Understand ethics, computer ethics and will

appreciate their importance in cyberspace.

Note the relation between ethics and
morality.
Learn about ethical hackers.
Know about dierent forms of intellectual
property.
Understand the generations of hackers.
Know what young generation thinks about
hacking skills.
Gain insight into sociological aspects of
computer criminals.
Learn about Information Warfare the
emerging threat to digital economy.
10.1 Introduction
In common parlance, the word hacker is used to mean someone who illegally breaks into a com-
puter or network or writes a Malicious Code (worm or virus).
According to some people, hacking is a media-centric abuse of the word and they feel that the term
hacking does not represent any illegal activities. For the purpose of this chapter, we shall accept this more
limited denition. If they are cybercriminals (hackers included), we refers to network security profession-
als and network administrators acting on behalf of clients and employers in the defense of IT infrastructure
and data. Often, we hear that a certain hacker breaks into a system and steals credit card numbers, releases
a destructive worm or maybe defaces a website. What do we think about his/her actions? Are the actions
of hackers ethical or unethical? Most of us would agree that such actions indicate unethical behavior. What
about us though? How should our actions be viewed when we, in defense of our clients networks or our own
networks, engage in activities similar to those of hacker?
Tere are many sophisticated terms to describe hackers and cybercriminals. For example, there are terms
such as novice (newbies/script kiddies), cyberpunks (refer to Box 1.1 of Chapter 1), insiders (refer to
Fig. 9.2, Sections 9.1.1 and 9.1.2 in Chapter 9), coders, cyberterrorists. Terms such as political activists
or hacktivist are also used perhaps for a glorious justication!. Modern day cybercriminals work like Pros.
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism:
Social, Political, Ethical and
Psychological Dimensions
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will able to:
10
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572 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
Tey use sophisticated methods and tools for planning cyberattacks and to exploit security weaknesses
(see Chapters 2 and 4). It does not take too many cybercriminals to cause havoc in IT systems than it takes
criminals in the real world to upset society. Victimless crimes are on the rise for example, the subverting
and repurposing of software poses huge problems for law enforcement agencies; particularly when crimes in
cyberspace are taken less seriously. Many scenarios and case illustrations provided in Chapter 11 (in CD) bring
forth the dangers in cyberspace. A number of questions come to our minds. Why do people hack? What drives
people to steal information that does not belong to them? What is wrong with certain segment of people that
causes them to bring harm to others. Why individuals become involved in delinquent behavior? How do they
justify the behavior they engage in?
Modern day cybercriminals work like Pros. They use methods of planning cyberattacks and tools
used by hackers to exploit security weaknesses.
Do we have answers to these questions? Can we ever comprehend the motives behind cybercrimes?
In Section 1.4 of Chapter 1, we mentioned about possible motives and categories of cybercriminals. Ethics
is the branch of philosophy that deals with what is considered to be right and wrong. Computer ethics is
important considering its ramications and impacts on the related domains see Fig. 10.1.
Ethics in
Computing
Computer
Abuse
Commerce
Privacy
Social
Justice
Issues
Speech
Issues
Intellectual
Property
Risks
Basics
Taxation
Free
Trade
Gambling
Anti-
Competitive
Practices
SW Piracy
Patent &
Copyright
Law Fraud
Electronic
Copyright Hacking
Worms,
Viruses,
Trojan
Horses
Chain Letters
Free Speech
Netiquette
E-Mail
Privacy
Anonymity
Privacy on
the Web
Encryption
Spamming
Database
Privacy
Principles
Whistle-blowing
Codes of Ethics
Computer
Models
&
Licenses
SW
Reliability
& Safety
NW
Security
Artificial
Intelligence
Downside of
Computer Age
Workplace
Issues
Equity
of Access
Figure 10.1 |Ethics in computing.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 572 2011-03-25 10:35:24 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 573
Ethics and morality both have a relation with human behavior and attitude. Attempting to change peoples
behaviors or attitudes seems a challenge; it is an ethical mineeld! A persuasive communications paradigm has
multiple roles and many people are involved salespersons, political activists, solicitors, etc. to name a few.
We may not believe that the persuader has our best interests in mind. As is the case with all new technologies,
ethical considerations trail behind technological capabilities. We may feel under our own pressure or social
pressure to take a particular action. Tis is because our lives are now hopelessly tangled with Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) and inter-related agencies. All are connected through the network where
information is the common glue that gets smoothly exchanged with interested parties with the help of
millions of computer networks and servers around the world. Te very concept of anonymity has come in
only recently. In the medieval society there was no notion of personal privacy; everyone knew everything
about everyone.
Privacy is the right to be left alone and the right to be free of unreasonable personal intrusions.
Two rules have been followed fairly closely in court decisions: (a) the right of privacy is not absolute.
Privacy must be balanced against the needs of society. (b) Te publics right to know is superior to the indi-
viduals right of privacy. Privacy implications of technology are discussed in Ref. #3, Books, Further Reading.
Te scenario described below is with reference to the use of RFID (radio frequency identication) and its
privacy implications explained in the quoted book at the end of this chapter. Te scenario described next is a
hypothetical example meant only to demonstrate the tension between ethical considerations and technology.
Consider this scenario you are living in a technologically advanced country. Suppose one afternoon you
go out to buy diesel/fuel for a lawn mower and a popular variety of garden fertilizer and you visit two shops to
do this. When you return home you nd that the cops are waiting for you. What could you have possibly done
wrong in getting those products for your personal use? It could have happened that both products had embed-
ded Radio Frequency Identication (RFID) tags and together, the two products you bought alerted the law
enforcement agency. Maybe you have keen interest in gardening; but you could be a terrorist involved in making
a bomb or you could be hobby bomb-maker! How is that possible? Well, out of curiosity you search the Net for
the words diesel and fertilizer, bringing up websites with full instructions on bomb-making. Spyware could
track this request, leading to cops attention. Figure 10.1 shows the multiple dimensions of ethics in the context
of cybercrimes (for its broad denition refer to Chapter 1). As you can see in Fig. 10.1, there are ethical issues
associated with intellectual property (IP). Dierent types of IPs are presented in the next section. We need to
understand how the IP gets impacted when cybercriminals do their travails of stealing other peoples IP through
various illicit means. We as the netizens (citizens who have a long dwelling and dependence on the Internet)
must understand how to protect our IP from cyberattacks. It is also important to understand the various forms of
IP as more and more organizations get into electronic commerce (ECommerce), signicantly larger number
of IPs are placed on the Internet and they would be prone to cyberattacks/cybercrimes.
10.2 Intellectual Property in the Cyberspace
Intellectual Property is a number of distinct types of creations of the mind, such as inventions;
literary and artistic works; and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce.
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574 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
In the legal world, IP is a generic term for legal entitlements attached to certain names, written and recorded
media and inventions. Tose who hold these legal entitlements may apply various exclusive rights in relation
to the subject matter of the IP. Te word intellectual indicates the fact that this term concerns a process of
the mind. Te word property in its noun form implies that idea generation is analogous to the construction
of tangible objects. Consequently, this term is controversial. Laws and enforcement about IP dier consider-
ably depending on the jurisdiction. Inter-governmental eorts are in progress to harmonize them through
international treaties such as the 1994 World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), while other treaties may facilitate registration in more than
one jurisdiction at a time. Tere have been disagreements over medical and software patents. Te rigorousness
of copyright enforcement has so far prevented consensus on a cohesive international system. Te important
point is that IP laws confer a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to the particular form or manner in which
ideas or information are expressed or manifested, and not in relation to the ideas or concepts themselves.
The term intellectual property denotes the specic legal rights assigned to authors, inventors and
other IP holders who may exercise those rights; however, the term does not denote the intellectual
work itself.
Information is uid in nature and, in the modern world, it resides on diverse networks. Tis has
caused some confusion about how intellectual copyrights apply to les in electronic form. Long back,
when world of the network users was relatively small, an emphasis on free exchange of information and
a common understanding of IP created most potential conicts over the use of information. Today net-
works have grown very large. Tere are far too many users and networks now attract a much broader
range of people as compared in the past when only university and government networks were active.
In such a scenario, clarication about use of electronic les becomes essential. Electronic les can be copied
and distributed easily. Te nature of some electronic information can create problems within existing copy-
right law: either the law does not address the peculiarities of electronic information or the law is too easily
subverted by the ease with which les can be copied and transferred. Similar problems have arisen with
photocopy machines, videocassette recorders (VCRs) and tape recorders. Matters become more complex
when other countries may have other kinds of copyright laws which means that information made available
globally through a network may not have the same protections in other places. IP laws are meant to protect
varied forms of subject matter as mentioned below; however, in some cases there can be a degree of overlap:
1. Copyright.
2. Patent.
3. Trademark.
4. Trade Secret.
5. Trade Name.
6. Domain Name (recall the term cybersquatting explained in Box 1.1 of Chapter 1. It is an oense).
Let us take a look at each of these IP instances:
10.2.1 Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept meant to give exclusive rights to the creator of original work; usually such rights
do not last perpetually they exist only for a limited period of time. In its most general form, copyright
is literally the right to copy. However, it also bestows upon the copyright holder the right to be credited
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Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 575
for the work, to determine who (if anyone) can perform it or adapt it to other forms, to benet nancially
from the work, and other related rights. Copyright is one form of IP (distinct from patents, Trademarks and
Trade Secrets). Copyright applies to any particular expression of an idea or information which is substantial
and self-contained in a xed form. Note that the symbol for copyright is (the letter C, inside circle),
although used commonly, it has never been legally recognized as a symbol for copyright.
The scope of copyright does not cover ideas or information themselves; it covers only the form or
style/manner in which ideas are expressed.
One important point to note is the dierence between copy protection and copyright protection. Copy
protection is a technical countermeasure while copyright is a legal right. Copy protection attempts to nd
the means for limiting the access to copyrighted material and/or inhibits the copy process itself. Examples of
copy protection include encrypted digital television (TV) broadcast, access controls to copyrighted software
through the use of license servers and technical copy protection mechanisms on the media. A recent example
Box 10.1 | The Philosophy Behind Copyrights
Perhaps, the most profound and widely debated philosophical issue among scholars of copyright
law is its purpose. There are different approaches one can take the approach of looking for coher-
ent justications of established copyright systems. The other approach is to start with general ethical
theories, such as utilitarianism (utilitarianism is the ethical doctrine that the moral worth of an action is
solely determined by its contribution to overall utility) and try to analyze policy through that lens. Some
people may not appreciate meaningfulness of any ethical justication for existing copyright law, view-
ing it simply as a result (and perhaps an undesirable result) of political processes.
There is another debatable issue the relationship between copyrights and other forms of IP
and material property. Many scholars of copyright concur that it can be called a kind of property,
because it involves the exclusion of others from something. However, there is a disagreement about
the extent to which that fact should allow the transportation of other beliefs and intuitions about
material possessions. There are philosophical questions that come up in the jurisprudence of copyright.
Such questions and issues include problems of determining situations where one work is derived from
another, or deciding when information has been placed in a tangible or material form.
Today, we live in the era of information revolution and ours is an information society an
information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use and manipulation of
information is a signicant economic, political and cultural activity. Earlier we mentioned about uid-
ity of information that is in electronic form. We live in knowledge economy wherein a considerable
opportunity exists to create wealth through the economic exploitation of information that is perceived
crucial to business. The central position of IT in almost all businesses makes possible the production of
such information. Information society came in existence after its predecessor the industrial society.
Closely related concepts are the post-industrial society, post-modern society, knowledge society, tele-
matic society, Information Revolution and network society.
Therefore, any work with a copyright should not be distributed or reproduced on networks with-
out the explicit permission of its creator (the author in most cases). Application of copyright law with
this understanding is fairly straightforward. However there are other questions too; for example, with
who does the responsibility for enforcing copyright protection on the networks lie?
The issue of copyright has always received much criticism and opposition. There are two broad
categories in which critics of copyright fall: (a) those who assert that the very concept of copyright
has never been of net benet to society, and that it has always served simply to enrich a few at the
expense of creativity; and (b) those who assert that the existing copyright regime must be reformed to
maintain its relevance in the new information society.
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576 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
is the copy protection mechanism on digital video discs (DVDs). In open systems, however, copy protection is
very di cult to achieve. On the other hand, copyright protection inserts copyright information into the digital
object without the loss of quality. Whenever the copyright of a digital object is in question, this information is
extracted to identify the rightful owner. It is also possible to encode the ID of the original buyer along with the
ID of the copyright holder, which allows tracing of any unauthorized copies. See Appendix N in CD.
Remember that Copyright is an exclusive grant from the government that allows the owner to repro-
duce a work, in whole or in part, and to distribute, perform or display it to the public in any form or
manner, including the Internet. Use of digital watermarking is one of the most well-known methods used for
embedding information in multimedia data. Digital watermarks are unique identiers embedded in digital
content that makes it possible to identify pirated works. For more information, see Appendix N.
10.2.2 Patent
In simple words, a Patent is a document that grants the holder exclusive rights on an invention
for a xed number of years.
A Patent is, thus, a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his/her assignee for a xed period
of time in exchange for a disclosure or an invention. Trough law or contractual obligation, exclusive rights can
be established, but the scope of enforceability will depend on the extent to which others are bound by the instru-
ment establishing the exclusive right. Tus, in the case of contractual rights, only persons that are parties to a
contract will be aected by the exclusivity. Depending on the country of legislation, the procedure for granting
patents, the requirements placed on the patentee and the extent of the exclusive rights may vary widely. Te legal
proceedings would be according to prevailing laws in those countries and international agreements. A typical
patent application must, however, include one or more claims to support and dene the invention. Such claim
must be about new, inventive and useful approach or a method that has some industrial application.
Te exclusive right granted to a patent holder in most countries is the right to prevent or exclude others
from making, using, selling, oering to sell or importing the invention.
Box 10.2 | Copy Protection with DRM Digital Rights Management
Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to a set of access control technologies used by publishers
and copyright holders in order to limit usage of digital media or devices. The term DRM may also refer
to limitations associated with particular instances of digital works or devices. In a way, DRM overlaps
with copy protection. The term DRM is usually applicable to creative media (music, lms, etc.) whereas
copy protection usually refers to software. DRM technologies are aimed at controlling use of digital
media by preventing access, restricting the act of copying or conversion by end-users to other for-
mats. Before the onset of digital or even electronic media, copyright holders, content producers or
other nancially or artistically involved parties had business as well as legal concerns about copying
technologies. The use of DRM, nonetheless, has been contentious, that is, it is not free from controversy.
One argument is that it is essential for copyright holders to stop illegal copies of their work to make
sure sustainment of revenue from the work of copyright holders. On the other hand, some like to put
forth an argument that rights is a misleading world and they suggest that an alternative term digital
restrictions management be used. This argument is based on the position that copyright holders are
attempting to restrict use of copyrighted material in ways not included in the statutory, common law
or constitutional grant of special commercial use to them.
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Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 577
Patent is the term that usually refers to a privilege, that is, a right granted to one who invents
or discovers a new method or a useful process, machine, article of manufacture or composition of
matter or any new and useful improvement thereof.
Utility patents is the additional qualication used in some countries for example, the US. Tis additional
qualication is meant to distinguish them from other types of patents, but should not be confused with util-
ity models granted by other countries. Software patents, chemical process patents, biological patents, business
method patents, etc. are examples of particular species of patents for inventions. Business methods patents and
software patents are relevant in the context of discussion here. Interestingly, the domain of software patent is
most infested with trouble because software patent does not have a universally accepted denition. One denition
suggested is that a software patent is a patent on any performance of a computer realized by means of a computer
program. Tere is an intense debate over the extent to which software patents should be granted, if at all. In the
recent times, a principally active focus of the debate is the proposed EU directive on the patentability of com-
puter-implemented inventions. Tis directive, known as the CII Directive or the Software Patent Directive, was
ultimately rejected by the EU Parliament in July 2005. Software patents involve the following important issues:
1. Whether software is patentable.
2. Whether software can be considered as piece of invention.
3. Whether software patents encourage or discourage innovation.
Probably, the issue is simpler when it comes to business method patents. Tese are a class of patents
that disclose and claim new methods of doing business. Tis includes new types of ECommerce, insur-
ance, banking, tax compliance, etc. Tere is a sustained debate as to what extent such patents should be
granted, particularly for inventions that are essentially legal or contractual in nature as opposed to tech-
nological in nature. Nonetheless, they have become important assets for both independent inventors and
major corporations. Examples of business processes or business methods are: corporate governance, strate-
gic management, purchasing, manufacturing, marketing and sales, etc. Next, let us understand the term
Trademark which is yet another kind of IP.
10.2.3 Trademarks
Trademarks are the symbols used by businesses to identify their goods and services; government registration
of the Trademark confers exclusive legal right to its use. It gives exclusive rights to use Trademark on goods and
services registered to that sign and to take legal action to prevent anyone from using Trademark without con-
sent. Tus, a Trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator of some kind that is used by an individual, business
organization or other legal entity to uniquely identify the source of its products and/or services to consumers,
and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. A Trademark is a type of IP, and typi-
cally comprises a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image or a combination of these elements.
Tere are also several non-conventional Trademarks comprising marks that are not part of standard categories.
Te owner of a registered Trademark may put in motion legal proceedings for challenging Trademark infringement
or to prevent unauthorized use of that Trademark. However, registration is not required. Te owner of a common
law Trademark may also le suit however, an unregistered mark may enjoy protection only within the geographic
area where it has been used or in geographic areas into which it may be reasonably expected to expand.
Te term Trademark is also used informally to refer to any unique attribute using which it is possible to easily
identify an individual for example, the well-known characteristics of famous actors or actresses. Service marks
is the term used particularly in the US, when a Trademark is used in context of services rather than products.
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578 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
Ownership of the patent is also a point to note in most countries, patent application can be made by both
natural persons and corporate entities. One or more entities then become the owners of the patent. Almost always
it becomes mandatory that the inventor or inventors be named and an indication be given on the public record as
to how the owner or owners acquired their rights to the invention from the inventor or inventors.
10.2.4 Trade Secret
A Trade Secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern or compilation of information
used by a business to obtain an advantage over competitors or customers. In some jurisdictions, such secrets are
referred to as condential information; recall the discussion in Chapter 9 (Section 9.11) about information
classication. An organization can protect its condential information through non-compete non-disclosure
contracts with its employees (within the constraints of employment law, including only restraint that is rea-
sonable in geographic and time scope). Te law for protection of condential information eectively allows a
perpetual monopoly in secret information it does not expire as a patent would. Te lack of formal protection,
however, means that a third party is not prevented from independently duplicating and using the secret infor-
mation once it is discovered. When sanction is provided for such type of information to protect it from public
disclosure, it is viewed as an important legal aspect whereby a society protects its overall economic strength.
An organization invests time and energy into generating information regarding renements of process
and operation. If competitors were to get access to the same knowledge, the rst companys ability to survive
or maintain its market dominance would be impacted. Where Trade Secrets are recognized, the creation of
knowledge is regarded as a Trade Secret. It is entitled to be regarded as special knowledge, that is IP. An
important point to note is this the precise language used to dene Trade Secret may vary by jurisdiction
as do the particular types of information that are subject to Trade Secret Protection. Although interpreta-
tions may be dierent, there are three factors common to all such denitions a Trade Secret is a type of
information that:
1. is not generally known to the relevant portion of the public;
2. provides some sort of economic benet to its holder;
3. is the subject of reasonable eorts to maintain its secrecy.
Trade Secrets are not protected by law in the same manner as Trademarks or patents. Probably, one of the most
signicant dierences is that a Trade Secret is protected without disclosure of the secret.
10.2.5 Trade Name
A Trade Name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name that a business trades
under for commercial purposes. Its registered legal name is used for contracts and other formal situations.
A Trade Name is also known as an assumed name or corporate name. For an example, consider this:
pharmaceuticals have Trade Names (e.g., Aspirin) often dissimilar to their chemical names (acetylsalicylic
acid). Tere is a dierence between Trade Name and Trademark but there are also situations where they
both may be the same. As mentioned before, Trade Name is the name under which an organization carries
out its business. A Trade Name identies the business itself whereas a Trademark identies goods or
services or products. In some circumstances thought, it may be possible that a Trade Name can also serve
as a Trademark if it meets the necessities of a Trademark. For example Parle is an organization as well
as a brand name. In such circumstances, the Trade Name also qualies for the protection required under the
prevailing laws. Tere are no exclusive rights associated with a Trade Name unless it is used as a Trademark.
Tis stands even if the name is registered with the appropriate entity regulating business names.
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Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 579
A registered Trademark gives the owner the legal right to use, license or sell Trademark for the goods and
services for which it is registered. A service mark is the same as a Trademark, except that it identies and
distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. A Trademark can last as long as the owner wants,
so long as the owner continues to renew the mark.
10.2.6 Domain Name
Every computer on the Internet has a unique identication number, called an Internet Protocol address.
[1]

Computers use IP address to nd an Internet site. Internet Protocol addresses are 32-bit numeric address.
As such, they are too long and not at all easy for people to remember. In order for human memories to
more easily recall Internet Protocol addresses, they are mapped, by the Domain Name System (DNS), to
domain names that contain words. Te registration of a domain name does not in itself confer proprietary
rights to the use of that name. Associated with domain names is a phenomenon called cybersquatting. In
the US, there are Federal laws known as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. According to
this law, cybersquatting means registering, tra cking in or using a domain name with bad faith intent to
prot from the goodwill of a Trademark belonging to someone else. Te cybersquatter then makes a higher
price oer to sell the domain to the individual or organization who owns a Trademark contained within the
name (see Box 10.3).
Refer to Ref. #2, Books, Further Reading to know more about IP and its various forms.
Box 10.3 | Cybersquatting and Trademarks
Suppose you own a Trademark and nd that someone is holding it hostage as a domain name until
you pay a large sum for it, you may be the victim of cybersquatting. You can sue to get your domain
name and possibly some money damages. Cybersquatting involves registering, selling or using a
domain name with the intent of proting from the goodwill of someone elses Trademark. It gener-
ally refers to the practice of buying up domain names that use the names of existing businesses with
the intent to sell the names for a prot to those businesses. In simple words, cybersquatting is the act
of registering a popular Internet address, usually a company name, with the intent of selling it to its
rightful owner.
The term cybersquatting is derived from squatting, which is the act of occupying an aban-
doned or unoccupied space or building that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have
permission to use. Cybersquatting is one of the most commonly used terms related to domain name
intellectual property law and is often incorrectly used to refer to the sale or purchase of generic
domain names. With the term cybersquatting, however, there is a slight difference in the sense that
domain names are squatted they are sometimes paid for through the registration process by the
cybersquatters.
Cybersquatters usually ask for prices far greater than that at which they purchased it. The
practice that has come to be known as cybersquatting originated at a time when most businesses
were not savvy about the commercial opportunities on the Internet. Some entrepreneurial souls reg-
istered the names of well-known companies as domain names, with the intent of selling the names
back to the companies when they nally woke up. Panasonic, Frys Electronics, Hertz and Avon were
among the victims of cybersquatters. Under a 1999 Federal law known as the Anti-Cybersquatting
Consumer Protection Act, you can initiate arbitration proceedings under the authority of the Internet
Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and win the name back without the expense
and aggravation of a lawsuit. Opportunities for cybersquatters are rapidly diminishing, because most
businesses now know that nailing down domain names is a high priority.
Refer to Ref. #5, Video Clips, Further Reading, there are two links to see short video clip about protect-
ing yourself from cybersqautting. Also refer to Box 1.1 (Chapter 1) to know more about cybersquatting.
Source: http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/60EC3491-B4B5-4A98-BB6E6632A2FA0CB2/111/228/195/ART/
(27 January 2008).
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580 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
10.3 The Ethical Dimension of Cybercrimes
When used as adjectives, the two words ethical and moral have a slight difference in their
meaning. Although both words have the same origins as their noun counterparts, there is a shade
of difference in meaning when used in the adjective forms.
Moral as a rule denotes privately good conduct whereas the word ethical is used to indicate a professional
conduct. Moral reasons require us to respect other people as well as ourselves, to care for their good as well as our
own. Moral reasons involve respecting persons through fair and just behavior with them. It also involves respect-
ing peoples rights, keeping promises, avoiding unnecessary oense and pain to people, and avoiding cheating and
dishonest behavior. Morality also is expressed by caring for others and by oering help to distressed people, by
expressing gratitude for favors, and by empathizing with peoples suering. Figure 10.2 puts ethics in context.
Tere are many situations of conicts due to inter-relations involved (see Fig. 10.2). An individual
making an ethical decision may face complexity of situation in the capacity as a member of dierent groups.
A software engineer or a security engineer, for example, in order to make ethical decision, interacts in many
directions and within many dierent contexts, each of which can reect the actual situation in a dierent light.
For example, solving the problem on the relation among individual, colleagues and management would lead
to certain choices, which may not necessarily coincide with the views of individuals family or friends, or the
clients, management and other authorities, societies or other industries. Tus, ethical problems can arise when
there are dierences of judgment or expectations about what constitutes the true state of aairs or a proper
course of action. Te engineer may be faced with contrary opinions from within the rm, from the client, from
other rms within the industry or from government. Figure 10.2 illustrates the complexity of situation.
Often students as well as professionals ask: What is the point in studying professional ethics? Tis chapter
is the most appropriate place to make a comment about that. Professional ethics is not about imbibing virtue
Management and
Board Members
Engineers Colleagues
Individual,
professional
and professional
societies
Clients,
customers
and
consumers
Industry
(Other organizations)
Engineering Firm
Family
(Private sphere)
Figure 10.2 |Contexts for professional ethics.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 580 2011-03-25 10:35:24 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 581
so that the immoral and amoral individuals will adopt a certain established set of beliefs. Rather, it means
to enhance the ability of concerned engineers, managers and citizens to rst recognize and then responsibly
confront moral issues raised by technological activity.
The goal of professional ethics is to foster moral autonomy, that is the skill and habit of thinking ratio-
nally about ethical issues, as well as to improve the ability to think critically about moral matters.
Te relation between ethics and morality is described is Box 10.4. Irrespective of the areas in which
they are applied, the basic principles of ethics remain the same. Te principles of medical ethics, legal ethics
and computer ethics are similar. Teft is theft no matter whether it is an act of street robbery or done by
using a computer as the instrument. New circumstances related to the computer, however, do raise new
questions about how these principles should be applied. Speed, storage, identity, internationality, copying
openness and availability, power mediation and privacy are the specic features of the computer that give rise
to new ethical problems.
10.3.1 Ethical Hackers: Good Guys in Bad Land
Te discussion in the previous section is of immense importance for the ethical hacker community. Actually,
the combination of the two words ethical and hacker itself is weird because one may wonder what is
ethical about hacking. However, it is a common practice now for organizations to invite professional
hackers and pay them fees for testing the security of their IT infrastructure, especially for the Web-based
applications and portals. Ethical disclosure is a terminology used in the ethical hacking domain. Te ethical
Box 10.4 | Ethics and Morality
When we talk about ethics we refer to particular set of attitudes, values, beliefs and habits displayed
by a person or a group. This sense of word is linked directly to the original sense of the Greek word ethos,
which meant customs, like mores the Latin root of morals. Thus, the term Ethics is derived from
Ethos (Greek) and Morality is derived from Mores (Latin). Both terms translate roughly into notions
affecting custom, habit and behavior. Ethics is dened as the study of morality, which raises two
questions: (a) what is morality? and (b) what is the study of morality? Morality can be dened as: a
system of rules for guiding human conduct, and principles for evaluating those rules. However, there is
a difference in the usage of adjectives ethical and moral. Although the two words have the same
origins as their noun counterparts, there are nuances in connotations that are probably more easily
found in the adjectival forms. While moral as a rule refers to privately virtuous conduct, ethical is
used when referring to professional conduct. Ethical misdeeds are actions that lead to prosecution in
civil court, while moral misdeeds usually call to criminal court.
Two points are worth noting in this denition: (a) morality is a system and (b) it is a system
comprising moral rules and principles. Moral rules can be understood as rules of conduct, which are
very similar to policies. Often people tend to think that morality is essentially private by nature and
that morality must therefore be simply a personal matter. Values play a role in morality. The origin
of the term value is in the Latin word valere, which means having worth or being of worth. Values
can be viewed as objects of our desires or interests. Very general notions such freedom, love, happi-
ness, etc. are examples of values. Societal value system gives rise to several principles. Depending on
the circumstances, ethics and morality convey different and complex meanings.
There is an interesting quote on ethics by Abraham Lincoln:
There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost everything ... is an inseparable
compound of the two, so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is
continually demanded.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 581 2011-03-25 10:35:24 AM
582 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
question is this: suppose an ethical hacker nds certain vulnerabilities in the software developed or website
designed for an organization that has hired the ethical hacker. After waiting for a requisite time, the hacker
does not get any response from the organization indicating their action plan and date for closing the gap
found (i.e., vulnerability), then in the interest of getting the gap closed, should the ethical hacker throw open
the known vulnerability to the public hoping that some third party may oer a solution to close the vulner-
ability? Tis is indeed an ethical issue because by making it known to the public, as much as the good
guys acting on it, the hacker community also becomes aware of the weakness/vulnerability and they may
as well make plans to exploit that vulnerability. Tis is indeed a point to ponder for ethical hackers moral
responsibilities of ethical hackers.
Ethical hackers are required for many reasons and they are hired by organizations.
In Chapter 12 (in CD), guidance is provided about certication exams in this domain, that is, the CEH
(certied ethical hacker). With the growth of the Internet, computer security has become a major concern
for businesses and governments. Both governments and businesses want to make good use of the Internet
for ECommerce, advertising, information distribution, access and other pursuits. However, they are wor-
ried about the possibility of being hacked. Along the same lines, the potential customers of these services
are concerned about maintaining control of sensitive information for example, credit card numbers, social
security numbers (SSNs) and home addresses; add to this the privacy concerns. Organizations realize that
one of the best ways to evaluate the intruder threat to their interests would be to have independent computer
security professionals attempt to break into their computer systems. Tis idea is similar to having independent
auditors engaging with an organization for verication of practices as per adopted standards. In the context
of computer security, these tiger teams or ethical hackers would use the same tools and techniques as the
intruders, but they would neither damage the target systems nor steal information. Instead, they would evalu-
ate the security of target system and would report back to the owners with the vulnerabilities they found.
According to a popular myth, hackers are mischievous adolescents or desperado groups who ply their
alchemy in the shadows of cyberspace. Hackers are often shunned for being the instigators of criminal com-
puting oenses; however, very few may know that hacking actually began as a way of playing with technol-
ogy and nding better ways to use it. Tere was a time, when only a select few knew the secrets of software.
A revolutionary time came after the PC was unleashed by IBM. After that computer became accessible to
people and by now an average 14-year-old may be more adept at cracking codes than the middle age CEO
of multi-billion dollar company. So, let us attempt to understand the mind of hackers. Economic impacts of
cybercrimes have been dwelt well upon in the previous chapters. Te costs associated with cybercrimes are
described in Chapter 9 (Section 9.2) in terms of the impact they have on organizations.
Information technology has made tremendous progress in the past four decades and IT has become an
integral part of our life personal life as well as professional life. We cannot imagine life without comput-
ers; especially in the metropolitan area. Mobile hand-held and wireless connectivity devices have become
haunting objects in modern life; they are omnipresent! Even then, in most cases today, we are still able to
decide for ourselves whether we want to use devices equipped with modern computer technology (e.g., by
manually controlling our central heating system, or by choosing not to carry a mobile phone if we dislike the
constant accessibility its usage implies). As we embrace computers, we keep more and more data on it and
some of that data can be condential. Computers no more stand in isolation; they are heavily networked in
the Internet era. We learned in the previous chapters how cybercriminals take advantage of this fact. Motives
of hackers are depicted in Fig. 10.3 it is a good starting point for the rest of the discussion in the chapter.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 582 2011-03-25 10:35:24 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 583
Box 10.5 | Computer Ethics
Ethics is one aspect of practical philosophy to explain how professionals in computing domain should
make decisions about professional and social behavior. Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern
the behavior of a group or individual. Computer ethics is set of moral principles that control the
use of computers. Some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such
as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns and how computers affect society. The term
computer ethics was rst coined by Walter Maner in the mid-1970s. Since the 1990s the term started
getting integrated into professional development programs in academic settings. The conceptual
foundations of computer ethics are investigated by information ethics, a branch of philosophical
ethics established by Luciano Floridi. For computer applications domain, computer ethics is an
important topic. Since the 1990s the importance of computer ethics has increased. With the growth
of the Internet, privacy issues as well as concerns regarding computing technologies such as Spyware
and web browser cookies have raised the question about ethical behavior in technology. In the
computer technology domain along with the related domain of information security, the mention
of ethics is important given that computers are special technology and they raise some special ethi-
cal issues. A typical problem in computer ethics arises because there is a policy vacuum about how
computer technology should be used.
The name computer ethics was not commonly used until the mid-1970s when Walter Maner
began to use it. He dened this eld of study as one that examines ethical problems aggravated,
transformed or created by computer technology. In the book, Computer Ethics published in 1985 it
was said that computer ethics is a branch of studies focusing on the way in which computers pose
new versions of standard moral problems and moral dilemmas, exacerbating the old problems, and
forcing us to apply ordinary moral norms in uncharted realms. Computer ethics has two parts: (a) the
analysis of the nature and social impact of computer technology and (b) the corresponding formula-
tion and justication of policies for the ethical use of such technology.
The 10 commandments of computer ethics created by the Computer Ethics Institute match
well within the context of computer legislations across the world.
[1] Thou Shalt Not use a computer to harm other people;
[2] Thou Shalt Not interfere wth other peoples computer work;
[3] Thou Shalt Not snoop around in other peoples computer les;
[4] Thou Shalt Not use a computer to steal;
[5] Thou Shalt Not use a computer to bear false witness;
Severe damage
Less profit
(Exploiters)
Small damage
Less profit
(Newbie)
Severe damage
More profit
(Emerging breed of cybercriminals)
Small damage
More profit
( Exploit buyer)
P
r
o
f
i
t
Damage
Figure 10.3 |Hackers motives (prot and damage).
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 583 2011-03-25 10:35:25 AM
584 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
Legitimate
marketing
attacks
Affiliates
Adware
Spam
Money
laundering
ID theft
Fraud
Spam
Phishing
Targeted
custom
attacks
Industrial
espionage
Attack vector
Re-sellers
Other
crime tools
Botnets
Coder skill levels
Professional Skilled
Malware
Website
builders
Web
delivery
Amateurs
DDoS
Extortion
Spam
Organized
crime groups
Figure 10.4 |Cybercrimes the connections and syndicates.
Box 10.5 | Computer . . . (Continued )
[6] Thou Shalt Not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid;
[7] Thou Shalt Not use other peoples computer resources without authorization or proper
compensation;
[8] Thou Shalt Not appropriate other peoples intellectual output;
[9] Thou Shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system
you are designing;
[10] Thou Shalt always use a computer in ways that insure consideration and respect for your fellow
humans.
As we can see in Fig. 10.3, cybercriminals are getting bolder; they are going for bigger gains these days;
they will not think twice even if their attacks result in severe damage to the impacted party. Tey are willing
to take the associated risks. Tis perhaps could be due to the fact that even hacking is becoming an organized
business and there are many syndicates involved see Fig. 10.4.
Information in cyberspace can be accessed globally and in such a milieucomputer ethics, helps us exam-
ine what is right and wrong for the Internet users, and social impacts of information technology (IT) in
general. As mentioned before, Intellectual Property (IP) means creations of the mind, such as inventions;
literary and artistic works; and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. Software piracy is an
IP violation crime.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 584 2011-03-25 10:35:25 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 585
10.4 The Psychology, Mindset and Skills of Hackers
and Other Cybercriminals
Information is a source of power and many perceive that holding information or for that matter conden-
tial information is the key to prosperity that comes with access to that information. For example, protected
health information (PHI), which is worldwide considered as sensitive personal information (SPI), is stolen
because those who steal it see an appeal in it there are people in the market who would like to buy it. For
instance, list of major patients of a large hospital would hold much appeal to the competitors. List of key
account holders of a bank would, similarly, hold value in the eyes of the bank that is a competition and so
on. Similarly, voters list in an area could be seen as valuable for an electoral candidate who may want to
use it for his/her campaigning; of course, in this case, it could be a public domain information and, there-
fore, the eorts involved in obtaining it could be much less. For CRM applications, the list of customers
of a major retail business would be much sought for. Tus, we can see the motives involved in stealing the
information. Tose who steal it know that they have stolen it and that there are laws and legal frameworks
(as seen in Chapter 6) and yet the criminals are not worried about the law catching them! Perhaps they think
that they can get away with it? Interestingly, cybercriminals tend to operate as a close-knit community
therefore, it is felt that cybercrime is now becoming an organized crime! (see Fig. 10.4).
E-Goverance is getting well established as electronic systems have now reached into all levels of government,
into the workplace and into private lives to such an extent that even people without access to these systems are
aected in signicant ways by them. New ethical and legal decisions are necessary to balance the needs and
rights of everyone. With advanced computer technology, it is important to understand computer ethics related
to security, privacy issues and major negative impacts of IT. Read on the next section and think if there is a
shade of goodness in terms of any dierence between the hacker community (see Fig. 10.5) and downright
cybercriminals. We take you through generations of hackers and the characteristics of each generation.
Geniuses
Tools and knowledge
Information and targets
Tool developers
Other hackers
Criminals
Foreign Intelligence
Agencies and Espionage
Organizations
Figure 10.5 |Hackers community.
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586 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
10.4.1 Inside the Minds and Shoes of Hackers and Cybercriminals
Some hackers view their activities as being value-free, without distinguishing between good hacking (like
the ethical hackers are paid to carry out hacking for an o cial purpose) and bad hacking (meant for causing
trouble to others though hackers feel it is for satiating their technical and intellectual appetite).
One popular view among hackers, which may sound eerie to us is, breaking into a computer should
not be a crime because no one gets hurt and we all learn something. A more daring motto of hacker
motto be Dont get caught, along with the caveat, and if you do get caught, cash in and make
money.
Te basic motives behind web attacks and hacking are: (a) money, (b) freedom, (c) love, (d) personal gain:
1. Money as the motive: Majority of hackers get into cybercrime for monetary gain. Money is the primary
motivation behind cybercrime whether it is stealing peoples bank account information, fraudulently
obtaining money or property by altering computerized information. In one of the biggest frauds that
history has seen, Gonzalez was the mastermind behind the combined credit card theft and subsequent
re-selling of more than 170 million credit cards and ATM numbers from 2005 through 2007. See illus-
tration 5, Chapter 11 in CD. In addition to the card numbers bogus passports, drivers licenses, SSNs,
birth certicates, college student identication cards, health insurance cards were also sold at auction!
2. Freedom as the motive: Many hackers believe that the Internet should be free and that all computers
should be completely accessible. Tey could also have a political or social agenda where their aim is
to damage high-prole computers to make a gain. Tese types of hackers are also known as hacktiv-
ists, or Neo Hackers. In general, most hacktivism involves defacement of website or denial-of-service
(DoS) attacks. In extreme cases, hacktivism is used as a tool for cyberterrorism.
Te British hacker Gary Mckinnon went unnoticed for years while he was hacking NASA, the US
Army, US Navy, Department of Defense and the US Air Force. Mckinnon at that time was consid-
ered the biggest military computer hacker of all time. His claim is that he was being studious. His
argument was that he was looking for evidence of UFOs, antigravity technology and the suppression
of free energy. US authorities, however, claimed that Mckinnon deleted critical les from operating
systems. Tis, they said, resulted in the shut down the US Armys Military District of Washingtons
network of 2,000 computers for 24 hours, as well as deletion of US Navy Weapons logs, rendering a
naval bases network of 300 computers inoperable after the September 11 terrorist attacks. US authori-
ties claim these travails of Mckinnon cost them $800,000 to track and correct the problems he caused.
McKinnon, however, has denied causing any damage, arguing that, in his quest for UFO-related mate-
rial, he accessed open unsecured machines with no passwords and no rewalls and that he left countless
notes pointing out their many security failings. He obstinately disputes the damage and the nancial loss
claimed by the US as concocted in order to create a dollar amount justifying an extraditable oense.
3. Love as the motive: Tis sounds wonderful and it is also one of the motives. Being in love has pros-
pered many and being in love has destroyed many! Life is smooth until you become suspicious of
your boyfriends/girlfriends delity. On the Web, many spying and hacking resources are available
for those trying to catch a cheater.
[2]
Tose with a poisoned mind about their partner, suspecting
that a boyfriend or girlfriend, wife or husband might be double playing with them, use computer
hacking knowledge. Tey do this as a punishment! Te one, who has the feeling of being cheated,
goes all out to tap into his suspected partners computer!
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 586 2011-03-25 10:35:25 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 587
Tere is well-known case where the scenario goes something like this a ladys divorce case is led
and is in progress. She collects information on aordability for husband to pay the maintenance
charges. She gathers (to support as evidence) information of nancial nature by hacking into his
bank account! She also nds a lot of similar evidence of digital nature. It turns out later that husband
had shared the password for online bank account! Te lady also collected evidences from her father-
in-laws account; however, the father-in-law had not shared his password. An interesting question is
whether as per the Indian Evidence Act, it matters HOW the Evidence is gathered (refer to Appendix
Q Te Indian Evidence Act in CD). Hacking is illegal by IT Act so while the lady may be granted
the divorce, she could end up in jail. Tis example is mentioned here only to illustrate the point
about being cheated in love or relationship, acting as a motive to hack.
4. Personal gain as the motive: In hacker community, a script kiddie or skiddie is often assumed
to be a juvenile using script developed by others to attack computer systems and networks either
to impress friends or gain credit in computer-enthusiast communities. An 18-year-old high school
student from Minnesota, Jerey Lee Parson, was responsible for spreading a variant of the infa-
mous Blaster computer worm. Using a hex editor, Parson only modied the original Blaster worm
that was already prevalent. He added his screen name to the existing executable, and then attached
another existing backdoor, Lithium, and posted it on his website. Trough this subtle modication,
authorities were able to trace the name back to him. Te program was part of a DoS attack against
computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system. Te attack took the form of a SYN ood
which caused only minimal damage. In 2005, Parson was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
10.4.2 Hackers and Cybercriminals: Evolution of Technical
Prowess and Skills
Just like oriental sport Karate (the black belt, the green belt, etc.), there are several levels of expertise in hacking.
Tese levels are known as Black Hat Hacker and White Hat Hacker refer to Box 2.2 in Chapter 2. Tere
are also generations of hackers. For example, the rst generation in 1960s was the creative programmer breed.
Te second generation in 1970s was termed as the computer evolutionary generation. Te third generation in
1980s was the games and copyright breakers. Te 1990s saw the rise of fourth generation the criminals and
cyberpunks (see Box 1.1 of Chapter 1 where the term cyberpunk is introduced).
Each generation is characterized by their own achievements (negative though!). For example, the rst
generation worked more like creative programmers and scientists. Tey employed novel methods for program-
ming, known as code bumming. Tey did have some sense of ethics, that is,. they would do the right thing
within their sphere of work. Tey were considered Gurus and were respected.
Te second generation was considered the computer evolutionaries. Tey were more of hardware hackers
and they used computer kits such as Altair and Apple. Later the people from this generation became found-
ers of many companies. It was the beginning of phreaking and software piracy.
Te third generation went into computer games and copyrights domain. Tey enjoyed developing meth-
ods for protecting and breaking copyright codes on games. Teir work involved minor criminal activity.
Personal PCs dominated their era and they were in a big way into computer-based entertainment software to
hack computer games. Tat was the end of Technical Guru type of generation.
Te fourth generation is truly the criminal generation and cyberpunks. Tis generation is not said
to be technically as elite as the previous generation. Hackers of this generation are criminally oriented and
motivated primarily by greed, power, revenge, malicious intent (see Fig. 10.3). It is no surprise then that
this generation is not respected. Figure 10.6 represents the sophistication of attacks from 1950s to date. In a
2008 survey,
[3]
it was estimated that 67% of those who engage in web attacks are prot-motivated.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 587 2011-03-25 10:35:25 AM
588 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
When we think about the mindset of hackers, we realize that the hacker community must be quite a studi-
ous community in a technical sense; they spend quite some time in information gathering. Tey sni the
network tra c; listen to the network tra c as part of passive phase in their further warfare plans! Recall the
discussion in Chapter 2 (Sections 2.2.12.2.3) about reconnaissance (information gathering), passive attacks
and active attacks. Tis studious community called hackers is a technologically advanced community; some
of the tools they use are mentioned in Table 2.2 of Chapter 2. Tose tools are of two types: (a) Reconnaissance
tools and (b) exploitation tools. Reconnaissance often begins with searches of Internet databases including Domain
Name System (DNS) registries, Whois databases, Google, online news sources, business postings and many other
online resources. Te reconnaissance phase often includes print media as well, specically electronically search-
able archives that would be found at a college library or large public library. Exploitation tools are used to verify
that an actual vulnerability exists by exploiting it. It is one thing to have vulnerability testing software or banners
indicating the possibility of an exploitable service, but quite another to exploit that vulnerability. Some of the
tools in this category are used by both attackers and penetration testers. Many tools in this category are single
purpose tools that are designed to exploit vulnerability on a particular hardware platform running a particular
version of an exploitable system. Te tools mentioned in Table 2.2, Chapter 2 are unique in the sense that they
have the ability to exploit multiple vulnerabilities on a variety of hardware and software platforms. Metasploit is
a tool that attackers would use to take over, or own, a computer. Tere are many more tools available than those
mentioned in Section 2.2 and Table 2.2 of Chapter 2.
1990s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Yr 2000+
Present
time
First
computer
crime First Salami
technique-
based attack
Attacks to obtain
(illegal) access to
computer (primitive
attacks, i.e., crude
in nature)
Remote
password
attacks (mostly
based on access
with modem)
First
virus
released
First occurrence
of social
engineering attacks
Vulnerabilities
exploited
First
worm
First
international
espionage
First buffer
overflow
attack
Morris
worm
Automated
scans
Sniffer
attacks
First IP
Spoofing
Web
defacing
DNS cache
poisoning
attacks
First
DDoS
attack
Attacks on
root DNS
servers
SQL
injection
wireless
attacks
Browser
attacks
Figure 10.6 |Sophistication of hacker attacks.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 588 2011-03-25 10:35:25 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 589
In the introduction section, some terms were mentioned novice, newbies\script kiddies, insiders,
cyberterrorists, political activists, etc. Tey are alternate terms for hackers and cybercriminals. In terms of
knowledge, skills, competence and abilities, there is a large range in this domain see Fig. 10.7. Te novice (also
known as newbie/script kiddies) has limited computer skills. Tey are new to the circuit and they tend to heavily
rely on software available on the Internet. Teir work can best be described as nuisance attacks such as the
denial-of-service (DoS) attacks described in Section 4.9 of Chapter 4. In a strange sense a novice can be more
dangerous than the Pros because they can cause extensive damage to systems due to their limited technical
skills (refer to Fig. 10.7) they do not understand how the attack works. Tey are hungry for attention, especially
media attention and we know that the media these days is very aggressive and inquisitive as well as exploitative.
Media people love scare stories. For example, digital discrimination, corporate misbehavior, loss of privacy,
loss of anonymity, etc. In short, they are like big brother is watching you! Te media also drew attention to the
fact that some of the terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks were known faces, and if there had been biometric
face recognition software in use at airports, the situation could have been diluted or even prevented. Tis schizo-
phrenic approach to the issues only highlights why ethical considerations in computing are so important.
Cyberpunks (refer to Box 1.1 in Chapter 1) are next in the skills and competencies continuum. Tey
have better computer skills although they typically have limited programming knowledge. However, their
understanding about how cyberattacks work is better. Tey have criminal intent, malicious behavior and
they too seek media attention. Typical frauds done by these criminals are found to be credit card frauds in
Section 11.4.2 in Chapter 11, several illustrations are provided about the kinds of frauds that cyberpunk
indulge themselves in. Te insiders are the least suspected ones because organizations and individuals trust
them by the very fact that they are insiders! Tis genre of criminals is technically suave and computer
literate. Tey dabble in technology/information eld. As industry experience shows, most times, they are
disgruntled current employees or ex-employees who have a strong urge for taking revenge because they
believe that they have been wronged, that is, they believe that some injustice has been done to them. Most
times, they succeed in carrying out cyberattacks due to their privileges inherent in the position they occupy
in their organization. Refer to the Brainvisa case
[4]
it is live demonstration of how insiders can exploit the
security weakness and trust of their organizations. Access rights must be managed well with only need-to-
know as the basis for granting or declining access. In this case, apparently the top management member had
the access to source code and he then misused it.
Te next category of cybercriminals comprises the coders. Coders are technically skilled. Tey write the
scripts and automated tools and act as a mentor to the newbies mentioned earlier.
Coders are motivated by a sense of power and prestige. They are revered in their community but
dangerous to us as they have hidden agendas such as writing deadly codes a Trojans, etc.
Technical ability Least Maximum
Novice
Professional
hacker
Figure 10.7 |Hacker technical skills continuum.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 589 2011-03-25 10:35:26 AM
590 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
Te professional hackers mentioned in Fig. 10.7 are criminals and thieves. Tey are often involved
in corporate espionage. Tey work like mercenaries, that is, guns for hire. Tey are highly motivated,
highly trained and have the right ammunition (i.e., state-of-the-art equipment) but unfortunately all for
the harmful purpose. Tey have a lack of respect for other peoples information property. Tey work as
a close-knit community and operate mostly underground. Read Xiao Chungs Story Life of a Hacker
mentioned in Example 21 in Section 11.2.21 in Chapter 11. Te ultimately dangerous category in terms
of knowledge, skills and competencies in the cybercrime world is the cyberterrorist (refer to Box 1.1 and
Section 1.2 in Chapter 1). Tere is an increase in cyberterrorism activity since the fall of many Eastern
Block intelligence agencies.
Cyberterrorists are well funded and they are also quite very motivated (although for wrong purpose).
They thrive due to the opportunities they get for mixing political rhetoric with criminal activity.
Unfortunately, very little is known in this area; to know more read Molander, Riddile and Wilson
Strategic Information Warfare mentioned in References.
[5]
10.4.3 Ethical Hackers
As mentioned before, there are categories of cybercriminals and hackers based on the continuum of their skills
and competencies (Fig. 10.7). Researchers believe that there are certain traits possessed by this community,
mainly due to their mental disorders.
Box 10.6 | Understanding Ethical Hacking
In Chapter 2 (Box 2.2) there was a mention of white hat hacker. A white hat hacker is an ethical
hacker, that is, the good guy. An ethical hacker is a computer and network expert who attacks
a security system on behalf of its owners, seeking vulnerabilities that a malicious hacker or intruder
could exploit; so, in a way, this is like vulnerability scanning and penetration testing. In order to
test the goodness of a security system, ethical hackers use the same methods as their less prin-
cipled counterparts, that is, the bad guys who hack for malicious intentions the only difference
is that ethical hackers report the vulnerability problems noted instead of taking advantage of them.
Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, intrusion testing and red teaming.
Ethical hackers are technically sound professionals; they possess a variety of knowledge and
skills concerning the Web, network and operating systems (OS), programming and physical security.
However, in order for the organizations to entrust this planned hacking, rst and foremost, ethical
hackers must be completely trustworthy. Depending on the sensitivity of the information gathered
during an evaluation, strong measures need to be taken to ensure the security of the systems being
employed by the ethical hackers themselves. When you choose to work with ethical hackers, it is
important that you select companies that are leaders in their eld and therefore in order for, you to
trust that your information will be protected. These organizations understand the sensitivity of the infor-
mation gathered at the client organization during an evaluation and have strong measures in place
to ensure the security of the data. Basically, ethical hacker seeks to answer some basic questions:
1. To what information, locations and systems an intruder can gain access? What is being protected?
2. What are you trying to protect against?
3. When an intruder gains access, what can he/she see on the target facilities, networks and
systems?
4. What can an intruder do with that information and data?
5. Does anyone at the target notice the intruders attempts or successes?
6. How much time, effort and money are you willing to expend to obtain adequate protection?
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Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 591
Most hackers, by personality, are socially inept, obsessive in behavior. Most are loners and yet they
seem to crave for membership, inclusion, recognition, etc. They have inferiority complex and
are escapists. Most hackers have some kind of computer addictive disorder.
Hackers would not agree with this they feel that as long as there is curiosity and the need to
explore, there will be hackers. Hackers believe they are computer security professionals and that their work
involves high intelligence! Tey believe that security professionals get their salaries because there are hack-
ers! In Refs. #2 and #3, Additional Useful Web References, Further Reading we have provided some links to
read about how the minds of hackers work.
When employing ethical hackers, certain care must be taken by organizations. The person employed
as an ethical hacker must be completely trustworthy.
It is important to understand the skill-sets as well as mindset to look for while employing ethical
hackers. First and foremost, the person employed as an ethical hacker must be completely trustworthy.
While testing the security of a clients systems, the ethical hacker may discover information about the client
that should remain secret. In many cases, this information, if publicized, could lead to real intruders breaking
into the systems, possibly leading to nancial losses. During a security evaluation, the ethical hacker often
holds the keys to the company. Terefore, he/she must be trustworthy enough to exercise tight control over
any information about a target that could be misused. Te sensitivity of the information gathered during an
evaluation may dictate strong measures be taken to ensure security of the systems being tested by the ethical
hackers. Certain areas to watch are limited-access laboratories with physical security protection, multiple
secure Internet connections, a safe to hold paper documentation from clients, strong cryptography to protect
electronic results and isolated networks for testing. Ethical hackers normally have strong programming skills
Box 10.7 | The Hacktivist
There is also another interesting term known as the hacktivist. Hacktivism is the act of hacking or break-
ing into a computer system for a politically or socially motivated purpose. The individual who performs an
act of hacktivism is said to be a hacktivist. A hacktivist uses the same tools and techniques as a hacker,
but does so in order to disrupt services and bring attention to a political or social cause. For example,
one might leave a highly visible message on the home page of a website that gets a lot of trafc or
that embodies a point of view that is being opposed. Some examples are shown in Figs. 1.9 and 1.10,
Chapter 1. Or one might launch a denial-of-service (DoS) attack to disrupt trafc to a particular site.
As another example of hacktivism, consider the following: hacktivism following the death of a
Chinese airman when his jet ghter collided with a US surveillance plane in April 2001. Chinese and
American hacktivists hacked websites and used them as blackboards for their statements. The legal
side seems intriguing because according to law professionals, whether hacktivism is a crime may be
debated. Opponents argue that hacktivism causes damage in a forum where there is already ample
opportunity for non-disruptive free speech. Others insist that such an act is the equivalent of a protest
and is, therefore, protected as a form of free speech.
Source: To know more about hacktivism, visit the following sites:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacktivism (2 January 2008).
2. http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDe nition/0,,sid14_gci552919,00.html (2 January 2008).
3. http://www.thehacktivist.com/?pagename=hacktivism (2 January 2008).
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 591 2011-03-25 10:35:26 AM
592 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
and computer networking knowledge. Typically, ethical hackers have long work experience in computer
and networking business. Tey are also procient in installing and maintaining tools that use the more
popular operating systems on target systems. Tese base skills are augmented with in-depth knowledge of the
hardware and software available from popular computer and networking hardware vendors. An additional
specialization in security may not always be necessary, because strong skills in the other areas imply a very
good understanding of how the security on various systems is maintained. Tese system management skills
are necessary for the actual vulnerability testing, and are equally important when preparing the report for the
client after the test. Globally, the hiring of ethical hackers is on the rise with most of them working with top
consulting rms. See Chapter 12 (in CD) for related certication information.
10.5 Sociology of Cybercriminals
In the previous section, we described about the mind-set and skills and competencies of hackers and cyber-
criminals. Are these people socially disturbed? A study of hackers shows that hackers, young and old, have
their own reasons to feel alienated in society, one of which is the misrepresentation of their faith in the media.
Originally hacking involved only feeling passionate about writing software to the extent of pursuing this
interest sometimes outside the norms, which would not necessarily imply anything illegal.
Te original hackers such as Richard Stallman were employees of respectable institutes such as the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As such with their association with respectable institutes, they
could hardly be seen as being outside the system. During 1980s, however, there was a boom in computer
science research. It was caused by projects sponsored by the military organizations; projects such as Strategic
Missile Defense and Articial Intelligence. With that, the mood in these research ivory towers, which had
been fairly liberal in the 1970s, changed. Mavericks like Stallman left, and hackers outside the state-sanctioned
system were increasingly perceived as a potential threat to national security.
From the mid-1980s onward, secret services and other law enforcement agencies started their war against
hacking, with a compliant mass media doing their best to stigmatize hackers as criminals, or even as terrorists.
In the 1990s, with the mass adoption of the Internet, a new breed of hackers emerged, so-called script kiddies
(described in the previous section). Tis breed of people did not have to develop deep knowledge of computers
because hacking tools had become relatively easily obtainable.
Script kiddies are not considered as real hackers but instead they are called crackers.
Script kiddies have a mania for breaking into web servers, obtaining root privileges and inscribing
digital gra ti on the web servers homepage. Tis activity served as legitimating for the strengthening of
the legal regime, and allowed centrally owned mass media to continue, in full force, their denouncement of
computer subcultures in general.
10.5.1 Personality Traits of Cybercriminals and Young
Generations Views about Hacking
Tere was an interesting research carried out in year 2006 by Purdue University.
[6]
It seems that there is a
gender dierence as per that study, 87% of the respondents were male and only 13% were female! Tey were
the 77 students from a Midwestern University enrolled in courses at the college of technology. Te mean age
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 592 2011-03-25 10:35:26 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 593
of these participants was 21 years. Te hypothesis for this study was that individuals self-reporting deviant
computer activities (classied as computer criminals for this study) would be more introverted, more open to
experience, more neurotic, more exploitive and manipulative and would score lower on social moral choice
as compared to the other group under study, that is, those individuals having self-reporting non-deviant/
computer criminal behavior. Te result of this study showed that 88% of respondents were classied as
computer criminals. Te results also showed that only extraversion total was noteworthy in relation to deviant/
criminal computer behavior, none of the other hypotheses were supported. Te nding that low extraversion
(introversion) was a major predictive variable is contrary to previous research. Te nding that moral reason-
ing was not a signicant variable is also contrary to other studies concluding that a lack of internalization of
societal norms was a signicant factor in unethical and aberrant computer behavior.
It looks like the young generation in India has a certain viewpoint toward hacking. Tere are opinion
polls indicating that most young people in India and worldwide believe that hacking is a good skill and that
every programmer and software designer should know how to prevent hacking. Terefore, knowledge about
how hackers work is an essential knowledge in the opinion of Indias young generation. Another school of
thought heard from young generation is this:
If thieves, enemy countries, enemies, terrorist groups and other ill-fated people and organizations can use
Hacking for their means of destruction, why cant authorities use hacking as their tools for protection? While
these ill-fated hackers constantly try to hamper the smooth living and lifestyle of common man, why cant
authorities recruit hackers to stop them from doing these and even take precautionary measures? Tis can be
accomplished by developing hacking and tracking software tools and techniques through which these BAD
HACKERS can be traced before they do anything wrong.
We should take the positive side of these issues and approach as required and help our government and
institutions.
10.6 Information Warfare: Perception or An Eminent Reality?
Computer networks are becoming the battle ground for economic warfare in the modern times. The
role of the computer as a weapon in and of itself magnies the potential for Information Warfare
(IW). Everyone knows that hacking is a crime.
Most countries are now using the technique of Information Warfare (IW) for capturing the information of
enemy countries. Tis technique is also used by the professional high-prole techno-thieves. In some cases,
the victim never knows that he has been hacked. So there is enough need for understanding the symptoms
and its eects on hacking. Tere should also be knowledge of availability of dierent tools that are in the
market and the tools that can prevent from being hacked.
More than guns, bombs or missiles, the Internet is the most important tactical tool for terrorist groups
today. Asymmetric warfare involves unconventional weapons coupled with innovative strategies aimed at
attacking the will of the target with full eort to cause maximum damage. Asymmetric warfare is used by
terrorists, the media and hackers. Te concern is that the virtual free rein terrorists currently have over the
Internet, is allowing them to plan large-scale attacks against civilian targets, while policymakers continue
to worry primarily about a cyberattack on the nations information infrastructure. Limiting the ability of
terrorist networks to use the Internet as an operational platform is one of the most signicant challenges that
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 593 2011-03-25 10:35:26 AM
594 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
lawmakers and national security experts face. It is said that all is fair in love and war this saying seems to be
followed. Corporations actively participate both as targets and possibly also as combatants.
Te idea that you can attempt to disrupt and break into foreign information technology is not new.
It dates back as far as the British code breakers who gured out the Nazi Enigma encryption machine in
World War II. Te adversaries have changed over the years, but their struggle has kept pace with the develop-
ment of cyberspace, and it continues today. A reading of the military and non-military literature reveals that
the term information warfare (IW) is at best a label of loose connotations. Te connotations of IW range
from specically technical tactics (e.g., hacking) through more subtle manipulations (e.g., psychological
operations) to a broad epochal boundary in techno-military history. One of the great ironies of the Internet
era is that the very characteristics of the Internet, which appeal to government, industry and private users, are
some of the same dynamics that make it an ideal operational headquarters for contemporary global terrorist
movements. Like any Internet user, a terrorist operative will nd setting up a website or E-Mail account to
be a very simple and inexpensive process. With minimal disclosure requirements (which are di cult, if not
impossible, for providers to verify for accuracy), a cyber jihadist
[7]
can set up any number of free E-Mail
accounts within a matter of minutes.
10.6.1 Cyberwar Ground is HOT
Almost everyday, there is news about cyberattacks; intensity of cyberattacks mirrors the intensity of ght-
ing on the ground. Core attackers are few in numbers and they lead by providing ideas, websites and tools.
Volunteers and conscripts are thousands in number; they do the brute force work. Tey come from all over
the world (see Fig. 10.6). Tere are examples of many government sites hacked refer to Figs. 1.7, 1.9 and
1.10, Chapter 1. Grabbing the mouse is a lot easier than grabbing the gun! Military training requires arduous
eorts; use of computer does not! Tere are opportunistic participants and hacktivism (see Box 10.7) gives
everyone a chance to impact the course of history. Te two prominent weapons in IW are (a) DoS attacks and
Box 10.8 | Information Warfare Classication
Information warfare and information warfare incidents can be segregated into three classes:
1. Personal information warfare.
2. Corporate information warfare.
3. Global information warfare.
This classication depends on the target, that is, whether the subject of the attack is an individual,
business enterprise or government, respectively. Information warfare has a close nexus to infrastruc-
tural warfare, which involves interference with a government without essentially a direct impact on
day-to-day life. As more computers connect to systems used by the society as a whole, the capabil-
ity to use computers to engage in infrastructural warfare will only increase.
Using computers for performing calculations in development of the hydrogen bomb, breaking
of the enigma code in Bletchely Park and in Aiken, and Jon Von Neumans automated generation of
ballistic tables etc are some of the famous examples of information warfare involving use of advanced
technology. Over the decades, sophistication of applications and the prowess of underlying computer
technolgoy has advanced considerably. Today, computers are commonly used for command and
control systems in the modern, digitized battleeld. Initially, computers were developed for calculational
purpose and today, they are being considered as war weapons! Not many years back, an incident was
uncovered wherein Dutch hackers got hold of sensitive information including order-of-battle data. They
got to this classied information by penetrating information systems of Coalition Forces during the Persian
Gulf War. This information, perceived as highly valued, was offered to the Iraqi government for a price!
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Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 595
(b) website defacements; refer to Chapter 1 (see Figs. 1.7, 1.9, 1.10) business loses revenue and governments
lose face. Cybertools used by cyberattackers are Ping of Death, EvilPing, Ping-ood (mainly for launching
DoS and DDoS attacks) and Winsmurf, QuickFire, Defend, HTTP Bomber 1.001b, FakeMail, MailBomber,
Attack 2.5.1, PutDown. A new attack method involves, requesting non-existent webpages, specifying current
date/time. Tis way, a cyberterrorist defeats web-caching security mechanisms. Typical targets in information
warfare involving cyberterrorists are: websites, E-Commerce servers, E-Mail servers, Internet relay chat (IRC)
channels, WWW chat rooms, Domain name servers (DNS), Internet service providers (ISPs), File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) sites, etc. Chapter 4 has the details of tools and methods used by cybercriminals.
Cyberterrorists choose vulnerable targets for IW. Teir argument is that they hack for patriotic and political
reasons. When hacking takes place supposedly for one of these reasons, it raises a number of tricky issues
should the impacted country hack back or should the hacker be sued? Cybercrimes do not know rational bound-
aries shown in Fig. 10.8. How do we know the hacker is a patriotic hacker? Should the impacted country declare
a war? Tere are other issues as well while hacking is illegal, government-sponsored hacking occurs almost
everyday. For example, as per revelations by Canadian investigators, there is a cyberspy ring based in China and
it is specically targeting Indias defense establishment.
[8]
Tis is expected to set o a major cybersecurity revamp
by New Delhi.
10.6.2 Cyber Jihadist on the Rise
Cyber jihadists utilize their computer skills to hack into the servers of key organizations, and use those
servers, unknown to the provider, as de facto ISPs or proxy servers. Tis tactic allows cyber jihadists to post
Victim
Tracing possible
Offender/
criminal
Open wireless
network
Anonymous communication
service
Tracing challenges
E-Mail service (no formal
registration)
Cybercrime has no Physical Boundary
Figure 10.8 |Cybercrimes are boundary-less!
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596 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
their sites and deliver their communications while obscuring their own Internet Protocol address. Other
cyber jihad websites rely on the knowledge that ISPs worldwide are not required to monitor content or to
control access to sites on their servers until they are made aware of egregious contents on a particular site.
Cyber attacks usually react to international events, not vice versa. Tey could help to spin a delicate diplomatic
dance out of control. Hackers from some countries operate independent of each other while hackers from
some countries operate as a coordinated pack.
Box 10.9 | Privacy on the Internet and TOR
Internet privacy or online privacy seem to have become a hot topic! Recently, there is a lot of
attention to privacy issues and most seems to be focused on Internet privacy. This may sound strange
to some people because consumer-privacy concern did exist long before online business started.
The current hype surrounding the Internet, in general, has contributed to the excitement about the
topic of Internet privacy. Nowadays, any happening online seems to draw much more attention
than the happenings in the real world. There is some substance though, behind the hype attached
to Internet privacy. We often reveal a lot of information about ourselves when we go online, infor-
mation we may not realize we are disclosing, but which advertisers and commercial websites can
use to sell us goods and services. Cookies have caused a lot of privacy concerns for details
see Box 9.2 (Cookies and Internet Activities) in Chapter 9. Also refer to Chapter 30, Ref. 5, Books,
Further Reading.
Much was mentioned about Information privacy in Chapter 6 while discussing about the
legal perspective and laws around the world. It is worth understanding about Internet privacy. Internet
privacy consists of privacy over the media of the Internet: the ability to control what information
one reveals about oneself over the Internet, and to control who can access that information. Many
people use the term to mean universal Internet privacy: every user of the Internet possesses Internet
privacy. Netsukuku is the name of an experimental peer-to-peer routing system, developed by the
FreakNet MediaLab (Italian), born to build up a distributed network, anonymous and censorship-free,
fully independent but not necessarily separated from Internet, without the support of any server, ISP
and no central authority. It does not rely on a backbone router, or on any routing equipment other
than normal network interface cards.
Operator YAPO (Yet another Portable Opera) is a portable version of the Opera web browser. It
can be installed on portable data storage devices like USB sticks and hard drives. OperaTor only ano-
nymized the following two protocols: HTTP and HTTPS. Other protocols like BitTorrent or the complete
part of Opera Mail would not be anonymized.
The Onion Router (TOR), an anonymity network, is a free software descendant of second-
generation onion routing enabling Internet anonymity by thwarting network trafc analysis. TOR is a
distributed, anonymous network. The network is not run by one organization, but by a diverse set of
organizations and individual donating their bandwidth and processing power. The software is open
source, so anybody can check for backdoors and other aws. The project is maintained by the Free
Haven Project, and its web resources are donated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The name
TOR originates as an acronym of The Onion Routing project. The most common argument against
tools for anonymous communication is that criminals can use it to plan future crimes, exchange
illegal content, etc. without revealing themselves. The people behind TOR say that while this is true,
it should not stop ordinary citizens from communicating anonymously. Criminals already have the
means to be anonymous why should citizens not use anonymous mode of communication to main-
tain their privacy.
So what are the legitimate reasons for ordinary people to be anonymous there? Common
reasons to use TOR are to avoid being tracked by advertising companies on the Web, reach Internet
services and sites blocked by the ISP or participating in chat rooms in an anonymous manner. Most
people can probably think of at least one reason to be anonymous on the Net without causing any-
body else any harm. Government agencies use TOR for intelligence gathering and people in China
[9]
and other countries without freedom of speech use it to communicate with other freedom seekers.
For a complete reading on privacy, refer to Ref. #5, Books, Further Reading.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 596 2011-03-25 10:35:27 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 597
One specic approach that the Indian government might have to consider, relates to what in industry
parlance are known as defensive and oensive hackers. While the formers job would be to ensure strong
defense against all attacks, that of the latter would be to actively be part of hackers worldwide who perform
the role of ooding malware or malicious software codes used to inltrate large systems. Such participation
is crucial to pre-empting attacks. Perhaps, time has come for Indian government to seriously consider creat-
ing the position of a cybersecurity czar with the mandate to fundamentally overhaul cybersecurity and bring
the currently fragmented networks under a clearly dened structure. Indian government can consider tap-
ping the talents of cybersecurity community constituted by young professionals in their 20s and 30s. Since
this community is used to working in a highly non-hierarchical environment with a great deal of personal
freedom the government will have to use the o ce of the cybersecurity czar as its interface with the young
professionals.
|
SUMMARY
In this chapter, we discussed about ethics and moral-
ity in the context of cyberspace. We described the
mindset of hackers and other cybercriminals as well as
their skills, knowledge and competencies. We started
the discussion with Intellectual property. Our IP
resides in the cyberspace. As we become netizens,
that is, citizens of cyberspace, we should learn how
to be decent individuals. For that a consideration
of ethics and the social implications of comput-
ing is essential and ideally, it should start at school
level. Tere seems to be little basic understanding of
ethical issues. For example, while a large number of
people are untouched by IT, there is no provenance
for what is published on the Web, so children in par-
ticular need to be taught ethical principles to help
them dierentiate between the useful and ethically
good, and the harmful and ethically bad.
We also touched upon the idea of Information
Warfare which has become possible given the criti-
cal role of computers in industry, commerce, govern-
ment, research, education, medicine, communication
systems, entertainment and many other areas of our
society. Professional contributors to the design, devel-
opment, analysis, specication, certication, mainte-
nance, study or myriads of dierent applications of
computer systems exert considerable inuence on
the ultimate products and services. As such, due to
their associative role in this work, these contributors
would also have opportunities to both make positive
contributions to the society and also to cause harm.
Most technology-based products present one or other
potential dangers, and thus computer engineering is
an intrinsically risky activity.
Today, having the knowledge on hacking is con-
sidered useful because hacking is becoming a pro-
fession with high fees paid to hackers. Tere is a
huge growth in the number of hackers who attack
Web-based systems in particular. Many companies
now have on their board paid professional hackers
who can test the security of the company website.
Globalized cyberattacks will grow and will also
improve in sophistication of attack methods and
tools used. People on the trailing edge of the digital
world also represent a social issue that needs to be
considered. Currently many do not even have access
to the virtual world, or they may nd that they are
suering from de-skilling as their jobs are replaced
by software tools or assistive technology.
To ensure that their eorts will be used for good,
computing professionals must commit themselves
to making computing benecial and respected pro-
fession, promoting an ethical approach to the pro-
fessional practice. Tere is a need for increase in the
general public awareness on ethical aspects of tech-
nology. Te domain of cybercrimes has attracted a
lot of media attention; it is a high media attention
zone. However, in any form of work in the cyber-
space, understanding, awareness and appreciation of
ethical, social and political dimension involved, are
essential.
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 597 2011-03-25 10:35:27 AM
598 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
|
REVI EW QUEST I ONS
1. What is meant by ethics and morality? Is
there any relation between these two terms?
2. What is an IP? What are the dierent forms of
intellectual property mentioned in the chapter?
3. Explain the dierence between Trade Name and
Trade Secret.
4. What is cybersquatting? Explain how cybers-
quatting is related to domain name.
5. In the cyberspace and E-Commerce world,
what are the new emerging threats to peoples
intellectual property? Explain with suitable
illustration.
6. How do you see the convergence of technologies
possibly creating nuisance to innocent individ-
uals? You can provide an example to illustrate
your point.
7. Briey describe the generations of hackers
along with key characteristics of each generation
8. Mini Assignments.
(a) Suppose, after completing your Computer
Engineering degree, as a computer gradu-
ate you decide to enter the professional
domain. You start working as a program-
mer for business software. Soon you notice
that the team that you are part of is aware
of defects in the software that they have
designed to optimize purchase orders. In
certain situations the software calculates
higher purchases than necessary. Te result
is that the client ends up spending more
money than necessary. However, these
defects are hidden, because the team does
not have the time to improve the software
and a defect would have to be repaired
without charge. You also notice that in the
organization where you are working with
this team there is an implicit agreement to
do nothing as long as the client does not
notice (this is very improbable due to the
number crunching nature of the software).
Te other programmers in your team and
team managers argue that code always con-
tains bugs and that the damage produced is
only marginal. What is your view point?
Explain with appropriate arguments.
(b) Your niece is a freshly graduated computer
professional and she just started working for
a middle-sized software company. She has
the impression that the software that she
contributes to is quite complicated and lacks
usability. Tere are no specialists within the
company on these topics; so she decides to
seek outside help. However, the manage-
ment tries to talk to her about this. She nds
that no one seems to regard usability as a
relevant topic in the organization. Her grad-
uate thesis involved software usability as the
topic and therefore she feels she has some
intuitive understanding of it. Other doubts
she develops is the quality of a user manual.
When she mentions her doubts, her col-
leagues and superiors tell her: Te users
will quickly learn to handle this and In
practice, it is not a problem. What would
you advice your young niece? In your view,
is she wasting too much time and energy on
user manuals? Are they necessary?
(c) A software development division is man-
dated to develop a software application
according to specication. Te specica-
tion was provided by an IT consultancy.
Te contact at the client side is provided by
its IT unit, which knows the formal work-
ows, but little details of the concrete use
context. Te client does not want the user
department to be contacted, as it is busy
with critical work. It is further argued that
the consultancy already performed a task
and business process analysis informing the
specication. Yet the programmers think
that the specication is incomplete and
ambiguous. Tere are many open questions
and alternative options regarding concrete
implementation details, alternatives in
workflows and exception handling.
Nevertheless, the end-user department is
shielded o. As their company is under
pressure to fulll the contract, the software
developers have to proceed according to
specications and to resolve open questions
Cyber security_Chapter 10.indd 598 2011-03-25 10:35:27 AM
Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 599
by imagination and replicating solutions
from previous projects. Provide your com-
ments on these circumstances.
(d) An IT consultant works for a company
engaged in providing outsourcing facilities
for computing centers. He also consults cli-
ents on how to do this. Te company makes
most of its prots from the provision of
outsourcing, and it is the IT consultants
job to convince potential customers to
outsource parts of their computing.
However sometimes the consultant has the
impression that the clients would be better
o by keeping these resources and skilled
people in-house. Sometimes the consult
tries to hint customers at the disadvantages,
however, he cannot say this openly, in order
to hide his disloyal behavior from col-
leagues or supervisors. Do you feel that the
IT Consultant is doing anything wrong?
How would you approach the situation if
you were the IT consultant?
|
REF ERENCES
[1] To understand what an IP address is, you can
read the explanatory note in the following link:
http://www.host.co.in/knowledgebase/tag/
class-c-ip-address (23 October 2010).
[2] See this link about How to Hack a Facebook
Account http://hackyourlove.com/articles/cate-
gory/catch-a-cheater/ (17 October 2010).
[3] Basic motive for web attacks is prot as shown
by the survey mentioned at http://www.breach-
bytes.com/2008/02/10/breach-security-labs-
nds-67-of-web-attacks-motivated-by-prot/
(20 October 2010).
[4] Read about the Brainvisa case at http://www.
expressi ndi a. com/l atest-news/brai nvi sa-
discusses-its-rs-47-crore-fraud-case-at-cyber-
workshop-to-hel p-others-l earn/408545/
(1 September 2010).
[5] Te National Defense Research Institutes
report titled Strategic Information Warfare: A
New Face of War by Molander, R.C., Riddile,
A.S. and Wilson, P.A. can be read at: http://
www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/
MR661/MR661.pdf (17 October 2010).
[6] A study Self-reported Computer Criminal Behavior:
A Psychological Analysis by Rogers, M., Seigfried,
K. and Tidke, K. at the Purdue University
Cyberforensics Lab can be read at: http://www.
forensics.nl/presentations (25 October 2009).
[7] Below are the links about Cyber Jihad
http: //www. gl obal j i had. net/vi ew_page.
asp?id=399 (19 October 2010).
http://blogs.csoonline.com/cyber_jihad_cyber_
resale (19 October 2010).
http: //www. menassat. com/?q=en/news-
articles/3966-islamic-jihad-s-cyber-war-
brigades (19 October 2010).
http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/2007/12/cyber-
jihadist-hacking-teams.html (19 October
2010).
http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/2007/08/analy-
ses-of-cyber-jihadist-forums-and.html (19
October 2010).
[8] Regarding Cyberspy ring based in China target-
ing Indian defense establishments (mentioned at
the end of Section 10.6.1), refer to the following
links:
http: //www. fi nanci al express. com/news/
chinalinked-cyber-spy-ring-targeting-india-nds-
report/600963/ (2 March 2011). China-linked
Cyberspy ring targeting India report.
http://defenceforumindia.com/showthread.
php?t=9397&page=2 (2 March 2011). China
hacking into Indian Defense Ministry.
http: //www. i mpactl ab. net/2010/05/05/
china-cyber-spying-network-targeting-india/
(2 March 2011). China Cyber-Spying Network
Targetting India.
[9] A 2009 report prepared by US-China
Economic and Security Review Commission
titled Capability of the Peoples Republic of
China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer
Network Exploitation is available at: http://
www. us c c . gov / r e s e a r c hpa pe r s / 2009/
NorthropGrumman_PRC_Cyber_Paper_
FINAL_Approved%20Report_16Oct2009.
pdf (17 October 2010).
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600 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
|
FURT HER READI NG
Additional Useful Web References
1. India does not have adequate supply of Ethical
Hacker. Read an article in Economic Times at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/
internet/Supply-of-ethical-hackers-in-India-
short-of-demand/articleshow/5238100.cms (16
October 2010).
2. Read article Mind of a Russian Hacker in the fol-
lowing links:
http://certcollection.org/forum/topic/22766-in-
side-the-mind-of-a-russian-hacker/ (17 October
2010).
ht t p: / / www. br i ght onwi red. co. uk/ news .
php/43895-Inside-the-mind-of-a-Russian-
hacker (17 October 2010).
3. More articles about the mind of a hacker are
available in the following links:
http://www.csoonline.com/article/219654/
inside-the-hacker-s-mind (16 October 2010).
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Inside-
the-Mind-of-a-Hacker-[2]/1/ (16 October
2010).
4. What goes on inside the head of a hacker? Read
an interesting article at: http://www.csisite.net/
LawO cerArticle.pdf (16 October 2010).
5. Tere is an article An Exploration of Cyberspace
Security R&D Investment Strategies for DARPA at:
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/
MR797/ (1 September 2010).
6. Internet censorship is control or suppression of
the publishing or accessing of information on the
Internet. Te legal issues are similar to o ine
censorship. Visit some useful links at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censor-
ship (12 October 2010).
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-
censorship.htm (12 October 2010).
http: //www. si l i coni ndi a. com/shownews/
Internet_censorship_coming_to_India_-nid-
57075.html (12 October 2010).
h t t p : / / www. k e t a n . n e t / I NTERNET_
CENSORSHIP_IN_INDIA.html (12 October
2010).
7. Read article bypassing Internet censorship at:
http://www.nogw.com/download/2005_bypass_
censor.pdf (1 October 2010).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12714224/how-
to-bypass-internet-censorship (1 October
2010).
http://www.masternewmedia.org/privacy_secu-
rity/bypass-internet-censorship/bypass-internet-
lters-anonymous-browsing-guide-20071118.htm
(1 October 2010).
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/07/bypass-in-
ternet-censorship-how-to.html (1 October
2010).
http://infoteknotainment.com/bypass-rewalls-
bypassinternet-censorship-with-freegate (1
October 2010).
8. Some more links on the topic of Internet
Censorship are available at:
To know more about Internet Censorship FAQs,
visit: http://www.spectacle.org/freespch/faq.html
(12 October 2010).
To know more about Internet Censorship Law
and Policies around the world, visit:
http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html
(12 October 2010).
To know more about Internet Censorship today,
visit: http://censorship.suite101.com/article.
cfm/internet_censorship_today (12 October
2010).
To know more about Internet Censorship in
Pakistan, visit: http://thecurrentaairs.com/
wikipedia-org-blocked-in-pakistan-internet-
censorship-in-pakistan.html (12 October
2010).
To know more about Internet Censorship in
China, visit: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Internet_
censorship_in_mainland_China (12 October
2010).
9. Visit the following link where warning about
hacking into your spouses or partners E-Mail
account is mentioned: http://www.experien-
cepr oj ect . com/ s t or i es / Had- An- Onl i ne-
Aair/695263 (15 October 2010).
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Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Social, Political, Ethical and Psychological Dimensions 601
10. Te following link is about Relationships spoilt
by the Internet: http://www.oddee.com/
item_97154.aspx (15 October 2010).
11. Read another interesting story Pune techies who
turned hackers for divorce, alimony at: http://
www.ndtv.com/article/cities/pune-techies-turn-
hackers-for-divorce-alimony-47294 (12
October 2010).
12. Some free tools to bypass rewalls and access
blocked websites are mentioned at:
http://www.sizlopedia.com/2008/03/14/10-
free-tools-to-bypass-firewalls-and-access-
blocked-websites/ (14 October 2010).
http://www.peacefire.org/info/blocking-soft-
ware-faq.html (14 October 2010).
13. To read article Privacy Protection: Time to Tink
and Act Locally and Globally by Esther Dyson,
visit http://131.193.153.231/www/issues/
issue3_6/dyson/index.html (24 December
2010).
14. Another article Rising Privacy Concerns about
Internet is mentioned in the following link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22685515/ns/
technology_and_science-security/ (16 October
2010).
15. Read article Mobile Internet Privacy Concerns at:
http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/regu-
lator-warns-mobile-internet-privacy-concerns/
article-172783 (17 October 2010).
16. Inspiring story of a 13-year-old ethical hacker is
posted at: http://changeminds.wordpress.
com/2009/12/21/inspiring-story-of-13-yr-
old-ethical-hacker/ (14 October 2010).
17. Read article Opinion Poll about the Question
Whether Knowledge about Hacking is Good or
Bad, visit: http://toostep.com/debate/hacking
(19th October 2010).
Books
1. Godbole, N. (2009) Information Systems Security:
Security Management, Metrics, Frameworks and
Best Practices (Chapter 38), Wiley India, New
Delhi.
2. Ibid Chapter 38 (Section 38.13 Understanding
Intellectual Property and its Various Forms).
3. Ibid Chapter 31 (Section 31.2 Privacy
Implications of RFID Technology).
4. Ibid Appendix AI (Cybercrime and Information
Security).
5. Ibid Chapter 2932 (various dimensions of
Privacy and related dimensions).
6. Denning, D.E. (1998) Information Warfare and
Security, AddisonWesley.
7. Libicki, M.C., Conquest in Cyberspace: National
Security and Information Warfare, Cambridge
University Press, NY.
8. Parker, T. et al. (2004) Cyber Adversary
Characterization: Auditing the Hacker Mind,
Syngress Publishing Inc., MA, USA.
Articles and Research Papers
1. Vinod Anands paper Chinese Concepts and
Capabilities of Information Warfare can be read
at: http://www.idsa.in/system/files/strategi-
canalysis_vanand_1206.pdf (15 October
2010).
2. Articles on the topic of Information Warfare can
be read at:
http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/tag/information-
warfare/ (10 October 2010).
A PCQuest Article on the topic Information
Warfare by Ashish Sharma is available at:
http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/technology/
102101206.asp (10 October 2010).
India Forum for a discussion on Indias Oensive
Cyber Warfare can be visited at:
http://www.india-forum.com/forums/index.
php?/topic/2465-cyber-warfare/ (15 October
2010).
3. Te IIT Delhi presentation on Information
Warfare: Challenges of a National Defensive
Strategy is available at: http://www.iimahd.ernet.
in/sim09/Speakers/MrMMChaturvedi2.pdf (1
August 2010).
4. To read article about Cyber Terrorism: World Wide
Weaponisation! by Amaresh Pujari, IPS Inspector
general of police (Training), Tamilnadu Police,
Chennai, visit http://cii.in/WebCMS/Upload/
Amaresh%20Pujari,%20IPS548.pdf (18 October
2010).
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602 Cyber Security: Understanding Cyber Crimes, Computer Forensics and Legal Perspectives
5. Free software is a matter of liberty, not price
To understand the concept read article in the fol-
lowing link: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/
free-sw.html (19 October 2010).
6. Ethical Implications of Modifying Modern Mobile
Computing Platforms the 2009 paper by Juston
Western from Auburn University is available at:
ht t p: //www. j us t onwes t ern. com/auburn/
MobileComputingEthics.pdf (17 July 2010).
Video Clips
1. Visit a video clip that explains the Dierence
between Hackers and Cyber Criminals at: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0u_7DHuuNg
(20 October 2010).
2. A video clip about life of a hacker is available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctEUFYELOL0
(24 December 2010).
3. Another video clip about hacker is mentioned in
the following link: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=8D2iU8wD_tk&NR=1&feature=
fvwp (16 October 2010).
4. Links to video clips in Box 10.9 (Privacy on the
Internet) are quoted in the following link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=49389
74944926079757# (16 October 2010).
h t t p : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m/ w a t c h ?
v=CrW4FC0OVOQ (16 October 2010).
5. In the following link there is a video clip to
educate you about protecting against Cyber
Squatting. Te clip can be seen in reference to
discussion in Section 10.2.6 and Box 10.3 in
the chapter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0rbFA71M
kw&feature=related (22 March 2010).
In the following link there is a video clip titled
Have you ever been Cybersquatted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoKoiJkQO
4E&feature=related (22 March 2010).
Te appendices that serve as extended material for the topic addressed in this chapter are: A, B, C, D, F,
L, N, R, S, T. Tey are provided in the companion CD.
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