Impact of Computers on Society 7. Computer Crime.

Impact of Computers on Society7. Computer Crime

It was only a matter of time… Net was designed by geeks who were interested in

openness and free sharing DoD commissions ARPANET 1969 – UCLA, UC Santa

Barbara, SRI, U Utah (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)

First e-mail – Ray Tomlinson (1971) Ethernet/Alohanet (1973) The Well DEC VAX 11/780 (1978) – a favorite in research

VMS Unix

Early Crimes Salami method Accumulate rounding errors in a hidden file Random “errors” These methods require programming expertise in a

world where few computers are networked Security is an afterthought The Internet was wide open – it was just a matter of

time…

Break-ins Hood’s network hacked in the mid-90’s Various web sites of government agencies Read the newspaper Watch TV What break-ins can you recall?

Four Important Crime Topics Hacking Scams Fraud, embezzlement, theft Crime fighting

Hacking vs. Cracking Hacking – originally an elegant, sophisticated

piece of programming – an art

Cracking – breaking a security scheme – often brute force or using someone else’s “tools”

In the media, “hacking” has assumed the latter meaning

Hacking At first, mostly young men Organized crime and espionage becoming prevalent Originally a test/hazing at MIT, etc. Breaking in where you don’t have access Isaac Asimov foresaw the computer virus Worms (1980’s) Sniffers “Hactivism”

Captain Crunch John Draper – 1970’s

A toy whistle found in a cereal box Hacked into Bell South Free calls Shut down phone service Rigged prosecutor’s phone to act like a pay phone FBI calls routed to a 900 sex phone number Legion of Doom – exposes vulnerability of phone

system Somewhat amusing if you are not the victim

Kevin Mitnick Convicted of hacking universities, cell phone

manufacturers, ISP’s Went into hiding in 1988 while on probation Arrested in 1995 when he hacked into a

security expert’s files at San Diego Supercomputer Center

Crimes aimed at individuals and some businesses

Robert T. Morris Grad student at Cornell Son of a security expert at NSA First worm – November 2, 1988

Copied itself onto other computers and spread Clogged up much of the net

Claimed it was an experiment that went awry 400 hours community service A tenured professor at MIT as of 2006

Some positive effects A warning that security holes exist

Occasioned early anti-virus and other security efforts

Three Major Problems Weak security Intrusions frequently go unnoticed Reluctance even to admit that a break-in has

occurred Embarrassment Negative customer reaction Indicates to others that a way to break in exists

Profile of a Young Hacker Young Male Introvert Script Kiddy

Moderately knowledgeable Uses tools created by others and posted on the net Dangerous – imagine a terrorist who posts a tool

that does not do what it claims to do…

Organized Criminals Stereotype of young male hacker is less true Willie Sutton…

Why do you keep robbing banks? That’s where the money is!

Organized criminals have realized that credit information is where the money is. Used directly Sold to others

Some Recent Viruses/Worms Leonardo Melissa Love Bug Blaster Worm (remote procedure calls) Beagle/Bagel worm Sober-X Tools readily available: Symantec

(Note there used to be sneaky competition: Symantic) Virus writers are getting ahead of antivirus software Have you ever had to purge your computer?

More Attacks Denial of Service

Distributed Denial of Service MSIE, MS Outlook

Service Pack #2 Windows Defender Tool

Ethical questions Would it be acceptable for a professor of

computer science at Hood College to assign homework directing students to design and code a computer virus or worm?

What site would you like to hack into and why?

Laws If you think something might be illegal, it probably

is Many crimes covered by preexisting laws Two major laws specific to computers Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (1986)

Covers federal jurisdiction only Broad scope – theft, breaking in, altering or destroying

data Stiff penalties

USA Patriot Act of 2001 Expanded definition of “attack” to include

hacking Restitution includes cost of responding to the

attack and restoring system First offense doubled to 10 years Allows government to monitor online activity

of suspected hacker without a warrant There is justifiable fear of cyberterrorism

More USAPA Criticized as too broad If a warrant is required for wiretap, why not

for online monitoring? Does a “reasonable expectation of privacy”

exist online?

Catching hackers Honeypots Invite for “job interview” (Russians arrested) Computer forensics / digital forensics Hackers often make dumb mistakes

Not changing return address Leaving other clues

CERT at Carnegie Melon now a clearing house for security alerts

Overreaction Craig Neidorf and “Phrack” (1989) Published part of document about BellSouth

phone 911 system Threatened with lengthy jail term and large

fine Bell claimed document worth almost $24,000 Info available for $24 from other phone

company sources

Legal Problems Printing press not involved in Neidorf case –

how to apply existing law? Jurisdiction – the Web crosses boundaries Hard to frame laws that discriminate between

criminal acts and acts of youthful indiscretion Perverse that hackers are often hired as

security consultants

What do you think? Would you hire a hacker as a security

consultant?

What do you think should be done to discourage youthful hackers?

Security Problems Often very lax – similar to leaving your iPod

on the front seat of an unlocked car The Internet has a history of being open Laziness Lack of knowledge Expense

More Security Problems Human nature to take precautions after a

disaster Unanticipated flaws in software Users do not take the risk of a break-in

seriously A balancing act between security and ease of

use

SATAN (1995) Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing

Networks – Dan Farmer & Wietse Venema SATAN scanned for known security holes in

Unix/Linux systems Public controversy

Farmer & Venema respond Why wasn’t there a limited distribution to

only the “white hats”? History has shown that attempts to limit distribution of most security information and tools has only made things worse. The “undesirable” elements of the computer world will obtain them no matter what you do, and people that have legitimate needs for the information are denied.

A First Amendment Question Should it be illegal to write viruses and

hacking tools? Recall Philip Zimmerman’s PGP (1991) Recall Daniel Bernstein’s attempts to publish

cryptography research (1993 - 1996)

Scams, Frauds, Attacks, and Other Mischief Online Scams Not a new problem, but a new venue Auctions such as eBay and Yahoo

The toasted cheese sandwich purportedly bearing the likeness of Christ

Auctions for health care Should it be allowed to advertise for a kidney

transplant?

Fraud, Embezzlement, Sabotage, Data Theft, Forgery Willie Sutton (again!)

Why rob banks? That’s where they keep the money!

Nothing new – just a new venue Stock fraud Credit card fraud Identity theft ATM theft Telecom/cell-phone theft

Identity Theft Again, nothing new – just new tools Succeeds because of the magnitude of the

system A problem for the victim because SSA, DMV,

credit bureaus do not provide much help

DOJ: Fewer ID Theft Victims About 9.3 victims previously counted Only about 3.6 million ID thefts in the US counted

in 2005 – that’s 3 out of every 100 people Includes misuse of cell phone, credit card, other personal

info. 1.7 million of the 3.6 were unauthorized credit card use About 540,000 households said someone misused

personal info to open accounts, get loans, or commit other crimes. This is the usual definition of ID theft.

Associated Press in Washington Post, April 3, 2006

Online ID theft is a BIG problem But not as big as you might imagine There are 3.3 million ID thefts per year. Of those, only a small percentage take place

online. Although not directly online, some thefts do

involve computers indirectly.

Common Sources of ID Theft – Business

Source: Javelin Strategy & Research 2006

Corrupt Employee 15 %

Stolen from data company 6 %

Misuse of data in store, mail, telephone 7 %

Some other way 7 %

Total ID Theft via Business 35 %

Common Sources of ID Theft – Consumer

Source: Javelin Strategy & Research 2006

Lost or stolen checkbook, credit card, wallet 30 %

Relatives, neighbors, friends, home employee 15 %

Stolen mail, fraudulent change of address 8 %

Garbage, dumpster-diving 1 %

Total ID Theft via Consumer 54 %

Common Sources of ID Theft – Computer

Source: Javelin Strategy & Research 2006

Viruses, spyware, hackers 5 %

Phishing 3 %

Online transactions 0.3 %

Total ID Theft via Computer 8.3 %

Common Sources of ID Theft – Summary

Source: Javelin Strategy & Research 2006

Consumer 55 %

Business 35 %

Computer 8 %

(Margin of error) 2 %

Total ID Theft 100 %

Phishing Combines the traditional “fishing expedition”

with identity theft Relies on a very few responses out of

thousands of phishing messages

Swindle and Sabotage What is the weakest part of any security system? The employees

Disgruntled employees – sabotage, logic bomb, denial of service

Dishonest employees – theft It is easy to do a lot of damage in a hurry Audit trails Backup, backup, backup

Competitors Industrial espionage Breach of confidentiality agreement Reverse engineering (often legal)

Digital Forgery Pictures

O. J. Simpson ID cards, licenses, passports Money Corporate stationery Corporate documents Proposals for a national ID card with embedded

computer chip Passports will have embedded chips, beginning

summer of 2006

How do you establish ID in cyberspace? Who is behind that computer? Email? Digital signatures Reputable businesses

Can you decipher the bill? Clear procedures for dealing with problems? How does a business know you are you?

Fighting Crime versus Civil Liberties Automated surveillance – 9/11, England Biometric identifiers

Facial recognition systems Fingerprints Retinal scan Iris scan DNA

Potential for loss of privacy is immense

More Crime Fighting Seizure of a computer containing data of

people in addition to the one for whom a warrant was issued

Loss of equipment can shut down a business without a trial

Is the goal of law enforcement or harassment? To what extent should an ISP become an arm

of law enforcement?