Network Security: Unseen Technical Threats

 The ping command is a “network utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network” (Nek, 2012). However, malicious actors can misuse this tool for various attacks. One attack is a ping flood (ICMP Flood). In this type of attack, the attacker sends a massive number of ping requests (ICMP echo requests) to a target system, overwhelming the target's network resources and making it unresponsive to legitimate traffic (Sankar, 2023). This causes network congestion, high network latency, unresponsive or slow network services. You would want to Implement rate limiting on incoming ICMP requests, configure firewalls to block excessive ICMP traffic, and utilize intrusion detection systems to detect and mitigate ICMP flood attacks. Another attack using Ping commands is called the ping of death. The attacker sends an ICMP packet that exceeds the maximum allowed packet size, causing the target system to crash or become unstable. This attack causes system crashes, system instability, and unresponsive systems. You would want to update and patch operating systems to fix vulnerabilities that allow oversized packets to crash the system, and implement network filtering to block ICMP packets that exceed the allowed size (Sankar, 2023).

Phishing attacks exploit human psychology and behavior rather than technical vulnerabilities. People can be easily deceived into revealing sensitive information (like passwords, credit card details) by clicking on malicious links or providing information to seemingly trustworthy sources. “The most common phishing approach sends email to a user, appearing to legitimately be from a known organization like PayPal, Amazon, Bank of America, UPS, the government, or a person's own employer” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019). Phishing can cause unexpected financial transactions, unauthorized access to accounts, identity theft, compromised personal or organizational data, and potential legal consequences. Which in turn results in financial loss, reputational damage, loss of sensitive data, legal implications, and loss of trust among customers and stakeholders. In order to better prevent and protect against phishing attacks you would want to educate users about phishing techniques, how to identify suspicious emails or messages, and the importance of not clicking on unknown links or providing personal information. You can also implement email filtering solutions that can detect and quarantine phishing emails, and utilize anti-phishing tools to analyze and block suspicious URLs (Raza, 2023).

 A computer virus is a “program that runs on a user's computer without permission, and spreads itself to other computers, often via email” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019).Vulnerabilities can exist in operating systems, applications, or user behaviors. Viruses can cause slow performance, frequent system crashes, unusual pop-up messages, unauthorized access to files, and modified or deleted data. Viruses can result in data loss, financial loss, compromised system integrity, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and disruption of critical services. In order to better protect from and prevent computer viruses you must keep all software, including operating systems and applications, up to date with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities that can be exploited by viruses. You also want to install and regularly update reputable antivirus and antimalware software to detect and remove viruses from the system (McAfee, 2021). Perform regular system scans and updates to ensure a virus-free environment.

By following these recommendations and understanding the nature of phishing and computer viruses, individuals and organizations can significantly enhance their security posture and mitigate the risks associated with these types of security breaches.

Resources:

How to protect your computer from malware – 5 simple tips. Jitahidi Tech. (2022, September 15). https://jitahidi.com/how-to-protect-your-computer-from-malware/

Nek, D. (2012, February 18). How to deny icmp ping request on centos 6.2. Linux Tutorials for Beginners. https://webhostinggeeks.com/howto/how-to-deny-icmp-ping-request-on-centos-6-2/

Raza, M. (2023, February 17). Phishing scams & attacks: What to expect in 2023. Splunk. https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/learn/phishing-scams-attacks.html?utm_campaign=google_amer_en_search_generic_dynamic_audienceonly&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=dynamic_search&utm_term=&_bk=&_bt=641457582634&_bm=&_bn=g&_bg=144996249552&device=c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvL-oBhCxARIsAHkOiu187Ax9d9s_6YjZj-pkWEXIBhScdwBWOuofkUWdhp3Qyu12HE8EmLgaAunbEALw_wcB

Sankar, K. (2023, May 18). Type of attacks. Cisco Community. https://community.cisco.com/t5/security-knowledge-base/type-of-attacks/ta-p/3154808

What is a computer virus and how to deal with them. McAfee. (2021). https://www.mcafee.com/en-us/antivirus/computer-viruses.html#:~:text=A%20computer%20virus%20is%20a,with%20these%20ever%2Dchanging%20threats.

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.