Security Breach Points

[Name of the Institute]ABSTRACT

Online users today are faced with multitude of problems and issues. A typical online user is vulnerable to virus, worms, bugs, Trojan horses etc.; he/she is also exposed to sniffers, spoofing their private sessions; and they are also vulnerable to phishing of financial information. Not only this but users are also constantly subjected to invasion of privacy with the multitude of spy ware available for monitoring their surfing behaviors. If this is not all, users are also subjected to malwares that stop or totally destroy their machines render them helpless. These instances only indicate that the Internet is not a safe place for online users. Users are constantly vulnerable to hacked sessions, attacks and phishes that make them wary of going online. However, the trend does not stop at that. In fact corporations and government sector organizations are also faced with the same problems. Corporate information are being hacked; emails are read; government secret information are subject to security risks and banks are being hacked and millions stolen. Some of the reasons behind such attacks include the weaknesses inherent in the networks of the companies and government organizations; other reasons include carelessness of users. Whichever the case internet security issues have become one of the major concerns for technologists and users alike. There is a great need for understanding the nature of the attacks, the attackers, the networks, the loop holes and the measures taken to counteract them. The following research identifies the various methods and techniques of attacks online and how they expose the users to information theft; corruption of systems; and loss of funds. The research also identifies the various methods that are being used to counteract these attacks and how effective they are proving for the users. Some suggestions are also given for future security measures for networks and network users.

Security Breach Points

Introduction

The Internet has revolutionized the way people live today. Activities ranging from access to information to entertainment; financial services; product purchase and even socializing all seem to take place online. Due to its wide coverage and pervasive information collection, millions of people are relying on the Internet for almost all kind of activities. And with frequent usage, they have also come to trust the Internet to provide a gateway for personal, home and office convenience.

The basic simple structure of the Internet based on a host of backbones and host servers, however makes it vulnerable to many risks. The hosts vary from supercomputers to personal computers using different types of hardware and software. The common link in all of these hosts is the TCP/IP (Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). This language again is based on simple functionality that is if a host has TCP/IP then it can easily connect to other computers that have same backbones and operating systems. This open technology not only expose the Internet to numerous security risks and pitfalls but it also becomes the real issue for its users. This is because attacks on IP is possible; IPs ...