Hackers and Artificial Intelligence A Dynamic Duo Article Summary Provide a Topic Summary (a minimum of 250 words) of your choice on an article selected fr

Hackers and Artificial Intelligence A Dynamic Duo Article Summary Provide a Topic Summary (a minimum of 250 words) of your choice on an article selected from one of the Websites listed below.

This week reading

MODULE 5 READINGS

This week’s readings:

Provide a Topic Summary (a minimum of 250 words) of your choice on an article selected from one of the Websites listed below.

This week reading

MODULE 5 READINGS

This week’s readings:

attached 3 pdf file

In addition to the attached files, this week’s readings include:

-Valeriano/Maness. Cyber War Versus Cyber Realities, Chapter 6

– Reveron. Cyberspace and National Security, Chapter 4

Please have a look at the attached files & the additional reading and go through the websites listed below, then

Provide a Topic Summary of your choice on an article selected from one of the Websites listed below. These summaries (a minimum of 250 words) must tie your article to the assigned readings for the week.

Here are the websites:

Websites

https://www.fireeye.com

https://krebsonsecurity.com

https://www.schneier.com

https://www.wired.com/category/threatlevel/

https://www.darkreading.com

Professor instructions

Weekly Topic Summary

Your assignment is to provide a Topic Summary of your choice on an article selected from one of the listed Websites. These summaries (a minimum of 250 words) must tie your article to the assigned readings for the week.

–These are summaries of a single article from one of the five websites provided in the syllabus. No other references or research is required. I do expect you to make a connection between your summary and the readings for the module for that week. Cyber-securityThe lessons of Equihack
The security breach of Equifax was handled spectacularly badly. Other firms, take note
EQUIFAX, like all credit-monitoring firms, trades on its ability to handle sensitive financial
information. So there was grim irony in the news that the firm has been the victim of a
particularly big and damaging data breach. The company reckons that more than 143m
people, mostly Americans, have been a?ected. The pilfered data include addresses, creditcard details and Social Security numbers. The Social Security numbers are especially
valuable: they are the closest thing America has to a centralised national-identity system, and
are far harder to change than a password on a compromised account.
A series of self-inflicted wounds made things much worse (see article). A rickety website set
up so that customers could check whether they had been a?ected seemed to require them to
waive their right to sue (not so, insisted the firm, which later changed the site). Those who
wanted to freeze credit checks were at first asked to pay. Senior managers sold shares after
the breach had been discovered, but before it had been made public (the firm insists no
insider trading has taken place). Lawyers and attorneys-general are right to want to
investigate.
ADVERTISING
inRead invented by Teads
There but for the grace…
The breach was big but Equifax is no outlier. Last year Yahoo revealed that hackers had
swiped details from more than 1bn accounts; AdultFriendFinder, a casual-sex site, had more
than 400m accounts compromised. Disruptions from cyber-attacks hurt investors on a
regular basis. A.P. Moller-Maersk, a big shipping company, had its computers frozen by
malware earlier this year; it reckons the losses could reach $300m. The same attack cost
Reckitt Benckiser, a consumer-goods firm, £100m ($133m) in lost sales. Firms that might
once have been tempted to shrug o? the dangers are increasingly at risk of regulatory action.
New European laws envisage hefty fines for non-compliance with cyber-security standards;
rules enacted by New York’s financial regulator came into force in August.
The nature of the threat is changing, too. The computerisation of everyday objects, for
instance, turns the whole world into a hacker’s playground. One casino recently su?ered a
data breach after hackers gained access to an internet-connected fish tank, and jumped from
there to more sensitive parts of the company’s network. Hackers are also changing their
business models. Instead of selling data on the black market, some are trying to hold
companies to ransom, as Netflix, a video-streaming firm, discovered in April when thieves
made o? with an unaired episode of one of its hit programmes.
What to do? Two principles ought to guide the way that firms plan their cyber-security. The
first is to take a layered approach to defence. That is how societies think about many other
risks. Cars are dangerous machines, for example. Driving codes and road signs try to prevent
accidents from happening. But that does not always work, so cars are engineered to protect
their occupants in the event of a crash. If that is not enough, emergency services and
hospitals try to fix the damage.
This sort of thinking is relatively new in the computer-security business, which has tended to
focus mostly on prevention. As more attention is paid to mitigation and disaster recovery,
firms should take a similar approach themselves. Walling o? di?erent chunks of sensitive data
within a company, for instance, can reduce the impact of any hacks that do breach the outer
defences. Planning in advance how to respond to a hack reduces the risk of Equifax-like
botches.
The second principle is to think about data more intelligently, including how much is stored,
and for how long. Firms mostly regard information as an asset. The attractions of
technologies such as artificial intelligence encourage them to stockpile as much as possible.
But the same digital infrastructure that makes piles of data useful makes them vulnerable to
anyone who fancies trying to swipe them. That—and regulators’ increasing impatience with
leaks—makes data a source of business and legal risk. This newspaper has argued that, in
powering the economy, data are today what oil was in the 20th century. The analogy is apt.
Oil is valuable stu?. But it is also toxic and flammable—and spills can be disastrous.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Learning
the lessons of Equihack”
Cyber-security: Good tech,bad tech | The Economist
5/12/15, 11:50 PM
Cyber-security
Good tech,bad tech
Why people need to wise up about what smart criminals are working on
Feb 21st 2015 | From the print edition
Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can
Do About It. By Marc Goodman. Doubleday; 464 pages; $27.95. Bantam; £20.
AT A recent cyber-security summit in Silicon Valley, Barack Obama was asked by an interviewer
from Re/code, a technology blog, to give his view of the thorny issue of cyber-snooping by
governments. Mr Obama drew on a sporting analogy: “This is more like basketball than [American]
football,” he said, “…there’s no clear line between offence and defence.”
In the corporate world digital defences are being overwhelmed alarmingly often. A string of recent
high-profile intrusions by hackers, ranging from the devastating cyber-attack on Sony Pictures
Entertainment to the news this week that crafty hackers had pilfered large sums of money from
banks in Russia and elsewhere, have propelled cyber-security to the top of boardroom agendas.
Marc Goodman’s book was printed before these attacks took place. But it contains plenty of other
episodes that highlight how hacking has evolved into a multinational endeavour run by criminal
masterminds and spooks.
Mr Goodman, who worked with both Interpol and the FBI before striking out on his own as an
expert on digital criminality, worries that the worst is yet to come. As technology rapidly advances,
many more things, from pacemakers to cars and power stations, are being connected to the internet
and governed by software that is vulnerable to crooks and terrorists.
No sooner is security beefed up than someone attempts to get around it. For instance, firms are
experimenting with biometrics, or replacing passwords with things such as fingerprint or facial
scans. But crooks are already looking for ways to pinch copies of fingerprints—which, unlike
passwords, cannot be changed easily—and to fool facial-recognition systems.
http://www.economist.com/node/21644121/print
Page 1 of 2
Cyber-security: Good tech,bad tech | The Economist
5/12/15, 11:50 PM
Innovations that generate exponential benefits are also making society more vulnerable. One
example is the spread of sophisticated software based on complex algorithms. Such software has
enabled companies to automate everything from stock-trading to credit-checking, slashing costs and
prices. But digital Al Capones love algorithms too. They use them to target large numbers of people
with automated “ransomware” attacks that lock them out of their computers and force them to pay a
fee to get hold of their data again.
So how can companies better protect themselves in future? Mr Goodman points out that much
software code is being shipped with flaws or “bugs” in it that are “patched” over time. But hackers
can exploit these bugs before they are remedied. One solution, he thinks, is to stiffen liability laws so
software companies that ship bug-ridden code can be sued more easily. This is worth debating, but a
regime that was too draconian would force firms out of business and stifle innovation.
In spite of the many scary scenarios in this excellent and timely book, Mr Goodman is no neoLuddite. He thinks innovations could ultimately lead to self-healing computer networks that detect
hackers and automatically make repairs to shut them out. He rightly urges the private and public
sectors to work more closely together, “crowdsourcing” ideas and know-how.
Striking the right balance between ensuring security and satisfying society’s desire for shiny new
gadgets and permanent connectivity will not be easy. As people become more dependent on
technology, the risks will rise. The best time to start tackling future crimes is now.
From the print edition: Books and arts
http://www.economist.com/node/21644121/print
Page 2 of 2
Preventing the Internet of Things turning into cyber arsenal – The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
2/11/18, 23(25
MENU
(/)
Technology & Innovation (/technology-innovation)
Talent & Education (/talent-education)
Financial Services (/financial-services)
Sustainability (/sustainability)
Healthcare (/healthcare)
Infrastructure & Cities (/infrastructure-cities)
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION (/TECHNOLOGY-INNOVATION)
Strategy & Leadership (/strategy-leadership)
All Sections
Sign up for Weekly Digest
DOWNLOAD
REPORT
The Economic
Impact of
Machine Learning
Preventing the Internet of Things turning into
cyber arsenal
July 11, 2017
Global
(/node/16623) Andrew Cooke (/andrew-cooke)
Enter your Email Address
Download Report
Technical evolution has seen manufacturing move from manual
production lines, through mass production via assembly lines, to the
adoption of computers and automation. As working practices
continue to evolve, our manufacturing plants are moving into what is
being described as ‘Smart Factories’ or ‘Industry 4.0.’
Utilising the ‘Internet of Things’, or IoT as it is more commonly known, cyber-physical systems monitor and control
physical processes, feeding the resultant data back into dashboards that are supervised by people. When
functioning correctly, the derived savings both in time and human labour are immense, but could it come at a
hidden price?
What is Industry 4.0?
Cited as the next phase in modern manufacturing, Industry 4.0 is the integration of physical components with
software components in operational technology (OT). This amalgamation unites the Industrial Internet of Things
(IIoT,) in real time via the wireless web i.e. cloud computing, with cyber physical systems capable of monitoring
the factory’s physical processes.
The implementations are far reaching – from creating smart grids, to guiding autonomous vehicles and creating
robotic plants – all with minimal input from human operators.
The benefits from Industry 4.0 are equally enticing. For hostile working environments – such as dusty, hot or
intoxicating conditions- health and safety risks could be improved upon, if not eradicated from the negation of
human intervention. Similarly, improvements in efficiency and productivity could be realised from consistent
https://perspectives.eiu.com/technology-innovation/preventing-internet-things-turning-cyber-arsenal
Page 1 of 4
Preventing the Internet of Things turning into cyber arsenal – The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
2/11/18, 23(25
monitoring and computer controlled assessments that potentially identify issues before they become a problem.
Many organisations could potentially increase revenues, profit margins and their advantage over competitors.
However, as with any change in working practices, it’s not without its challenges.
The Lessons Learned from Mirai
The Mirai IoT malware powerfully demonstrated how damaging lax security practices can be. In October 2016,
several high-profile websites were inaccessible due to a Domain Name Server attack. Consumer IoT devices –
from digital video recorders, CCTVs, routers and various other appliances were all compromised by malicious
code that used factory set credentials [default username and passwords that were left unchanged] to recruit
the devices to a Botnet. This army of infected internet-connected devices was then used to launch the
Distributed Denial of Service attack against the internet performance management company Dyn, rendering
Amazon, Twitter, PayPal, Spotify and many other major websites inaccessible.
With Industry 4.0, physical entry terminals all have IoT embedded into them, which in turn are integrated with the
credentials database – and it’s this integration that poses a risk, potentially providing an unlocked door that
allows attackers to compromise these IoT devices, creating a cyber arsenal to mount attacks against the
network and compromise internal management systems, or firing attacks out across the internet.
Are there warning signs to monitor for?
Currently, across all organisations and sectors, there are various attacks happening all the time, it’s just few are
disclosed publicly – intentionally or otherwise.
The challenge is that it’s extremely difficult to identify attacks in an OT environment. While monitoring services
exist for OT environments they have limited application due to the necessity for network zones, or segmentation.
This means that sensors need to be placed at a number of different layers within the network in order to monitor
activity. Another contributing factor is complacency, even if network traffic is being captured. Many
organisations are completely focused on getting systems up and running again, rather than mining through vast
data sets to determine categorically what went wrong.
Cyber-security best practices
As organisations adopt Industry 4.0 working practices, cyber security is increasingly paramount. As cyber
criminals continue to ply their trade, looking for connecting IIoT devices to compromise, slamming these
backdoors closed is a priority.
With that in mind, here are five cyber security best practices to minimise the risk of IIoT devices:
Default credentials: Mirai and Brickerbot highlight the risk posed from factory set usernames and passwords.
Before connecting a device, ensure that these credentials have been reset.
Patching: When code flaws – i.e. zero day vulnerabilities, are found in software, updates will be released.
Organisations need to determine how these can be implemented and rolled out to affected devices within the
environment.
Network maps: Understand the complete profile of the network. This includes defining how OT and IIoT is
connected and the risk that exists within the process.
Asset identification: Determine what processes and assets are critical to the organisations ability to operate and
what the threat vectors might be.
Upskilling: Understand the blue-collar workforce and how working practices have changed. Many now use
technology to perform tasks, so make them aware of the cyber threats they face. For example, engineers
should not be able to just plug in a USB stick without first checking that it is free of malware and its operating
system is up to date.
In cyberwar threat actors are continuously testing and probing to see what a target’s response is, and will
enhance their threat to break through defences put in place actually work. It’s a continuous process of
intelligence gathering and attack defence.
Compromising a nation’s key assets will greatly undermine the ability of the country to keep working. The
WannaCry outbreak is one example that highlighted just how disruptive an impact this type of attack can have
on nation states, as well as global businesses. Many victims of the ransomware attack were desktop computers
https://perspectives.eiu.com/technology-innovation/preventing-internet-things-turning-cyber-arsenal
Page 2 of 4
Preventing the Internet of Things turning into cyber arsenal – The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
2/11/18, 23(25
running unsupported operating systems, and representing the human machine interface with key control
systems running healthcare, infrastructure and major manufacturing systems.
Tags
CYBERSECURITY (/SEARCH/CYBERSECURITY)
Social Share:
Related Content
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
Digital upheaval: How Asia-
(/technology-innovation/digitalPacific is leading the way in
upheaval-how-asia-pacificemerging media consumption
leading-way-emerging-mediatrends
consumption-trends)
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
(/technology-innovation/betterBetter life breakthroughs
life-breakthroughs)
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
(/technologyinnovation/connectingConnecting Commerce
commerce)
Andrew Cooke (/andrew-cooke)
Contributor
Andrew Cooke is Head of Consulting in Airbus’ cyber-security business. He joined to
(/node/16623)
lead their industrial controls cyber security team in July 2016, taking over the lead of the
consulting practice as well in December 2016. Before joining Airbus Andrew spent
fifteen years in a series of senior security roles in Atkins.
Andrew established Atkins’ Security and Intelligence practice in 2006 before moving to
Abu Dhabi in 2009, to lead their Infrastructure Management Consultancy practice in the
region. He returned to the UK at the beginning of 2013 and has been part of the team
leading the development of Atkins’ Security business bringing together their extensive
capability in the design and development of physical, personnel, cyber and industrial
control systems security.
https://perspectives.eiu.com/technology-innovation/preventing-internet-things-turning-cyber-arsenal
Page 3 of 4

Purchase answer to see full
attachment