabilities across technology. Which will provide hackers and other criminals with more avenues into sensitive information and cause havoc for people. Throughout this assignment I will look more into the criminal attacks of phishing and computer viruses, how attackers can use ping commands to attack, and recommendations for protecting our assets from different attacks.

            Before we can get started, we need to look at what exactly is phishing and computer viruses. According to Desolda et al, “Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in digital communication” (2022). This is done through emails which look like notable and familiar websites. These emails will have slight differences and a link that the email will try to persuade you to click into. After the user clicks on the link which could ask for personal information or to log in and will collect their information. The next attack I will discuss is a computer virus. According to the article by Zarin et al, “Computer viruses are small programs that are inserted into computers without the user's knowledge in order to destroy software and hardware components” (2023). This type of attack can also be accomplished through emails. But it can be done through malicious websites or even from someone plugging in a flash drive. These two different attacks alone show that systems are vulnerable to the user not knowing what they are clicking in and just being unaware of the risks they face.

              Next, I will discuss how an attacker can use a ping command to perform an attack. One of the ways this can be done is by the attacker using what is called the “Ping of Death.” According to the article from Fortinet.com, “The ping of death is a form of denial-of-service attack that occurs when an attacker crashes, destabilizes, or freezes computers or services by targeting them with oversized data packets” (n.d.). When it comes to devices, they can only manage so much information. Which is why this attack is geared at overloading the device with too much.

            With this information, what are some recommendations to protect users from attacks? The first step is to understand how your devices can be vulnerable and the type of attacks that are out there. And this can be done by requiring your departments to have training or taking the initiative yourself and learning to protect your information. Another step is to have a version of antivirus software on your computers and networks. This software can dive deep into your systems and scan for viruses and provide additional information to protect your devices. Overall, being knowledgeable and having protection is the key to staying safe.

            Throughout this assignment I as able to look more into the criminal attacks of phishing and computer viruses, how attackers can use ping commands to attack, and recommendations for protecting our assets from different attacks. There are plenty of ways we can become vulnerable and potentially harm ourselves. In conclusion, when it comes to our computers and other devices, we must take the initiative to protect our equipment and understand what out there can affect us.        


 

References

Desolda, G., Ferro, L., Marrella, A., Catarci, T., & Costabile, M. (2022). Human Factors in Phishing Attacks: A Systematic Literature Review. ACM Computing Surveys54(8), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/3469886

Fortinet (n.d.) Ping of Death https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/ping-of-death#:~:text=The%20ping%20of%20death%20is,that%20organizations%20may%20have%20patched.

Zarin, R., Khaliq, H., Khan, A., Ahmed, I., & Humphries, U. W. (2023). A Numerical Study Based on Haar Wavelet Collocation Methods of Fractional-Order Antidotal Computer Virus Model. Symmetry (20738994)15(3), 621. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15030621

Postan, L. (n.d.) United States Cybersecurity Magazine. The Basics of Network Security. https://www.uscybersecurity.net/the-basics-of-network-security/


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