Research Work

Cyber Espionage

Members
Juan Francisco Rivadeneyra Shimose
jf.rivadeneyra@gmail.com
993175945

Anthony Cesar Ortiz Arteaga

 Research Work
Cyber Espionage

Rivadeneyra Shimose, Juan Francisco

Ortiz Arteaga, Anthony Cesar

San Ignacio de Loyola University, Systems Engineering Faculty

Abstract information. That is, of exposing to a

Today Internet connects millions of networks,
including those that operate infrastructure and
essential services. So the economy and national
security depend heavily on information technology
and communications infrastructure. Hence the
issue of cyber defense and cyber-attack have
emerged strongly on the political agenda of
governments, being these that are being released to
the network to monitor any possible criminal action
against their interests. It is for this reason that in
this article has discussed one of those criminal
activities: cyber espionage.
Background of the trend/prediction
Currently, some 3,000 million people surf
the Internet (40% of the world population).
In the coming years it is estimated that not
only billions more people, but things we
use daily -cars, washing machines,
factories, airplanes, televisions, houses,
but also medical devices like pacemaker-
be connected and depend on the
information provided by them Network to
operate.
Under that scenario, as technology
advances our societies have increasingly
devices connected to the Internet, which
means, on the one hand, we have a
growing ability to operate, communicate
and work remotely, but also to provide
more opportunities to exploit our
vulnerabilities, steal, hijack or destroy
phenomenon known as cyber espionage.
Two headlines the Financial Times show
the magnitude of the overall problem of
cyber security: "A simple bulb can become
a form of cyber-attack" and "Can hack into
the US elections? The answer to this
second question, posed after that Russian
hackers agreed databases of Democratic
voters, is that, for now, does not seem
possible, though the mere fact that arises is
quite disturbing to one of the most
powerful countries in the world.
However, these arguments are not based
solely on speculation about the future, the
problem is this: the American company
Yahoo revealed some months ago that 500
million accounts were hacked in 2014,
although it took nearly two years to
recognize looting.
Some time ago, cyber-attacks could
traditionally separate into two distinct
categories: those that occur within the
network and jumping barriers to the
physical world. However, because of the
development of the digital world this
division has increasingly less sense. Just
for instance, are theft or manipulation of
data to which companies and users are
increasingly taking precautions, whether
SMEs, banks or large computer companies
like Apple. In this case, it did after a
massive theft of photographs of
celebrities, which stored in their phones,
known as celebgate, forcing change and
harden all security protocols.
As a form of response to these events,
there has been a culture of protection
where not only companies but the users
themselves, advise other measures such as
the use of more complex passwords,
require systems dual authentication,
encryption or technologies that allow
voice recognition, fingerprint or iris
(biometrics), among others.
However, ways to steal data also become
increasingly sophisticated: you can enter
programs that snoop what we do without
our knowledge or hijack data from your
computer to ransom, as the baleful crypto
locker, which they have become an
epidemic. This case can be catastrophic for
a small business that has not made a
backup of your information and you can
see how seconds disappears after opening
a seemingly innocuous mail.
All analysts agree that both businesses and
individuals need to be aware of the
problem. If we consider that
cybercriminals spend many hours looking
for vulnerabilities in operating systems,
applications, networks, one should not be
exposed on the Internet. The use of robust
and different passwords is encouraged,
worry about the information shared on
social networks and it can be used to
impersonate, ask for safety when
connected devices are acquired, a good
antivirus, worry about encryption systems
are used, make regular backups are tips
they repeated over and over again.
Companies and countries that are best
prepared will be those that recover faster,
spend less money and continue operating
as if nothing had happened. In this context,
the protection in the network is not very
different from security in the physical
world: everything is a matter of taking the
right precautions. Hence the reason this
article is to explain one of the most serious
threats to computer security: cyber
espionage.
Description of the trend/prediction
There are several definitions, so we will
collect some definitions.
According Arreola, A. (2015), the cyber-
espionage is defined as:
"It is that act with secrets which
are obtained without the permission of the
one who owns the information. It can be
considered as an objective of cyber
espionage all personal information,
classified, proprietary or sensitive sense
and can be membership of individuals,
competitors, groups, competitors and
governments. The reasons why it takes
practice this act can be personal, political,
economic or defense or military
advantage
The Technopedia describe cyber
espionage as:
"A form of cybercrime in which
hackers have targeted computer networks
to gain access to classified information or
other benefit that can produce that is
advantageous to the hacker"
Given exposed appointments, Cyber
espionage describes the stealing of secrets
stored in digital formats or on computers
and IT networks.
Over the past couple of years, cyber
exploitation has established a reputation of
something more than mere nuisance. The
repercussions of these acts are often
severe; ranging from a great economic loss
to leaks of sensitive military information.
As a result, there is a growing widespread
concern about the solution to this problem.
Clandestinely means that the perpetrator
attempts to hide his identity, while the
under false pretenses phrase signifies
that his intention is to present himself as a
person entitled to certain rights and
authorization to access the targeted
information.
Simply put, these acts are:
Between state nations, but they
may include non-state actors
Consisting of information
gathering through computer means
Not intending to cause death/injury
or destruction/damage
Conducted secretly
Likely executed over lengthy
periods of time
There are three main types of espionage:
Economic/Industrial Espionage
Military Espionage
Political Espionage
Today nation-states employ many
different types of cyber espionage tools.
Many of these are no different than attacks
one might see against ones own home
computer, just applied on a much larger
scale. First there are DDoS attacks, which
are mainly used to disrupt the victim
nation-states communication systems.
DDoS attacks are preferred because an
attacker can implement them with very
limited resources against a larger, more
powerful victim. Malware, such as viruses,
worms, and Trojan horses, are also popular
tools for disrupting normal computer
operations, secretly collecting data, or
destroying it entirely. Other kinds of
attacks include Logic Bombs, which are
malware designed to lie dormant until a
specific time or until triggered by a certain
event, and IP Spoofing, where an attacker
manages to disguise itself in order to gain
access to private information or secure
networks.
Reasons why is consider a
trend/prediction (statistics, reports.
etc.)
We have made some statistical research on
cyber espionage and also have compiled
all news related to espionage. We have
given that cyber espionage really is a threat
to all security. We believe that this is
considered a trend for all organizations,
governments and people around the world
aware of this threat and begin to take steps
to increase security measures.
Now, the following will explain the graph
and statistical data of cyber espionage
2014 and 2015.
In general, 2015 has reported a more
sustained activity, and this is easily and
immediately visible from the Number of
Monthly Attacks Chart. During 2015, the
level of activity has always been higher,
particularly in May, with the solely
exception of October.
It is also interesting to compare the
Motivations behind the attacks in 2014 and
2015. During 2015, the percentage of
events motivated by Cyber Crime has
raised from 62.3% to 67%, while
hacktivism has lost three points (20.8% in
2015 vs. 24.9 in 2014). Cyber Espionage
reported a small growth, whereas Cyber
Warfare is essentially stable.
Several groups have appeared in
SurfWatch Labs data concerning
espionage in 2016. Group 27 a cyber-
espionage group linked with the Seven
Pointed Dagger malware campaign that
utilizes a remote access Trojan known as
Trochilus and has ties to Asia is the top
trending espionage actor in 2016.

It is also interesting to analyze the Drill

Down chart of the motivation on a monthly
basis.

After analyzing the statistics, we noticed

that the rate of cyber espionage is growing
but slowly. The reason is because they
could cover the evidence without leaving
The list of cases involving cyber espionage traces. Who knows if right now, someone
shown in the following table. can hear our conversations or reviewing
the valuable information? That can
2014 2015 damage the reputation of the organization
COSMIC DUKE Yihadist or government entities, and make every
Anonymous effort to hide security flaws. Perhaps to
EPIC TURLA US CENTCOM avoid fears or negative reviews.
SM
THE MASK Russian in White And besides, it can damage relationships
House with other organizations. In conclusion,
C. YETI APT30 we can say the reasons why it considers the
ENERGIC BEAR trend:
Privacy Violation
Theft of confidential information
In 2016, central government is the top
Damages the reputation of an
trending industry target of cyber-
organization
espionage.
Distrust

Technical solutions available for it.

There are methods to prevent
eavesdropping, these are:
a) Encryption:
Increase the security of information,
messages or sensitive data using an
encryption system that is to code the codes
so they cannot be deciphered by an
external attacker.
b) Viruses and Trojan Protection:
It is advisable to keep your computer and
Smartphone protected with an antivirus
device to detect and neutralize attacks
Trojans and other malicious attacks.
c) Passwords:
On this, it is not advisable to use
passwords excessive simplicity as
"12345", "password", "date of birth" or
"user name". Against this, it is
recommended to use long passwords that
combine uppercase and lowercase letters
as well as numbers and punctuation marks.
This increases the level of difficulty of an
external attacker to access our accounts or
databases. Another tip is to not use the
same password for all accounts.
d) No access untrusted sources:
Never open files or links sent by unknown
sources, otherwise some applications are
installed without user consent which may
infect the computer with the purpose of
observing and steal data information.
Procedures/Policies/Positions required
to implement it in a company
The impact can vary significantly from
monetary loss to physical infrastructure
damage to civilian casualties, and the cost
can range from insignificant to
devastating.
That is why it is crucial for firms to adopt
a defensive posture against this ever-
persistent threat. The following are 10
simple strategies businesses can follow in
order to reduce their risk of corporate
espionage and maintain their competitive
edge.
1. Identify Your Companies Trade
Secrets
2. Identify the Threats
3. Ensure Physical Security
4. Establish Policies for Controlling
Information
5. Train the Workforce
6. Compartmentalize Information
7. Conduct Background Checks and
Monitoring
8. Establish Employee Exit
Procedures
9. Ensure Cyber Security
10. Establish Contingency and Crisis
Management Plans
References
Clarke, R. (2008). Seven Questions: Richard
Clarke on the Next Cyber Pearl Harbor. Retrieved
on17/02/2013 from
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2008/04/01
/seven_questions_richard_clarke_on_the_next_cy
ber_pearl_harbor
Dell Sonic WALL, Inc. (2012). Anatomy of a
Cyber Attack. Retrieved on 17/02/2013 from
http://partnerdirect.dell.com/sites/channel/Docum
ents/SonicWALL-Anatomy-of-a-Cyber-Attack-
Datasheet.pdf
Hersh, S. (2010). The Online Threat: Should We
Be Worried About a Cyber War?Retrieved on
17/03/2013 form
[Cavelty] Dunn Cavelty, Myriam. The
Militarization of Cyberspace: Why Less May Be
Better, IEEE Explore, 2012 4th International
Conference on Cyber Conflict (CYCON), p 1-13
[Watney] Watney, Murdoch. Challenges
Pertaining to Cyber War Under International Law,
IEEE Explore; 2014 Third International
Conference on Cyber Security, Cyber Warfare, and
Digital Forensics, p 1-5
[Kshetri] Kshetri, Nir. Cyberwarfare: Western and
Chinese Allegations, IEEE Explore, IT
Professional Vol. 16 Issue 1, p 16-19, 2014
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27101/cyb
erspying - Last date display: October 20, 2016
http://www.techopedia.com/definition/27101/cybe
rspying - Last date display: October 20, 2016
http://diplomacydata.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/06/ciberseguridad-y-
ciberespionaje1.jpg
http://www.hackmageddon.com/2016/01/11/2015-
cyber-attacks-statistics/
https://blog.surfwatchlabs.com/2016/06/16/cyber-
espionage-making-headlines-over-past-couple-
weeks/