INTL440 - Assignment#1 - Internet Communication - Patterson, Megan
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
American Public University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
440
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
8
Uploaded by DeanGalaxy14946
1
Internet Communications:
Functions, Applications, and Vulnerabilities
Megan Patterson
Cyber Warfare
Course number: INTL440
25 December, 2022
2
Introduction
Rapid technological advancements over the last 30 years laid the foundation for an entirely new form of criminal activity: cyber. Though the computer industry and interconnected networks (internet) are relatively young and certainly unique compared to historical forms of weaponry, society’s reliance upon this networking and information distribution capability is not lost on those who would wish to do harm. Cyber criminals pose a near-constant threat to anyone who communicates on the worldwide Internet. In order to arm an individual or organization against this threat, it is imperative to understand the fundamental building blocks which comprise networks. In turn, this serves to further determine the vulnerabilities inherent to various networks as well as software applications. Armed with this foundational knowledge, steps can then be taken to mitigate the risk posed by cyber criminals while utilizing the Internet.
Networking Foundation
The advent of computers coupled with connected systems paved the way for a global communication architecture and what is now commonly referred to as the Internet. The once simplistic design of interconnected computers has evolved into mass networking designs with
the merging of computers and communications. Two computers able to exchange information
via a multitude of means including fiber optics, satellites, or microwaves, are considered to be interconnected and form the most basic foundation of much larger networks. Expanding upon this, there are two models by which these networks are formed: client-server and peer-
to-peer. The client-server model is popular for Web applications as centrally housed servers generate data responses to remote clients. The process of running programs enables communication between the client machine and the server machine with message packets over the network. Peer-to-peer communication, on the other hand, is a model in which
3
individuals communicate directly with others with no central database (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013). Connecting two or more networks requires translation across hardware and software achieved through gateways operating at various levels of protocol hierarchy. Additionally, between adjacent layers are interfaces which define the operations and services available to each layer. These interfaces make it easier to replace a layer with different protocols or implementations, a set of which is known as a network architecture. Individual machines do not need to have the same interfaces as long as they use the proper protocols for a system. Broadcast and point-to-points links connect individual pairs of machines as the two types of transmission technology. Where point-to-point is transmission between one sender and receiver, broadcast networks have communication channels shared by all machines on a network. Broadcasting allows for transmission to a subset of machines, and technology advancements such as RFID conceptualizes the real-world Internet of Things (IoT) (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013). The development of the IoT promoting interconnected smart devices is an evolutionary design of computer networking in which users are able to effortlessly scale their demands up or down. In conjunction with the IoT, cloud computing is an imperative building block to provide a wireless network database active across all devices in the form of a smart grid (Alam and Benaida 2018). Computer networks provide a wide range of communication mediums. Some examples include e-mail (peer-to-peer communication), Voice over IP (VoIP), desktop sharing to enable shared changes to an online working document, and even telemedicine such
as remote patient monitoring. The growing e-commerce model of business has further driven advances across networks to enable convenience of manufacturing and shopping for various goods. Not to be confused with the Internet, the World Wide Web is a distributed system, representing a collection of independent computers that then appear as a single system, and is
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
4
a software layer called middleware. This middleware provides the means of cohesiveness and
transparency necessary for the Internet to then be effectively used by displaying a common document (web page) (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013). Personal Area Networks (PANs) constitute connection of devices over the range of an
individual, typically including such items as a keyboard, mouse, or a printer. PANs can be facilitated through wireless connectivity such as Bluetooth or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Expanding out, Local Area Networks (LANs) are privately owned and operate within a single building such as a home or office to connect computers and enable sharing of resources and exchange of information. Wireless LANs make use of radio modems and antennas to communicate through an Access Point (AP), wireless router, or base station through a standard called IEEE 802.11, otherwise known as WiFi. A point-to-point configuration of this would be IEEE 802.3, or Ethernet. Next, a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) covers a city; perhaps most widely realized as cable television. A Wide Area Network (WAN) covers geographical areas such as countries or even continents. WANs appear similar to larger, wired LANs comprised of hosts and subnets. As more and more household appliances are able to communicate across LANs, accessibility across the Internet is a modern norm. Finally, Global Area Network (GAN) is best realized in what the world currently knows as the Internet (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013).
Software Vulnerabilities
As computer networks and the Internet have evolved over the decades, vulnerabilities have been exposed and network security has become a prevailing necessity. However, securing networks is not as simple as ensuring programs are free of errors; it involves taking steps to deter and combat dedicated adversaries and cyber criminals, often originating from insider threats. Network security can broadly be categorized into four areas: secrecy, authentication, nonrepudiation, and integrity control (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013).
5
According to the FBI, some of the biggest/most common threats posed by cyber criminals include e-mail compromise and scams, identity theft, ransomware, and spoofing and phishing
(FBI, n.d.). Well-trained, successful, and often well-funded hackers, sometimes backed by criminal organizations, contribute to what is known as Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). These APTs are executed through coordinated human efforts as opposed to automation through pieces of code, and often combine multiple targeting tools and techniques in order to conduct long-term attacks (Cunningham and Touhill 2020). Within the physical layer of protocol stack network security, wiretapping poses a threat to the transmission of information. In the data layer, information on a point-to-point line must be decrypted as it traverses multiple routers making it vulnerable to attacks from the router itself. For the network layer, firewalls can be used to filter between good and bad information packets. However, security vulnerabilities still exist even with a perfectly configured firewall. Outside intruders can input false source addresses to circumvent filters while criminal actors inside of the firewall can bypass filters by using encryption or alteration
of file types to leak sensitive information (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013). Firewalls can also be targeted to bring down a Web site by sending a multitude of illegitimate connection requests which can ultimately collapse the target in what is known as a denial of service (DoS) attack. Taking this form of attack a step further, intruders can utilize multiple computers from various locations to attack a single target at the same time in a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. DDoS attacks are significantly more difficult to detect because they are executed from multiple external sources and the attack can cause immense disruptions across financial institutions, governments, and large organizations (BYOS, n.d.). Finally, the application layer reveals one of the most persistent vulnerabilities as lax security procedures and insider threats, both malicious in nature and not, lead to security breaches no amount of encryption can prevent. The output of an encrypted message, known as plaintext,
6
requires a decryption key to then decipher the encrypted message. Passive intruders listening in on the communication channel, and active intruders injecting or modifying messages, both target the vulnerability of encryption through cryptoanalysis to break the cipher. Originally Data Encryption Standard (DES), the new Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) shows the continued security threat encryption faces as super computers and eventually quantum computing are able to rapidly decrypt messages.
Privacy is often targeted by means of small files called cookies used by Web browsers
to track and store users’ activities. Cookies may allow confidential user information such as credit card numbers or even social security numbers to be leaked across the Internet. Other content on web pages and within e-mails can contain active programs or executable macros which have viruses that can be used for criminal activity to include stealing data or rendering the victim computer as part of a larger collection of compromised entities to send spam. Encryption and authentication can help deter criminal activity, but ensuring hardware and software incorporate these security measures is difficult due to costs and the seemingly never-ending cycle of buggy software compounded by the additional of features to overcome coding issues thus resulting in more bugs (Tanenbaum and Wetherall 2013). Scams used to infect victims’ devices with ransomware are a common attack vector whereby malicious apps
can be installed with high privileges that ultimately spread an “infection” and can render a device useless and the user helpless to stop the spread (Cunningham and Touhill 2020).
The Domain Name System (DNS) associates entities with hierarchical assigned names across Internet Protocol (IP) networks. However, DNS servers can be spoofed to install a false IP address, allowing an intruder access for a man-in-the-middle attack (BYOS, n.d.). Web page code is also vulnerable to compromised browser extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins. These programs may pose an insidious threat of gathering information to then send
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
7
to a remote server or they can introduce buggy code with its own vulnerabilities which can be
exploited.
As cloud computing and the internet of smart devices has expanded, security challenges and vulnerabilities are being exposed. Networking across the cloud and its inherently distributed architecture lends itself to a multitude of difficulties stemming from a large number of sensors needing to all communicate across a centralized framework (Alam and Benaida 2018). Software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provide a variety of attack options for cyber criminals to infiltrate and either steal data or completely deny service across a broad range. The IoT generic architecture has four layers: application, middleware, network, and perception. As previously discussed, there are a variety of vulnerabilities present at each layer; however, the aspect of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and cloud data storage presents an additional security threat as the protocol of any particular layer must also acquire the security features of the other associated layers (Dey et. al. 2019).
Conclusion
As networked communications are advanced and expanded across the globe, convenience, affordability, and rapid solutions have often taken priority over security. Without a baked-in security plan, and lacking adequate training for individual users, the vulnerabilities of these interconnected systems to the threat of cyber criminals is a continuous
concern. These threats range from something as simple as an unauthorized user on a WiFi network to complete denial of service or mass amounts of stolen sensitive data. The various building blocks of computer networks as outlined provide a variety of attack vectors for a range of cyber criminal activity.
8
References
Alam, Tanweer, and Mohamed Benaida. 2018. “CICS: Cloud–Internet Communication Security Framework for the Internet of Smart Devices.” International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies 12 (6): 74–84. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim. v12i6.6776
BYOS. n.d. “Network Threats: How to Detect and Prevent the 5 Most Common Attacks.” Accessed December 21, 2022. https://www.byos.io/blog/network-threats
Cunningham, Chase, and Gregory J Touhill. 2020. Cyber Warfare - Truth, Tactics, and Strategies: Strategic Concepts and Truths to Help You and Your Organization Survive on the Battleground of Cyber Warfare
. Birmingham: Packt Publishing, Limited.
Dey, Nilanjan, Gitanjali Shinde, Parikshit Mahalle, and Henning Olesen. 2019. The Internet of Everything : Advances, Challenges and Applications. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110628517
FBI. n.d. “Cyber Crime.” What We Investigate. Accessed December 23, 2022. https://www. fbi.gov/investigate/cyber
Tanenbaum, Andrew S, and David J Wetherall. 2013. Computer Networks
. Pearson Education