Security « Informasietegnologie

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Another phishing scam – this time from an university accountNog `n strikroofpoging – dié keer vanaf `n universiteitsrekening

Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

Below is an example of an phishing scam that has been sent out seemingly by a legitimate University-based e-mail account. Unfortunately this time, the e-mail message has been sent to other institution’s addresses and the university is being wrongly criticised for “allowing” this.

Remember: The only purpose of a phishing scam is to get victims to provide their personal information and thereby gain access and control of passwords, bank account numbers and personal details.

Information Technology will be investigating this incident but keep this in mind:

Many times an automatic program is used to “spoof” or forge a phony e-mail address to disguise the real sender The address is often pulled from a database of “stolen addresses”.
This university e-mail account owner might be a victim themselves of a phishing scam, and have provided their details to scammers, resulting in their address or computer being “hijacked” by the phishers.
In some cases an e-mail address owner is employed by the phishers to operate and send out phishing mails on their behalf with the promise of earning money for their services. (Earn $10 000 per month and work from home) in this case it is unlikely, but nevertheless a risk.

In the screen grab below note the “honeypot”:

…There is no Subject line

…It seems to come from a university employee but the reply to address is some other address

…It promises that you have won a large amount of money. That always attracts people.

[ARTICLE BY DAVID WILES]

Onder is `n voorbeeld van `n nuwe strikroofpoging wat skynbaar uitgestuur is deur `n geldige Universiteit e-posadres. Ongelukkig is die e-pos boodskap ook gestuur na ander instellings se adresse en die universiteit word verkeerdelik gekritiseer omdat dit “toegelaat” is.

Onthou: Die enigste doel van hierdie lokvalle is om slagoffers so ver te kry om hul persoonlike inligting weer te gee en sodoende toegang en beheer oor wagwoorde, bankrekeninginligting en ander details te kry.

Informasietegnologie ondersoek reeds dié spesifieke insident, maar hou die volgende in gedagte:

1. Dikwels sal `n outomatiese program gebruik word om `n onegte adres te genereer om die regte versender van die e-pos weg te steek. Die adres word gewoonlik onttrek vanuit `n databasis van “gesteelde adresse.”
2. Die universiteits e-posrekeninghouer is waarskynlik self die slagoffer van strikroof en het hul details aan kuberkriminele verskaf – wat om die beurt gelei het daartoe dat hulle adres of rekenaar ge”kaap” is deur die krininele.
3. In sommige gevalle word `n e-posadres eienaar in diens geneem deur kuberkriminele om hierdie e-posse uit te stuur met die belofte dat hulle geld sal verdien vir hul dienste. (Earn $10 000 per month and work from home). In hierdie geval is dit natuurlik onwaarskynlik, maar dit bly steeds `n groot risiko om te reageer op sulke aanbiedinge.

Op die skermskoot onder, let op die weggeetekens:

… Daar is geen “subject line”

… Dit wil voorkom of dit van `n universiteitswerknemer gestuur is, maar die “reply to” adres is `n ander adres.

… Jy word belowe dat jy `n groot hoeveelheid geld gewen het. Natuurlik is dit `n groot trekpleister van die meeste mense!

[ARTIKEL DEUR DAVID WILES]

Posted in Communication, E-mail, Security | Comments Off on Another phishing scam – this time from an university accountNog `n strikroofpoging – dié keer vanaf `n universiteitsrekening

Honey pots – trapping hackers“Honey pots” – lokaas vir krakers

Thursday, November 28th, 2013

Apparently bears find honey irresistible and in the same way hackers can’t resist the challenge to gain access to a computer or system.

A Honey pot is a computer system set up as a trap for hackers, crakers and scriptkiddies trying to gain unauthorised access to other people or a company’s computers or systems. The trap is set up to detect, deflect and counteract unlawful usage of information systems.

The trap consists of a computer, data or a network site with valuable information for hackers and crackers. It appears to be part of a network, but in fact, runs completely isolated and is monitored and discreetly regulated.

Maintenance of a honey pot requires a large amount of attention and won’t necessarily guarantee a successful outcome. In some case it will only serve as a learning experience and hackers won’t necessarily be cornered.

A network of these traps set up in a production environment, is called a honeynet. The term originated in 1999 from a paper by Lance Spitzner, founder of the Honeynet Project, called To build a Honeypot. (Read Spitzner’s interesting article here)

[SOURCES: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com & www.wikipedia.org]

Net so onweerstaanbaar soos heuning vir `n beer is, so moeilik is dit vir `n kuberkraker om `n maklik toeganklike rekenaar of stelsel te weerstaan.

`n Honey pot is `n rekenaarstelsel opgestel as `n lokval vir kappers, krakers en scriptkiddies wat onregmatig ander mense of maatskappye se stelsels probeer binnedring. Die lokval word gestel om onwettige gebruik van informasiestelsels te bepaal, af te weer en teen te werk.

Die lokval bestaan uit `n rekenaar, data of `n webwerf wat lyk asof dit deel van `n netwerk uitmaak en waardevolle inligting vir krakers en kappers bevat. Inderwaarheid funksioneer die stelsel in isolasie en word dit deurlopend gemonitor en op diskrete wyse gereguleer.

Instandhouding van `n honey pot vereis geweldig baie aandag en waarborg nie noodwendig `n suksesvolle resultaat nie. In sommige gevalle is dit slegs nuttig as `n leeronderving en word kappers nie noodwendig vasgetrek nie.

`n Netwerk van hierdie lokvalle wat `n produksie-omgewing simuleer word, staan bekend as `n honeynet. Die term het sy oorsprong in Lance Spitzner, stigter van die Honeynet Project, se gepubliseerde 1999 verhandeling To build a Honeypot. (Lees Spitzner se interessante artikel hier)

[BRONNE: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com & www.wikipedia.org]

Posted in Security | Comments Off on Honey pots – trapping hackers“Honey pots” – lokaas vir krakers

PC in need of slimming down?Rekenaar nodig om gewig te verloor?

Friday, November 15th, 2013

Thought it’s only you who felt the need to lose weight after last night’s McDonald’s happy meal? Your computer feels the same way, but for different reasons.

We’d like to introduce you to another new tech term – bloatware.

Manufacturers, such as Dell or Lenovo, install unnecessary software along with Windows on their PCs.

This includes trial antivirus packages or nagware which mostly runs when you boot your pc and therefore slows down it’s performance dramatically. Manufacturers are in some cases paid to include software in this way.

Most users only need a small amount of the software loaded on their systems and regard the rest as unnecessary bloat.

A second variation of software bloat occurs when successive versions of a computer programme becomes slower and slower, using more memory or processing power. Your pc might suddenly also have higher hardware requirements than before.

Part of the problem is caused by unwanted and unused software that stays on the PC after initial installation. Even though programmes are uninstalled, some data remains. Over time this unnecessary software not only takes up space on the hard drive, but also uses valuable memory and wastes processing time, causing start up and shut down delays.

Apple iTunes and Microsoft Windows have both been accused of being culprits. Windows 8 has started to address the problem by adding options that allow users to reset and refresh PC’s, but bloatware remains a big problem for Windows PCs. Most PCs sold with Windows still come with added unnecessary software adding clutter and making your computer sluggish.

[SOURCE: www.wikipedia.org & www.howtogeek.com]

Gedink jy is die enigste een met`n behoefte het om gewig te verloor na gisteraand se McDonalds happy meal? Jou rekenaar voel dieselfde – om ander redes.

Ons stel nog `n nuwe tech term aan julle bekend – bloatware.

Vervaardigers, soos Dell en Lenovo, installeer deesdae onnodige sagteware saam met Windows op die rekenaars wat hulle aan kliënte verskaf.

Dit sluit proeflopies van anti-virus sagteware en nagware in wat hoofsaaklik loop wanneer jou rekenaar aanskakel en dan die spoed drasties verminder. Vervaardigers word selfs in sommige gevalle betaal om hierdie sagteware in te sluit.

`n Tweede variasie van sagteware bloat vind plaas wanneer agtereenvolgende weergawes van `n rekenaarprogram al stadiger reageer en onnodig meer geheue en verwerkingskrag vereis. Jou rekenaar mag in dié geval skielik groter hardeware behoeftes hê as voorheen.

Deel van die probleem word veroorsaak deur ongewensde en ongebruikte sagteware wat agterbly nadat installasies voltooi is. Selfs wanneer die program verwyder is, bly data steeds agter. Oor tyd neem hierdie onnodige sagteware nie net spasie op die hardeskyf op nie, maar mors dit ook kosbare geheue en verwerkingstyd.

Rekenaargebruikers gebruik slegs `n minimale hoeveelheid van die sagteware wat op hulle rekenaars gelaai word en beskou die res as onnodige bloatware.

Apple iTunes en Microsoft Windows is beide al uitgewys as die swartskape. Met Windows 8 is `n poging aangewend teen bloatware deur die opsie aan gebruikers te gee om rekenaars skoon te maak.

Ten spyte hiervan bly bloatware `n groot teerpunt met Windows-rekenaars. Rekenaars met Windows word steeds verskaf met onnodige sagteware wat jou rekenaar oorvol en stadig maak.

[SOURCE: www.wikipedia.org & www.howtogeek.com]

Posted in Security | 2 Comments »

Latest phishing mail sent to SU staff

Tuesday, October 29th, 2013

Please take note that this is not an e-mail sent by Stellenbosch University’s IT department. Do not click on the link or reply, just ignore and delete the message.

Dear: Stellenbosch University Email Account User.

This E-mail is sent by System Administrator Email HelpDesk IT Support for notification and email update purposes of your Email Account, all email users are expected to click the link for upgrade to migrate your email account to the new 2013 web mail Server, your are advice to click the below link for upgrade of your email to our new 25GB Mail Quota.

http://fakeaddress.com

This is free and you do not need to Pay for this. Your account will remain active after you have successfully Increase your Mail Quota.

NOTE:If unable to click the link, you are advised to copy and paste it in a new browser, Failure to do so immediately will lead to SUSPENSION OF YOUR ACCOUNT.

Regards,

Mail System Administrator

Posted in E-mail, Security | Comments Off on Latest phishing mail sent to SU staff

Hackers and crackersKappers en krakers

Friday, October 18th, 2013

We all remember Lisbeth Salander from the The Girl with the Dragon tattoo movie or Neo in The Matrix – both hackers.

Earlier this week even SU websites were targeted by the 747crew, who used it to proclaim their political and religious convictions.

But apparently there’s a difference between hackers and crackers. In the context of computer security a hacker is seen as someone who pinpoints the weaknesses in a computer system or network and exploits them. His motivation can be financial gain, a platform for protest or purely because it’s a challenge.

Over time, and partly thanks to the media, the association with the word “hacker” predominantly became a negative one. Eric S. Raymond (author of The New Hacker’s Dictionary) believes that members of the computer underground should be called crackers. According to R.D. Clifford (2006) a cracker is someone who illegally gained access to a computer with the intent of committing a crime, for example destroying data on a particular system.

More recently the word hacker has been reclaimed by computer programmers who agree with Raymond that those who hack with criminal intent, should be called a cracker. Several subgroups of this subculture have different approaches and also use different terms to distinguish themselves from others.

A white hat won’t break into a system with malicious intent, but rather to test their own security or for a company manufacturing security software. The term white hat in internet slang refers to an ethical hacker.

A black hat hacker violates computer security for his own benefit. These are the stereotypical characters we see depicted in popular culture, like movies. Black hats break into secure networks to destroy data or to render the network unusable for those who need to access it.

A grey hat surfs the internet and breaks into a system only to notify it’s administrator that it has a security defect and then offer to fix it at a price.

A blue hat assists with the testing of a system before it’s launched to establish it’s weaknesses. Usually he’s not part of a computer security company.

Other terms include a script kiddie (someone who’s not an expert and uses other people’s software to hack) and a neophyte, “n00b”, or “newbie” is a novice who’s still in training.

A Hacktivist is a hacker who misuses technology to convey his social, ideological and political message. The defacement of the SU webpages earlier this week is an example of hactivism.

[SOURCE: www.wikipedia.org]

Wie van ons onthou nie vir Lisbeth Salander van The Girl with the Dragon tattoo fliek of Neo in The Matrix nie – beide voorbeelde van hackers.

Vroeër die week het selfs US-webwerwe deurgeloop onder die 747crew, wat dit gebruik het as platform om hul politiese en godsdienstige oortuigings te verkondig.

Daar kan egter `n onderskeid getref word tussen kappers (hackers) en krakers (crackers). In die konteks van rekenaarsekuriteit is `n kapper iemand wat swakplekke in `n rekenaarstelsel of -netwerk opspoor en uitbuit. Sy motivering kan finansieël wees, `n platform vir protes of bloot net omdat dit `n uitdaging bied.

Met tyd, en deels te danke aan die media, is die assosiasie met die woord hacker grotendeels `n negatiewe een. Eric S. Raymond (skrywer van The New Hacker’s Dictionary) voer aan dat lede van die ondergrondse rekenaarbeweging eerder crackers genoem moet word. Volgens R.D. Clifford (2006) is `n cracker iemand wat ongemagtigde toegang tot `n rekenaar verkry met die doel om `n misdaad te pleeg, byvoorbeeld om inligting binne die bepaalde stelsel te vernietig.

Die woord hacker is die afgelope tyd teruggeeis deur rekenaarprogrammeerders wat saamstem met Raymond se teorie dat diegene wat vir krininele doeleindes hack, eerder `n cracker genoem moet word. Subgroepe van die ondergrondse rekenaarkultuur het verskillende benaderings ten opsigte van die twee definisies en gebruik verskillende terme om hulself te onderskei van ander groepe.

`n White hat breek nie by stelsels in met kwaadwillige bedoelings of voorbedagte rade nie, maar eerder om hul eie sekuriteit te beproef of namens `n maatskappy wat sekuriteit-sagteware vervaardig. In internet slang verwys white hat na `n etiese kuberkraker.

‘n Black hat skend rekenaarsekuriteit vir sy eie voordeel. Hulle is die stereotipiese kriminele krakers wat dikwels in populêre kultuur, soos flieks, uitgebeeld word. Black hats breek by sekure netwerke in om data te vernietig of om die netwerk onbruikbaar te maak vir diegene wat toegang daartoe het.

`n Grey hat probeer inbreek by `n stelsel bloot om die administrateur daarop te wys dat sy stelsel `n veiligheidsdefek het. Hulle bied aan om hierdie fout reg te maak – teen `n koste natuurlik.

`n Blue hat toets stelsels voordat dit bekendgestel word sodat swakplekke bepaal en gekorrigeer kan word. Hulle is tipies nie deel is van `n rekenaar sekuriteitsfirma nie.

Ander terme sluit in `n script kiddie (iemand wat nie `n kundige is nie en ander se sagteware gebruik om te hack) en `n neophyte, “n00b”, of “newbie” is `n beginner wat nog kennis en ondervinding moet opdoen.

`n Hacktivist is `n hacker wat tegnologie misbruik om sy sosiale, ideologiese of politieke boodskap oor te dra. Die skending van die US-webwerwe vroeër die week is `n voorbeeld van hactivism.

[BRON: www.wikipedia.org]

Tags: security
Posted in Security | Comments Off on Hackers and crackersKappers en krakers

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