#wk07

Overall, the USB copier works well in terms of its effectiveness. It does what it is intended to do and also discreetly. Below I’ve further evaluated it’s effectiveness by listing both its advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

steal information easily

can steal specific information (looking at certain folders)

get data without much work (just plug in the USB)

small and portable

alternate method to backup your own computer

Disadvantages

illegal

need a USB with large storage if you plan on copying every file

takes a while to copy a tremendous amount of data

need to be discreet yourself in taking the data

works only on Windows operating systems

I tested the USB copier on my friend’s computer and can confirm that it worked successfully. My friend was a bit reluctant at first, but I assured him all data obtained would be deleted. Now that I have completed the main task, I’ve thought of ways to use the device as a means of stealing information (illegally but in hypothetical scenarios). As it only requires me to plug in the USB flash drive and click on a file, one should be very discreet about it as to not raise any suspicions. Below are a few scenarios and how to go about them as well as prevention measures:

Scenarios

Stealing information from a friend

As it is your friend, you can choose to abuse the trust built and take advantage of it. Tell them you need their pc/laptop to work on your assignment or such. This allows you to plug in the  USB without any suspicions. Rename the file needed to launch the .vbs and .bat files as assignment.bat or something similar or just launch the file when your friend isn’t looking. Continue to work on your fake assignment until you got what you’ve wanted. 

Stealing information at a workplace

Depending on what kind of job you work as, you still should have access to the company’s computers. Using a USB may be a bit suspicious, but if not, go ahead and plug it in and copy the files away as mentioned with the ‘stealing information from a friend scenario’. If it is suspicious, you would want to create many windows on the pc as well as cover USB ports to be discreet as possible. It would be best to hide the script files in a separate folder so that it cannot be  found and questioned  if caught.

Stealing information from an unattended laptop (mostly found at libraries)

Many people leave their laptops unattended to go on lunch breaks or to search for books in a library. This is a perfect opportunity to look through their laptops and steal information. To not arise suspicions, when choosing a laptop make sure youo have an idea where the owner might be going to give yourself enough time to complete the task. Act like you have ownership over the laptop and no one would question you. It would be easy to steal the laptop itself, however there will be security cameras that can track you down, so we want to minimise any tamper evidence as much as possible. As we are on a time constraint, choose specific folders that we would want to look at, such as Documents or Pictures and such. 

Prevention Measures

We see how dangerous this device is in stealing information so easily. It could lead to identity theft, fraudery, use vital information to scam people and also potentially hack into a company’s network if targeting the right person. Here are a few prevention measures that can help individuals safe from attacks:

Keep an eye of your pc/laptop and have them with you at all times

Check if any USB ports are used and if they are immediately remove them unless they are yours

Do not easily trust people to put their USBs into your device even if you know them

Constantly have people review security cameras to eliminate suspicious activities or have supervisors frequent areas containing important data

Stay cautious and check up on personal accounts to see if there has been any suspicious activities

The person behind the Mitnick Attack, Kevin Mitnick, hacked into Tsutomu Shimomura’s X-Terminal computer with the use of TCP connection, whicih was noto secure at that time. He did this through what was known as the ‘Three-way Handshake’, which can be established if there is a trusted relationship between two computers (server and client).

Three-way Handshake A SYN request is sent from Computer A under its IP address with a TCP sequence to Computer B. An ACK response is then sent by Computer B with its own TCP sequence. Lastly, a connection is established if Computer A sends an ACK response to Computer, else it can drop the request with a RESET response.

The Mitnick Attack Kevin Mitnick was able to take advantage of the three-way handshake to hack the X-Terminal computer. He first determined the TCP sequence number and the trsuted relationship between X-terminal and Server. He did this by continuously sending and recieving SYN/ACK responses and then sending RESET every time to determine it’s behaviour. He then hacked into Tsutomu’s website to gathere information on trusted relationships with other computers. After this, he used Denial of Service attack so that the Server couldn’t respond to any other requests. This was achieved by sending half-open SYN requests with routable but not active IP addresses. The hijacking was accomplished by sending a SYN requeet as a Server to the X-Terminal with the spoofed IP and a TCP sequence based on his foundings on its behaviour. A SYN/ACK response from the X-Terminal was sent, but the Server was muted so it did not recieve it. Mitnick spoofed his IP address to that of the Server’s IP and sent an ACK response to the X-Terminal for the three-way handshake. As a result, a connection was established and hacked. To repeat the hijackings, he inserted commands to Tsutomu’s computer to enable his connection to it without the need to be verified. All that was left to do was cancel all his SYN requests to the Server by sending RESET responses.

source.

As a homework activity, we are asked to craft a phishing email attack at Donald Trump to lure him into clicking a link. I decided to write an email from Obama, as he is someone who is able to reach out to Donald via email and have done many business activities together.

Dear Trump,

Hey, I'd like you personally invite you to a conference I'm attending and would be honoured if you could come and help me out. Below are documents that summarises the details of the event [link]

Yours Truly,