Cybercrime and Cybersecurity

Speaker Introductions:
- Jenny Martin: Director of Cybersecurity Investigations at Symantec.
- Parisa: Security Princess at Google.
Impact of Cybercrime:
- Causes significant problems in society:
- Personal issues
- Financial difficulties
- National security threats
- Recent statistics:
- Hundreds of millions of credit card numbers stolen.
- Tens of millions of social security numbers and health care records compromised.
- High-profile hacks: nuclear centrifuges and unmanned aerial drones.
Vulnerabilities Exploited:
- Hardware and software vulnerabilities.
- Unintentional human decisions lead to security breaches.
- Cyber criminals can range from:
- International terrorists
- Teenagers seeking notoriety.
- Cyber Armies:
- Major countries now possess both regular armies and cyber armies.
- Potential future warfare could be digital, targeting critical infrastructure like:
  - Water supplies
  - Energy grids
  - Transportation systems.

Types of Cybercrime Attacks:
- Computer Viruses:
- Definition: An executable program that harms the user and their computer, often installed unintentionally.
- Infection Methods:
  - Luring users into installing deceptive programs, often disguised as security updates.
  - Exploiting software vulnerabilities to install malicious software without permission.
- Malicious Capabilities of Viruses:
  - Steal or delete files.
  - Control other programs.
  - Enable remote access to the computer.
- Botnets:
  - Definition: A network of infected computers controlled by hackers.
  - Used for attacks, such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS).
- Denial-of-Service Attacks:
- Definition: Overwhelming a target website with too many requests to overload the system.
- Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS):
  - Attack originates from multiple computers simultaneously, leading to extensive overload.
  - Typical websites can handle millions of requests but struggle against billions or trillions of requests, causing system failure.
- Phishing Scams:
- Definition: Fraudulent attempts to acquire sensitive personal information via fake communications.
- Common Method:
  - Trustworthy-looking emails leading to fake websites.
  - Users log in and unknowingly disclose passwords.
- Consequences:
  - Hackers gain access to real accounts to steal information or funds.

Prevalence of Human Errors:
- 90% of breaches not due to software flaws:
- Most often result from simple human mistakes.
Importance of Personal Responsibility:
- Cybersecurity actions impact not just personal data but also broader networks like schools and workplaces.
- Need to stay educated against evolving cybercriminal tactics.
- Financial stakes are immense; loss of billions or trillions reinforces necessity for vigilance.