cyber security notes

1. UNIT 2
 Credit Card Frauds in Mobile & Wireless Computing
Era
 Security Challenges
 Registry Settings for Mobile Devices
 Authentication Service Security
 Attacks on Mobile/Cell Phones

2.  Trends in Mobility
 In the past two decades, we’ve not only cut the cord between our
phones and the wall, but we have gained the ability to stream
video, play games, and access the web from what has essentially
become a powerful handheld computer. 5G will push those
capabilities to the next level.
 Since the late 1970s, the ability to communicate with others using a
device that is untethered to a wire has changed the way people interact,
whether they are located across the street or in another country. Prior
to the introduction of cellular technology, ham shortwave and FM
radios provided two-way communication to those willing to learn
Morse code and obtain a license. Citizens band (CB) radios offered up
to 20-mile links and became wildly popular with the mass market in
the early to mid-1960s. However, weather conditions and time of day
had a major influence on reliability of ham radio links, while
transmission power limits and chatty enthusiasts reduced the
usefulness of CB.

4.  The industry needed a system that consumed little energy
to enable small portable devices to operate on battery
power. Cellular phones evolved to meet this need. Rather
than adopt a point-to-point long-distance strategy, cellular
phones link to a grid of local relay base stations.
 A progression of enhanced technical standards enabled
compatibility among devices and opened the door to
development of a rapidly expanding market. Efficient
network management was the other key to development of
advanced cellular communication systems in terms of
speed, reliability, latency, capacity, and additional features.

5.  The first generation of mobile networks, dubbed 1G, was introduced in Japan in
1979. It offered analog 2.4Kb/s with limited coverage and no roaming support.
In 1991, 2G employed digital signaling to bump the speed to 64Kb/s and used
the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard for improved
voice fidelity and reliability. It also ushered in the ability to send text messages
and photos. 3G was introduced in 2001 and harmonized global standards,
along with 256Kb/s speed. Additional functions included video conferencing,
streaming, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The fourth and most
common generation in use today, 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE), can deliver
speeds to 1Gb/s for high-definition video, web access, and gaming applications.
 We are now on the cusp of 5G, which is designed to support the escalating
demands of a universe of Internet of Things (IoT), explosion of consumer
video, telemedicine, telework, and future autonomous transportation. In
addition to a 10 times to as much as 100 times increase in speed, latency will be
dramatically reduced. The ability to support many more connected devices
with greater network efficiency and reduced latency is driving the transition to
5G.

8. Credit Card Frauds & Wireless Computing Era
Types of Credit Card Frauds
 Traditional Techniques:
 paper based fraud – criminal uses stolen or fake documents, to open an account
in someone else’s name.
 can be divided into
ID theft
 Financial fraud
 illegal use of lost or stolen card
 Modern Techniques:
 enable criminals to produce fake or doctored cards.
 Skimming process
1. Triangulation
2. Credit Card Generators
(From Book)

9. Triangulation Method - aim to create great deal
of confusion for the authorities.

10. Main challenges involved in credit card fraud detection
are:
 Enormous Data is processed every day and the model
build must be fast enough to respond to the scam in
time.
 Imbalanced Data i.e most of the
transactions (99.8%) are not fraudulent which makes
it really hard for detecting the fraudulent ones
 Data availability as the data is mostly private.
 Misclassified Data can be another major issue, as not
every fraudulent transaction is caught and reported.
 Adaptive techniques used against the model by the
scammers.

11. Security challenges posed by
mobile devices (FROM PPT)
Mobility brings two main challenges to cyber security:
first, on the hand-held devices, information is being taken
outside the physically controlled environment. and
Second, remote access back to the protected environment is
being granted.
The importance of providing employees with remote access
and the ability to work from anywhere means that
organizations need to implement tools that increase the
security of mobile devices.
Mobile phone security threats generally include application
based, web-based, network-based, physical threats (or
challenges) and technical challenges.

12. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
1. Application based threat:
Application-based threats happen when people download apps
that look legitimate but actually skim data from their device. Even
legitimate apps often request more permission than needed to
perform their function, which can expose more data than
necessary.
Examples are spyware and malware that steal personal and
business information without people realizing it’s happening.
These threats also includes Data Leakage via Malicious Apps (as
hackers can easily find an unprotected mobile app and use that
unprotected app to design larger attacks or steal data, digital
wallets, backend details, and other juicy bits directly from the app)
and
Zero Day Vulnerabilities (zero-day vulnerabilities that left its
devices open for spyware attacks and released a patch to protect
users against these vulnerabilities.
A software vulnerability discovered by attackers before the vendor
has become aware of it. Because the vendors are unaware, no patch
exists for zero-day vulnerabilities, making attacks likely to succeed)

13. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
1. Application based threat: Contd….
The best way to protect your organization against
data leakage (or App based threats) through
malicious or unsecured applications is by using
mobile application management (MAM) tools.
These tools allow IT admins to manage corporate apps
(wipe or control access permissions) on their employees’
devices without disrupting employees’ personal apps or
data.

14. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
2. Web based threat:
Web-based threats are subtle and tend to go unnoticed.
They happen when people visit affected sites that seem
fine on the front-end but, in reality, automatically
download malicious content onto devices.
Examples:
Phishing Scams
Social Engineering
Drive By Downloads
Operating System Flaws

15. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
2. Web based threat: Contd…
Social Engineering
Social engineering attacks are when bad actors send fake emails (phishing attacks) or text messages
(smishing attacks) to your employees in an effort to trick them into handing over private
information like their passwords or downloading malware onto their devices.
Drive By Downloads
Drive by download attacks specifically refer to malicious programs that install to your devices —
without your consent. This also includes unintentional downloads of any files or bundled software
onto a computer device.
Operating System Flaws
Operating system (OS) vulnerabilities are exposures within an OS that allow cyber attackers to
cause damage on any device where the OS is installed.
Large numbers of mobile devices are not kept up to date with operating system releases. Out of date
operating systems mean devices are vulnerable to security threats that are patched in the later
versions.
Mobile security requires continuous work to find and patch vulnerabilities that bad actors use to
gain unauthorized access to your systems and data.

16. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
2. Web based threat: Contd…
Tips to Combat Web based threats
 The best defense for phishing and other social engineering attacks is to teach employees
how to spot phishing emails and SMS messages that look suspicious and avoid falling prey to
them altogether.
 Reducing the number of people who have access to sensitive data or systems can also help
protect your organization against social engineering attacks because it reduces the number
of access points attackers have to gain access to critical systems or information.
 Only use your computer’s admin account for program installations.
Keep your web browser and operating system up to date.
Be wary of keeping too many unnecessary programs and apps.
Always avoid websites that may contain malicious code.
Carefully read and examine security popups on the web before clicking.
Use Ad-Blocker

17. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
3. Network-based threat:
Network-based threats are especially common and risky because
cybercriminals can steal unencrypted data while people use public WiFi
networks.
Users often rely on public Wi-Fi to stay connected when they work outside
the office. These unsecured Wi-Fi networks can allow malware to be
installed on devices or eavesdroppers to intercept data.
Public WiFi networks are generally less secure than private networks
because there’s no way to know who set the network up, how (or if) it’s
secured with encryption, or who is currently accessing it or monitoring it.
And as more companies offer remote work options, the public WiFi
networks your employees use to access your servers (e.g., from coffee shops
or cafes) could present a risk to your organization.
For example, cybercriminals often set up WiFi networks that look authentic
but are actually a front to capture data that passes through their system (a
“man in the middle” attack).
Examples:
•Network Exploits
•WiFi Sniffing
•Packet Sniffing
•BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

18. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
3. Network-based threat: Contd….
There’s no single standard for mobile devices, especially
when you allow BYOD rather than supplying the devices.
Because of the variety of devices and operating systems,
it’s difficult to apply controls consistently to ensure the
safety of all of them.

19. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
3. Network-based threat: Contd….
Tips to Combat
The best way for you to protect your organization against
threats over public WiFi networks is by requiring
employees to use a VPN to access company systems or
files. This will ensure that their session stays private and
secure, even if they use a public network to access your
systems.

20. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
4. Physical Threats:
Physical threats to mobile devices most commonly refer to
the loss or theft of a device. Because hackers have direct
access to the hardware where private data is stored, this
threat is especially dangerous to enterprises.
Example - Loss/Theft:
Loss or theft is the most unwanted physical threat to the
security of your mobile device. Any devices itself has value
and can be sold on the secondary market after all your
information is stolen and sold.
Tips to Combat
First and foremost, you’ll want to ensure employees know
what steps to take if they lose their device. Since most devices
come with remote access to delete or transfer information,
that should include asking employees to make sure those
services are activated

21. Security challenges posed by mobile devices
5. Technical challenges in mobile security are:
 Managing the registry settings and configurations,
 Authentication service security,
 Cryptography security,
 Remote access server (RAS) security,
Media player control security,
Networking application program interface (API),
security etc.

22. Registry Settings for Mobile Devices:
Let us understand the issue of registry settings on mobile
devices through an example: Microsoft Activesync is meant for
synchronization with Windows-powered personal computers
(PCs) and Microsoft Outlook. ActiveSync acts as the "gateway
between Windows-powered PC and Windows mobile-powered
device, enabling the transfer of applications such as Outlook
information, Microsoft Office documents, pictures, music,
videos and applications from a user's desktop to his/her device.
In addition to synchronizing with a PC, ActiveSync can
synchronize directly with the Microsoft exchange server so that
the users can keep their E-Mails, calendar, notes and contacts
updated wirelessly when they are away from their PCs. In this
context, registry setting becomes an important issue given the
ease with which various applications allow a free flow of
information.

23. Authentication Service Security:
There are two components of security in mobile computing:
1. security of devices and
2. security in networks.
A secure network access involves authentication between the device and the
base stations or Web servers. This is to ensure that only authenticated devices
can be connected to the network for obtaining the requested services.
No Malicious Code can impersonate the service provider to trick the device
into doing something it does not mean to. Thus, the networks also play a
crucial role in security of mobile devices.
Some eminent kinds of attacks to which mobile devices are subjected to are:
push attacks, pull attacks and crash attacks.
Authentication services security is important given the typical attacks on
mobile devices through wireless networks: Dos attacks, traffic analysis,
eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks and session hijacking.
Security measures in this scenario come from Wireless Application Protocols
(WAPs), use of VPNs, media access control (MAC) address filtering and
development in 802.xx standards.

24. Attacks on Mobile/Cell Phones
(Same as Book)
1. Mobile Phone Theft:
Mobile phones have become an integral part of everbody's life and
the mobile phone has transformed from being a luxury to a bare
necessity. Increase in the purchasing power and availability of
numerous low cost handsets have also lead to an increase in mobile
phone users. Theft of mobile phones has risen dramatically over
the past few years. Since huge section of working population in
India use public transport, major locations where theft occurs are
bus stops, railway stations and traffic signals.
Attacks on Cell phones increases because of
 increasing usage of cell phones and availability of internet using
cell phones.
 Increasing demand of WiFi zones in Metropolitans & extensive
usage of cell phones with the lack of awareness/knowledge about
the vulnerabilities of the technology.

25. Attacks on Mobile/Cell Phones
(Same as Book)
1. Mobile Phone Theft: Contd…..
The following factors contribute for outbreaks on mobile
devices:
1. Enough target terminals: The first Palm OS virus
was seen after the number of Palm OS devices reached 15
million. The first instance of a mobile virus was observed
during June 2004 when it was discovered that an
organization "Ojam" had engineered an antipiracy
Trojan virus in older versions of their mobile phone
game known as Mosquito. This virus sent SMS text
messages to the organization without the users'
knowledge.

26. Attacks on Mobile/Cell Phones
(Same as Book)
1. Mobile Phone Theft: Contd…..
2. Enough functionality: Mobile devices are
increasingly being equipped with office functionality
and already carry critical data and applications, which
are often protected insufficiently or not at all. The
expanded functionality also increases the probability of
malware.
3. Enough connectivity: Smartphones offer multiple
communication options, such as SMS, MMS,
synchronization, Bluetooth, infrared (IR) and WLAN
connections. Therefore, unfortunately, the increased
amount of freedom also offers more choices for virus
writers.

27. Attacks on Mobile/Cell Phones
(Same as Book)
2. Mobile Viruses: Mobile Viruses
3. Mishing: Mishing
4. Vishing: Vishing
5. Smishing: Smishing
6. Hacking Bluetooth: Hacking Bluetooth