Cyberattack

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Computer Science

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Colorado State University

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ITS 460

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Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Case Study Analysis

Networks and personal computers are under constant attacks from hackers with

different motives. The 2008 cyberattack on the United States is an example of an attack by

hackers. The attack was conducted by foreign attackers who targeted the United States

Department of Defense. According to the United States defense team, the attack was

described as the worst breach of the United States military computers in the history of attacks

(Knowlton, 2010). The attack began when a USB drive was left lying in the Department of

Defence parking lot. The USB was picked by one of the personnel and inserted into a

personal computer that was connected to the department's network system.

The USB flash drive contained malicious codes, which, when put into the port of a

computer connected to the United States Central Command, spread to other systems. The

undetected movement of the malicious codes took down both classified and unclassified

systems. It also scanned computers for open backdoors, which was used to send information

to the attackers' server. It channelled data to servers under the control of the attackers. The

former Deputy Defense Secretary, William J. Lynn's description of the attacks in an article

for Foreign Affairs in 2010, refers to the attack as a wake-up call. The attack resulted in a

major turning point for the government agency.

The malicious codes were said to have been placed in the flash drive by a foreign

intelligence agency. The attack was known as Agent.btz, and it took fourteen months to

clean the attack from the system (Knowlton, 2010). The main suspects in the attack were

Russian hackers who were believed to have used the same code that created the Agent.btz

attack in their previous attacks. The attack led to the creation of the US Cyber Command

(USCYBERCOM), and flash drives were banned by the Pentagon.

The critical argument of the behavior of the attackers

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Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS Course title Student name Institution affiliation 1 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS Case Study Analysis Networks and personal computers are under constant attacks from hackers with different motives. The 2008 cyberattack on the United States is an example of an attack by hackers. The attack was conducted by foreign attackers who targeted the United States Department of Defense. According to the United States defense team, the attack was described as the worst breach of the United States military computers in the history of attacks (Knowlton, 2010). The attack began when a USB drive was left lying in the Department of Defence parking lot. The USB was picked by one of the personnel and inserted into a personal computer that was connected to the department's network system. The USB flash drive contained malicious codes, which, when put into the port of a computer connected to the United States Central Command, spread to other systems. The undetected movement of the malicious codes took down both classified and unclassified systems. It also scanned computers for open backdoors, which was used to send information to the attackers' server. It channelled data to servers under the control of the attackers. The former Deputy Defense Secretary, William J. Lynn's description of the attacks in an article for Foreign Affairs in 2010, refers to the attack as a wake-up call. The attack resulted in a major turning point for the government agency. The malicious codes ...
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Tags: IT Information security computer science Strategic Planning Process personal computers