Annotated Bibliography On Computer Memory Hacking

902 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of hacking essay

Computer Memory Hacking
Pamela Riddle
Professor Patricia Riley
CIS 106
November 20, 2014

Technology continues to evolve exponentially. However these technological advancements continue to pose a threat to both individuals and information resources of companies and governments. There is therefore the need to protect one’s data and information due to the emerging threats and risks. Hacking is where third parties create a backdoor version of a hardware and software so as to manipulate or unlock hidden functionalities on a machine. Most of these hacks are open source and free soft wares. These hacks manipulate the firmware update option on many devices to run and install themselves. Many researchers have found out that breaking into a computer’s encrypted hard drive is very easy with the help of the right tools. A research by Princeton University revealed how low tech hackers access even the most well protected computers (Jordan Robertson 2008).
This paper details how encryption was coveted for a long time as a vital shield against hackers, but can be manipulated by altering the operations of the memory chips. This paper outlines just how vulnerable the data we store on our computers and laptops is to possible hacking. Through freezing the Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chip, which is the most frequently used memory chip in personal gadgets. Freezing DRAM makes it retain data for many hours way after the machine loses its power. This data includes the keys used to unlock encryptions. If the memory chip is not frozen the chip can lose its contents in a matter of milliseconds. Hackers can use this vulnerability to steal information which is stored in the memory through rebooting of the compromised mach...

... middle of paper ...

...lso the endorsement of the Convention on Cybercrime by over 40 countries has brought about joint effort in combating some of these challenges.
In conclusion Hackers started off as experts in programming and curious intellectuals advancing the limits of technology, but have evolved into a diverse world view. Additionally the shift from hardware onto software to the internet have boosted the increase in number of malicious hackers. With the emergence of new technologies so is the renewed efforts to combat the loopholes and help protect the public.

Reference
FBI Computer Crime Survey Report 2005
Gollmann John Wiley and Sons, Dieter1999 . Computer Security.
Jordan Robertson 2008 computer memory vulnerable to hacking
Levy, Steven 1984 Hackers : heroes of the computer revolution. Press/Doubleday, .
Yeo, Vivian. ZDNet Asia 2006 Do former black hats make good hires?

Show More
Related

  • The Use of Hacking to Identify Weaknesses in Computer Security

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    The use of hacking to identify weaknesses in computer security has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent years. Awareness of this issue is important, because our ever increasing reliance on technology means that breaches in computer security have the potential to have wide-ranging and devastating consequences to society, worldwide. This essay will begin by clearly defining the term ‘hacking’ and will examine the type of people who hack and for what reasons. There will then follow a discussion of the moral argument on hacking before examining a few brief examples. The essay will then conclude by arguing against the use of hacking as a means of identifying weaknesses in computer security.

    Read More

  • HIPPA and the Privacy of Medical Records

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is constant concern about different kinds of devices and tools because of their vulnerability: laptops; personal computers in the home; libraries and public workstations; USB Flash Drives and email, to name a few. These items are easily accessible for those attempting to breach security.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Counter culture / Hackers

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    In reality, most hackers are ordinary people with a great deal of curiosity, above-average skills with a computer, a good understanding of human nature, and plenty of time to kill. Hackers have no distinguishing characteristics. Your next-door neighbor could be a hacker, as could your niece or nephew, one of your co-workers, or even the kid who serves you coffee in the morning. Not all hackers are dangerous and out to destroy business or damage lives. The view of the general public toward hackers is mixed. A recent CNN-poll shows 33% of respondents labeling hackers as "useful," 17% seeing them "as a menace," and the majority (45%) seeing hackers as "both" useful and a menace (CNN, 1999).

    Read More

  • HIPAA, CIA, and Safeguards

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    On 5 October 2009, computer equipment from a network data closet was stolen from BCBST. The items stolen were 57 unencrypted hard drives which contained over 300,000 video recording and over one million audio recordings. According to Whitman & Mattord (2010), confidentiality, integrity, and availability makes up the C.I.A triangle which is the basis of Committee on National Security model for information security, an industrial standard, (Whitman & Mattord, 2010). Confidentiality can be a synonym for encryption but also means only the people with the correct permission can access the information. One of the major security issue is the hard drives were not encrypted. The hard drives should be encrypted to prevent people from reading the information the computer. Software can be purchased which will encrypt files on hard drive with such as Folder Lock, SensiGuard, Secure IT, and more. There are open source encrypting software which are free for use which could have been used. If the hard drives were not needed, the data should hav...

    Read More

  • Rise Of The Hackers: Movie Analysis

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,

    Read More

  • Technology and the Invasion of Privacy

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Computers are main technological features that allow criminals to step into unsuspecting victims lives. With a simple piggy-backing program hackers are able to track every keystroke made by the victim. One such program is called spyware, not to be confused with adware, which is often referred to interchangeably with spyware, but is potentially harmless (Louis 15). Spyware, hidden within downloaded software, implants itself deep within a computer’s hard drive, allowing it to track every move made by the user (Louis 16). Once inside a system, spyware can gather e-mail addresses, passwords, and credit card numbers.

    Read More

  • Electronic Break In Essay

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    As technology becomes more integrated into our everyday lives, it becomes necessary to take precautions when dealing with sensitive information and technology. The Internet is a prominent tool in today’s society, and will be used against people for many years to come. As technology grows larger, it increases the impact a malicious attack can have. Cybercrime is a special category of criminal acts that are typically executed through the utilization of computer and network technologies. Electronic Break-Ins is one of the categories of cybercrime.

    Read More

  • Security in The Cloud

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hackers have gotten there way into every technological gadget out there. Something simple as browsing the web can give hackers information about the people’s data. Before Cloud computing, hackers were stealing data from the physical hard drive by implementing a virus that would open a back door and send the data straight to the hacker’s server. As security measure Enterprises, small businesses and the normal consumers have started to store data on the cloud. However, what the user or business fails to understand is that the information on the cloud is just as vulnerable to be hacked as the physical information stored on the hard drive. As technology emerges, the cloud is uprising and users are resorting to it to store information, which needs to be properly implanted to prevent information from being stolen or lost.

    Read More

  • Essay On Active Attacks

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    Organizations who deal with sensitive customer related data should take extreme precautions when transferring data from one location to another and make sure that those transmissions data are secure and under the protection of the authorized user. Since wireless technology is new in the market but has become almost inexpensive, it is gaining more popularity in all type of businesses. The inexpensive device brings the threat of security into the system and it becomes of utmost importance that no information leak happens in any form. The strength of a computer system’s security is always measured by its weakest component (Loo, 2008). Thus all the users should be given appropriate training on how to use secure their data when they are at home or at the corporate premises. A combined effort of users, employers and system administrators is required in order to fight against such malicious activities. Appropriate countermeasures in every form can help the organization minimize the risk of illegal penetration. Up to date tools, constant monitoring, proper management and appropriate countermeasures are all the ultimate weapons to fight against the wireless security

    Read More

  • Volatile Memory Investigation

    344 Words  | 1 Pages

    To control the effects of such crimes digital forensics has gained popularity in recent years. In today’s world, the dependency on computers is growing widely. Government agencies and private companies are attempting to protect themselves from cyber attacks with digital defence techniques like encryption, firewalls and heuristic or signature scanning, etc. Meanwhile, the number of attacks that include sensitive military data canters, targeting power grids and stealing trade secrets from both private and public organizations continues to increase. the detection, response and reporting of these kinds of intrusions as well as other incidents involving computer systems, are critical for cyber security professionals Just like that, if the data taken from the organizations encrypted across the network, to determine which sensitive files were stolen and that won’t be recognized by traditional packet capture techniques. However, passwords and encrypted keys can often be recovered by memory forensics, or even the file’s plain-text contents before they were encrypted, providing information to understand the scope of an

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Digital Security Risks

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Technology has revolutionized the world. Nowadays, people depend on technology to modify, store, and organize their data and information. Therefore, it is significant that users consider the risks and protect their computers, electronic devices, and data. The data information from online purchase is valuable and important for users. Digital security risk has become a serious problem in the society.It could lead up to a loss of or damage to computer or mobile device. Digital security risks include unauthorized access and use of electronic device, internet and network attacks, hardware theft, software theft, information theft, and system failure. The common examples for digital security risks are intercepting wireless communications, virus attack,

    Read More

  • Simultaneous Multithreading

    4193 Words  | 9 Pages

    Simultaneous multithreading ¡ª put simply, the shar-ing of the execution resources of a superscalar processor betweenmultiple execution threads ¡ª has recently become widespread viaits introduction (under the name ¡°Hyper-Threading¡±) into IntelPentium 4 processors. In this implementation, for reasons of ef-ficiency and economy of processor area, the sharing of processorresources between threads extends beyond the execution units; ofparticular concern is that the threads share access to the memorycaches.We demonstrate that this shared access to memory caches pro-vides not only an easily used high bandwidth covert channel be-tween threads, but also permits a malicious thread (operating, intheory, with limited privileges) to monitor the execution of anotherthread, allowing in many cases for theft of cryptographic keys.Finally, we provide some suggestions to processor designers, op-erating system vendors, and the authors of cryptographic software,of how this attack could be mitigated or eliminated entirely.1. IntroductionAs integrated circuit fabrication technologies have improved, provid-ing not only faster transistors but smaller transistors, processor design-ers have been met with two critical challenges. First, memory latencieshave increased dramatically in relative terms; and second, while it iseasy to spend extra transistors on building additional execution units,many programs have fairly limited instruction-level parallelism, whichlimits the extent to which additional execution resources can be uti-lized. Caches provide a partial solution to the first problem, whileout-of-order execution provides a partial solution to the second.In 1995, simultaneous multithreading was revived1in order to com-bat these two difficulties [12]. Where out-of-order execution allowsinstructions to be reordered (subject to maintaining architectural se-mantics) within a narrow window of perhaps a hundred instructions,Key words and phrases. Side channels, simultaneous multithreading, caching.1Simultaneous multithreading had existed since at least 1974 in theory [10], evenif it had not yet been shown to be practically feasible.

    Read More

  • Abolish Computer Technology

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    We live in a rapidly advancing world with new technology being developed every day. Gordon Moore hypothesized that technology has begun developing at an exponential rate, doubling in power every eighteen months. However, technology brings more harm than good. The documentary Die Hard 4 epitomizes the threat technology poses to humanity when in the wrong hands. Malicious “hackers” have the ability to control any object associated with a computer. They can steal personal information or secret government plans from anyone's PC; they can delete English papers before they are printed; they can hack into a webcam to take pictures; they can hack into phones to listen to conversations; they can hack into the traffic light to cause accidents; they can hack into calculators to make students fail a math test; they can hack into watches to make people late. Thus, I must offer a modest proposal to immediately destroy each and every computer.

    Read More

  • 8P AICE GP

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arguably, computers are unreliable, and often crash or get bugs, possibly compromising information. In December 2013, a...

    Read More

  • CyberCrime

    2979 Words  | 6 Pages

    The advantages of technology and the internet have led more criminals to use cyberspace to commit crimes. The threat of cybercrime is increasing as globalization continues to spread across the world. While the impact of globalization has led to amazing, new discoveries throughout the world, Internet connectivity has also made cybercrime easier. America and the rest of the world have become more reliant on technology and use it in more aspects of their lives, technology-users make themselves more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Globalization and the growing use of computers in the world have given people a motive to learn more about computing and become more knowledgeable as programmers. As these people learn more, there is a risk that they will use their new intelligence to commit cybercrimes.

    Read More

More about Annotated Bibliography On Computer Memory Hacking

Open Document