Cyber-attacks detection and prevention

LECTURES

1. Legal norms regulating cybercrime
2. Social engineering
3. Spam, Scam, Hoax
4. Botnet
5. Cyber attacks - Hacking, cracking, malware, ransomware
6. Cyber attacks - Financially focused attacks of the (phishing pharming, spear phishing, mobile phishing)
7. Cyber attacks - social attacks (cyberbullying, stalking, sexting, cybergrooming, etc.)

WORKSHOPS

1. Analysis of individual cyber attacks and their subsumption under the provisions of the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185) and national law (Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal)
2. Analysis of individual attacks - modus operandi
3. Security testing against selected attacks.
4. Defining prevention options against individual types of attacks
5. Design of your own solution for protection against individual cyber attacks.
6. Security testing of some systems, applications and data. Students will try to design their own solutions to increase the security of these systems, applications or data.

INTRODUCTION

At present, information and communication technologies are indispensable. Their contribution to society in all areas of human activity (e.g. medical science, research, security, transport, etc.) is indisputable. The field of information and communication technologies is the fastest and most proliferating branch of human activity.

What needs to be realised is the fact that information or data and their use involve considerable economic and political potential. Information, as both raw data and dataflow, can determine not only the existence or non-existence of an individual or company but also, by its nature, influence global development.

However, the use of information and communication technologies also has its downsides. One of them, undoubtedly, is the gigantic and dynamic increase in the “new type” of crime, which must be dealt with in such a way as not to endanger and violate the interests of society. This crime can be collectively called cybercrime. [1]

It should be noted that, on a global scale, considerable efforts can be observed, both at the legal and security levels, to take adequate measures to respond to this new and dynamic phenomenon of today. [2]

Three facts have become key points for the development of cybercrime. [3] The first is the connection of four university computers and the creation of a computer network for data sharing. [4] The second is the creation of IBM's first Personal Computer in the late 1980s. The third and, in my opinion, most important milestone is making the Internet accessible to the general public, including the modification of individual applications into a more user-friendly form.

The development of today's digital society is not based directly on economic development associated with material resources but on the development of IT, on connecting more and more users to the Internet, but especially on applications as such and last but not least on obtaining information and data from users themselves. These changes are connected to the development of IT, both socially and economically, and are one of the causes of cybercrime.

Cyberspace is currently the most effective and dangerous weapon in the hands of cybercriminals. It is not that cyberspace or the Internet itself is dangerous or lacking security. The point is that a system is always as strong as its weakest link. In this case, the weakest element is, more than ever, a user. In fact, a user is the biggest “threat” to himself/herself and his/her surroundings, because even though he/she has legal personality [5] , he/she often has only a minimal knowledge of his/her rights and obligations.

The Internet has become a part of our daily lives and especially its multimedia aspect is developing very fast. The Internet, whether we like it or not, is a more powerful and predatory medium than television or any other mass media. Nowadays, even a simple user can pass or force his/her thoughts or opinions onto the entire global population through a simple interface. And it doesn't matter if the thoughts are banal or perverted in some way.

On the one hand, the Internet offers virtually unlimited possibilities for almost anyone in obtaining and processing information about almost anything, without the need to spend time in libraries or information centres outside the home (obtaining the information in question is a matter of a few seconds).

Google and Wikipedia have become relevant and often the only sources of information for our decisions. The Internet enables communication between people, facilitates a number of activities thanks to the possibility of finding a solution or instructions, offers a number of different information channels, etc. At the same time, it allows you to do all this from your home and with a feeling of almost absolute anonymity.

On the other hand, working in this virtual environment can result in severe financial loss, fear of intrusions into your privacy by strangers, loss of valuable personal data, online communication of mentally disturbed people (paedophiles, drug addicts, philosophically adrift, etc.), communication of these people with our own children behind our backs, arranging criminal groups for illegal activities without the possibility of eavesdropping by a third party, fraud, unauthorised intrusions into private spheres of companies, redirection of business orders, theft of other people's accounts, destruction of data and databases, copyright infringement, etc.

Cyberspace cannot be allowed to become an environment where perpetrators could commit any criminality virtually without punishment. But there is only one starting point for fighting crime in cyberspace, and that is cyberspace itself. It is necessary to understand what cyberspace actually represents, what principles it works on, what types of crime can occur in this virtual world, and what all law enforcement agencies, but especially the user himself, can do against this illegal activity.

As already mentioned, cybercrime has been gaining momentum in recent times. Due to its varied nature, a wide range of each of our fundamental human rights is infringed, and information and communication technologies thus become the means by which crime is committed or are themselves the target of this activity.

A significant difference between cybercrime and other types of crime is its considerable latency, often a high level of tolerance by society (including user indifference to potential threats), real or perceived anonymity of the perpetrator and its difficult identification, as well as the whole process of proving. Therefore, it is necessary not only to address the issue of repressive action against offenders but also the issue of crime prevention in this area, as well as the issue of possible protection of society from this crime.

The actual prevention of these negative phenomena must necessarily begin with end users because in cyberspace it is they who are the typical first victim of an attacker. Based on my experience, I am convinced that the education and training of users should be an essential part of the penetration of information and communication technologies into our lives. I believe that building information literacy should be inextricably linked to the creation, distribution and promotion of products or services that are associated with information and communication technologies. The actual education in this area, or rather learning about possible threats, risks and drawbacks posed by IT, should be part of the teaching of all forms of study at all levels of education.

As far as people who deal with this issue at a professional level are concerned, then even higher demands are placed on these specialists, as they must constantly learn and train to be able to face ever new and dynamically growing attacks by ICT means and in the ICT environment.