Cybercrime for dummies

"Botnets are networks of virus-infected computers controlled remotely by an attacker. The Coreflood virus is a key-logging program that allows cyber thieves to steal personal and financial information by recording unsuspecting users’ every keystroke" 

Cybercrime is a war zone. But instead of A47's dropping missiles, hackers are shooting emails and links fully armored to take out the computers intelligence system and reprogram. Information is valuable to the infrastructure of every organization. The United States is held together by public works (exp.: oil, water, gas, & electric) known as critical infrastructure. Hackers have the ability to penetrate the systems that make these technologies tick. The public should equate a bomb threat to a cyber attack; if a hacker reprograms a pipeline, it will blow, just like if a bomb went off. Because a cyber attack has the capability to do the same damage to the physical and economic infrastructure. Cybercrime is detrimental to the economy because it causes billions of dollars in damage each year, it effects a large amount of people, and it has the ability manipulate our critical infrastructure, which without could put the whole country in physical and economical turmoil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIELVMQhvXc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8hZQxWC3A8

DEFINITIONS

Computer attack: A generic term for a malicious action whose target and means involves  computing.

Botnet: Network of malicious robots ("bots"), installed on compromised machines ("zombies"), in a number to ensure active camouflage and to direct its actions to one or more determined targets (ex. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) or mass emails ("spam")).

"Botnet" controller ("bot herder"): Individual responsible for remotely managing and monitoring a network of robots through a C&C Control and Communication server.

Trojan horse: Hidden malicious code that can take control of the compromised computer without the knowledge of the legitimate user.

Cloud computing: Method of processing client data, using the Internet, in the form of services provided by a service provider. This is done using a cloud computing model that provides access to a shared set of configurable resources over an on-demand network. Its resources include networks, servers, storage, applications, and other elements, arranged into "clouds" in various geographical locations, without the specific location or operation of the cloud being made known to clients.

Malicious code ("malware"): A program developed for the purpose of causing harm through a computer system or a network. Trojan horses, viruses, and worms are forms of malware, characterized by the presence of propagation, triggering, and action mechanisms that are often developed with an intent to cause harm.

Cyberattack: A malicious act through a computing device, generally over a telecommunications network.

Cyberthreat: A local or remote threatening action targeting information or information systems.

Denial of Service (DoS): An action to prevent or greatly limit the ability of a system to provide an expected service.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): An action launched from multiple sources, especially by means of a botnet.

Phishing: Misleading technique intended to obtain personal information by misleading the holders of that information.

Fraud: A deliberate illegal act carried out by one or more subtle means, with the intention to deceive in order to gain an advantage. This can take various forms, which may or may not require complicity, leading to injury to the victim.

Social engineering: A method of obtaining an asset or information by exploiting trust, ignorance, or credulity, or by applying psychological pressure or appealing to one’s compassion.

Accountability: Security property associated with monitoring performed operations and functions, without possible repudiation.

Integrity: Security property associated with storing data and components without corruption in space and time.

Intrusion: Introduction and maintenance of a fraudulent character in a system for the purpose of retrieving or modifying, or else altering or destroying.

Pirated machine or "zombie": A machine compromised by a malicious robot ("bot") on a network ("botnet") directed by a "bot herder".

Hacker: An individual who breaks into a computer system for an intellectual challenge, with malicious intent, or for profit, acting alone or as part of a group.

Spam: Unsolicited email messages, often sent in large numbers.

Address spoofing: The act of deliberately replacing one address with another address, such as a physical MAC (Medium Access Control) address, IP address, domain address, email address, etc.

Identity Theft: Temporary or permanent borrowing of a person’s identity by appropriating the victim’s identifiers.

Also see: www.clusif.asso.fr/fr/production/glossaire/

The defintions above come from the glossary section of a french study Prospective Analysis on Trends in Cybercrime from 2011-2020 by 22 experts from Gendarmerie Nationale ("based on an iterative process of electronic consultations, using the Delphi method and an open-ended questionaire based on an ad hoc model").

(translated by McAfee Labs)
Study found here.

"Botnet Operation Disabled." FBI. U.S. Government, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2012.    
Gendarmerie Nationale, and François Paget. Prospective Analysis on Trends in Cybercrime from 2011 to 2020. Rep. Trans. McAfee. N.p.: n.p., 2011. Web.