Part II: Defense Against the Dark Arts - or - How to Outrun My Slowest Friend

As you may recall this is Part Deux of my series.

You can find Part I The Hacker: Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself - here.

As you will recall from Part I, there are 4 Types of Hackers that we discussed:
1.  Just For Fun
2.  To Steal Something
3.  The Hacktivist
4.  The Disgruntled Employee

So, how can you defend yourself against these hackers?

... you only have to outrun your slowest friend.

The first two types are easier than the last two.  I like to use a "Bear in the Woods" analogy, for the first two.  No, not "If a bear poops in the woods when nobody is around, does it still make a sound?"  (yes I am aware that is not correct). 
I mean, that if you and your friends are being chased by a bear in the woods, you don't have to outrun the bear, you ONLY have to outrun your SLOWEST friend!  

If you apply this idea to security, it can go a long way.  What I mean is, you don't have to make your data so secure that nobody can get in, you just need to make it more secure than, well... your slowest friend.  In security term the only way to really secure a computer system completely is to disconnect if from any network and don't allow any users to touch it.  The most secure computer is one that is turned off.  We know this is not possible, so we have to be able to use our systems but also protect them

Any system can be broken into given the proper amount of time and computer power.  But most people don't have an unlimited supply of either one of those, so if at first you don't succeed?  Try to break into an easier system.  If a hacker just wants to try to grab some quick credit card data from your network, he or she will most likely try a few things to get in.  When their initial efforts come up empty, the hacker will often give up try to see if it is easier somewhere else.  Because unfortunately, there are more systems out there that are less secure.  You just outran your slowest friend. 

What about the Hacktivist and Disgruntled Employee?

There is no good way to protect your self against these types of attacks.    First, you don't know when, why or how you will be attacked by either of these two groups.  Also, a hacktivist or a disgruntled employee will usually not give up because it gets hard, although it certainly helps deter them.  Most will continue, until they are satisfied they have inflected some kind of damage.   So it is not so much about stopping this type of attack, but more about how to recover from an attack and that is not the focus of this blog.  --  Sorry!

Also, if you are being targeted by a type 2 hacker to steal some information specific to you, like the Target Data Breach, then they will try harder to get in.  Know Yourself!  What do you have that is worth stealing?

 How do I outrun my slowest friend? 

(or how to make my computer / network less attractive to hackers)

Here is a quick list of a few things you can do today to help protect yourself.

If you cannot do these things yourself, ask a friendly IT person for some help.  We usually respond well to bribes of alcohol, caffeine and sweets, not always in that order.  Seriously, many "tech savvy" computer types can do these things, but if you still have problems contact a professional. 

1. Changer your wireless router default passwords and network name.  (all default passwords should be changed - routers, printers, thermostats, etc.) 

•   Don't use the default name and password that came with your AT&T / Comcast / Etc wireless router. 
•   If you have any other connected devices, thermostat, refrigerator, etc.  Change the password.

2. Stop Broadcasting your  WiFi network name.  - You might have to get your IT person for this.

WiFi Password: L@rryM03&Curly

•  You can still connect to your WiFi without telling the world it is there. 
•  If a hacker doesn't see "Dewey, Cheatem and Howe Attorneys at Law WiFi" screaming at him when he drives past looking for open networks he may not take the time to investigate more.
•  If you need to offer free WiFi to customers or guest, than make sure it is secure, and not part of your actual network that you do business on.  (IT person)  
• I will do a separate blog just about Wireless Security

3.  Shut down your WiFi at night when you leave.

•   Same principal as above. 

 4.  Make sure you have a Firewall in place.

•   This one may take an IT person to help.. remember, the bribes mentioned above?

5.  Never click on a link in an email... ever....

•   Not even the one that promises to be a funny kitten video... just don't do it!

6.  Institute a password policy

•   Make it mandatory to change passwords often and try not to reuse your own passwords for multiple sites.  

•   Check www.haveibeenpawned.com to see if your information is contained in any of the data leaks they have.  
•   Try to make your passwords harder to crack by using  https://password.kaspersky.com/  
•   I try to make my password take more than 7 days to crack with a standard computer, but for more sensetive information I try for the Century Mark or higher.
•   * Password Tip *  Take a sentence that only makes sense to you.  "My kids are fun and we like to play catch in the yard on Saturdays."  NOW, take the first letter from each word - MkRf&wl2pcityoS!    You maybe able to see a few things I did there.  Replacing are = R, and = &, to = 2.  Just created a password that takes 4094 centuries with an average computer to crack.  

7.  Keep your computers up to date with patches and software updates.

•   The recent WannaCry Ransomware outbreak is a good example of this.   

8.  Anti-Virus is important and a must have.

•   Like most anything, the software is only as good as it's updates.
•   If you have not updated your Anti-Virus in a while, it might not be protecting you very well.

In closing, please be prepared.  Start to think about security even if you are a one man shop, or a small business.  Most people say, "Why would someone want to steal my information?"   This is what the hacker wants you to think so you will let your guard down, or worse, never put a guard up.

I hope you have a better understanding of what is out there without being scared of your own shadow, but worried enough to take some action.

Next time we can discuss the ever popular... Ransomware!

References - Part I and Part II

Chaikivsky, A. (2016, October 24). How to Keep Your Devices From Joining a Zombie Botnet Army - Consumer Reports. Retrieved from http://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-keep-your-devices-from-joining-a-zombie-botnet-army/

Munoz, M. (2015, September 21). Cyber Security Case Study: Target Data Breach. Retrieved from http://www.cei.com/about-cei/media-room/blog/cyber-security-targets-2013-data-breach

Sunzi, & Giles, L. (2017). The art of war.

The Hacker: Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself

I wrote this as one long blog post, but felt, it might be too much, so I decided to break it into two smaller more manageable chunks.

Welcome to Part I -  The Hacker: Know your Enemy, Know Yourself   
Part II: Defense Against the Dark Arts - or - How to Outrun my Slowest Friend will be posted after this.

I have been working in the IT Industry for almost 20 years, and now I am studying Cyber Security and Information Assurance (CSIA).  I have learned a lot, most of which would bore many of you to the point of tears; suffice it to say, it has been an eye opening view into the world of cyber crime and the underworld of the World Wide Web. 

So I had an idea to create this blog post for my "non-techy" friends, who might have their own business, or manage a small to medium sized business.  Without trying to scare you too much I just want to say, "You are more vulnerable than you think, and most often you don't have very much, if any security in place."  You know this ... I know this ... And guess what?  Hackers know this.  I am not trying to sell you something, or tell you to rush out and hire security consultant, although if you want to hire me... you know where to reach me!  This is about learning what is going on in the world and finding a few simple, practical and lets say it, CHEAP, ways to better secure your information.

It was Sun Tzu that said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”  Well, we know ourselves, now let's learn a little bit about the enemy, the Hacker.

80s and 90s Hollywood Hackers

Today's Hollywood Hackers

Not the hacker that Hollywood has been portraying for many years, but the real deal.

So what is a hacker?

HACKER:

a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.
 
Sure, but we really need to look at the idea of WHO a hacker is and WHY they are doing what they are doing.

A hacker is someone who is trying to get into your computer or network without your knowledge.  The computer could be your laptop on a network at Starbucks or your desktop PC in your office, or today it could even be your DVR (Chaikivsky, 2016, para 3).  It doesn't matter what the device is, just he /she is not you and not authorized to use your computer or network.  

 

 

So, why are the hackers doing it?!?

1.) To See if They Can!  

Yep, no other reason.  It is a puzzle and they are trying to see if they can solve it.  Once they are in, they may tell you, so you can better secure your system.  Or they might not, most likely not, but they will leave most everything else alone and not bother anything.

2.) To Steal Something

Believe it or not, your have something worth stealing, even if it is just YOU.  Identity theft is a huge market on the Dark Web.  (we will get to the Dark Web some other day).  A hacker may want to steal Credit Card transactions, sensitive customer information, SSN and birth dates, or any number of other things that could be sold.  Personal Information = $$$

Another area that sometimes goes unrecognized is if you have a large client, a hacker might target you in order to steal information or gain access to the larger client.  This is exactly what happened in 2013 when millions of records were stolen from Target containing customer's data  "Access to the system came from network credentials that were stolen from an HVAC provider based in Sharpsburg, Penn" (Munoz, 2015, para 3).

3.)For a Cause

We usually call this person a Hacktivist.  They hack because they feel they are doing the world a service by doing so.  This makes them very dangerous because they believe their cause is just, and therefore don't feel the same level or remorse for doing something wrong, in fact, if you ask any of them, they would surely tell you that they "Did nothing wrong."  Often times you will hear the idea that "All information should be free."  Meaning that certain people or groups of people should not be allowed to hold secret information from others.  Like Top Secret FBI data, or information about on going NSA investigations.  The thought is that the ruling class should not be the only ones allowed to view information.  It should be "freed".  A.K.A. Hacked / Stolen and shared on WikiLeaks.

4.) For Retribution

This is cam be a disgruntled former employee, or soon to be former employee.  Like the Hacktivist this person is dangerous because, they are trying to cause as much harm as possible in retribution to something that was done or perceived done to them by a high level manager or a company in general.

- check out Part II to find out how to protect yourself. 

References

Chaikivsky, A. (2016, October 24). How to Keep Your Devices From Joining a Zombie Botnet Army - Consumer Reports. Retrieved from http://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-keep-your-devices-from-joining-a-zombie-botnet-army/

Munoz, M. (2015, September 21). Cyber Security Case Study: Target Data Breach. Retrieved from http://www.cei.com/about-cei/media-room/blog/cyber-security-targets-2013-data-breach

Sunzi, & Giles, L. (2017). The art of war.