Cyber Espionage

Cyber
- of, relating to, or involving computers or computer networks (such as the Internet).
Espionage
- the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and
military information.
Cyber Espionage
- It is the act of engaging in an attack or series of attacks that let an unauthorized user or
users view classified material. These attacks are often subtle, amounting to nothing more
than an unnoticed bit of code or process running in the background of a mainframe or
personal workstation, and the target is usually a corporate or government entity.

FORMS OF CYBER ATTACKS

1. Brute force attack
A sophisticated software or algorithm which is written to do whatever it can to attack
your system — by searching for vulnerabilities — and in many cases, attacks a password-
protection mechanism.
The brute force attack will use a specially designed software to go through hundreds of
thousands of different words, combinations of words and numbers to try to crack your
password, said Caracciolo of CBIZ. He added: “They will even go through every word in
the dictionary to see if they can access something like a password.”

2. Distributed Denial of Service Attack

This happens when a server is overloaded with connections, with a goal of ultimately
shutting down the target’s website or network system. “This is just where [hackers] are
overloading your system, hoping it will shut down your network and you will not be able
to operate your business.

3. Phishing attacks
There are various types of phishing attacks and the type that is used usually depends on the
industry. “Hackers send out hundreds of thousands of emails [with an attachment or link]
hoping that someone will click on them,” he added. “That’s the hacker’s means to access
 your system.” Once you open it, you’re giving them access to your computer system and the
information on it.
“Once they’re in, then they’re able to really attack the software’s vulnerabilities, whether it’s
personal passwords, firewall or lack thereof, or unpatched status security software.”

4. Malware, spyware, or ransomware

 Malware – a malicious software with the intent to gain unauthorized access.

 Spyware – hackers introduce a software into your system that looks for the simplest form
to track keystrokes to get passwords or electronically spy on your network, whether to
gain access to confidential information or spying in order to gain access to unidentifiable
information.
 Worms - A “worm” is similar to a virus but it spreads differently. In order to affect your
files, a worm eats into your system and runs on its own. If a worm is introduced into your
system, it could replicate by resending itself from your system to everyone in your
contacts list; so one person lets it in and then it just compounds itself; depending on how
it’s written, it could get back to every contact on your list.

SOME TOOLS USED IN CYBER ESPIONAGE

 Archimedes – a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack tools allegedly created by the CIA to
computers inside a LAN.
 Scribbles – a piece of software allegedly designed to embed 'web beacons' into
confidential documents, allowing the spying agency to track insiders and whistleblowers.
 Grasshopper – reveal a framework which allowed the agency to easily create custom
malware for breaking into Microsoft’s Windows and bypassing antivirus protection.

EXAMPLE OF CYBER ESPIONAGE CASES

World’s most notorious Cyber spies targeting PHL GOV’T.

Cybersecurity experts have identified at least two international hacker groups that are
involved in a concerted effort to steal secrets from Philippine government institutions and private
companies.
APT32, hacking group based on Vietnam and China-based Conference Crew are
associated with the attacks mainly because of the country’s recent diplomatic moves towards
China.
Cyber Espionage Group Targets Asian Countries With Bitcoin Mining Malware
Security researchers have discovered a custom-built piece of malware that’s wreaking
havoc in Asia for past several months and is capable of performing nasty tasks, like password
stealing, bitcoin mining, and providing hackers complete remote access to compromised system.
Dubbed Operation PZChao, the attack campaign discovered by the security researchers at
Bitdefender have been targeting organizations in the government, technology, education, and
telecommunications sectors in Asia and the United States.
Researchers believe nature, infrastructure, and payloads, including variants of the
GhostRAT trojan, used in the PZChao attacks are reminiscent of the notorious Chinese hacker
group – Iron Tiger.
However, this campaign has evolved its payloads to drop trojan, conduct cyber espionage
and mine bitcoin cryptocurrency.

CYBERCRIME PREVENTION ACT OF 2012

Section 4. Cybercrime Offenses
A. Offenses against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and
systems.
1. Illegal Access
2. Illegal Interception
3. Data Interference
4. System Interference
5. Misuse of devices
 CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
Don Severino De las Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Department of Computer and Electronics Engineering

WRITTEN REPORT IN
COMPUTER ETHICS AND LAWS

Submitted by:
Alyzza Marie F. Mendoza
201312578
BSCpE 5-1

Submitted to:
Andy A. Dizon
Instructor