Cybersecurity Incident Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cybersecurity Incident - Research Paper Example Therefore, ensuring that all the stored data is secure and not accessible to everyone has become a prerequisite to almost everyone using the cyber systems to protect their data. The kinds of security incidents range from being minor invasion of a small virus into the computer networks to the major threat on the secrecy of the data available on the networks because of a much powerful and destructive virus attacking the softwares. In all these cases, strict check and reporting of the cyber incidents are mandatory (Shaw, 2006, p 461). One of such cyber security threats that have come up in the recent years includes the Stuxnet Virus. The Stuxnet Virus (Natarajan et al, 2011) was detected in the mid of 2010, this was a Windows computer worm that attacked industrial softwares and equipments. Computer worm is a computer program that produces various copies of itself, and through the help of the targeted computer network, it attacks other computers too in the same network (Natarajan et al, 2011). Computer worms can attack a number of computer softwares in the same network without any sort of user intermediation due to poor security systems of the targeted computers (Gingrich, 2011, pp 333). ... Moreover, Stuxnet was also the first computer breach to have a programmable logic controller (PLC) software root kit (Shaw, 2006) functioning with itself. The Stuxnet worm at first randomly attacks any software but then its specially designed pestware payload aids in aiming at only Siemens and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) softwares (Shaw, 2006). ‘Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)’ (Shaw, 2006) makes reference to industrial control systems that are computer systems, which look after plus regulate crucial industrial, infrastructural, or facility-based actions. Stuxnet corrupts programmable logic controller softwares by destroying the Step-7 software application (Shaw, 2006) operated to make schemes of the devices in operation. This hinders the softwares from working properly and affects the aimed softwares greatly. In contrast to most of the malware softwares, Stuxnet (Shaw, 2006) does not do much damage to the computers and networks that do not need the downright requirements of the targeted softwares that are set. Instead, it is technically designed software only attacks the networks and computers that stand up to the requirements configured into them. Although the Stuxnet worm attacks and destroys computers and networks without fail, it automatically makes itself inactive if the Siemens softwares are not detected on the invaded computers, this makes the attacking of the softwares very precise and only the sought after networks and computers and affected. Stuxnet worms (Shaw, 2006) can be apocalyptical for the infected computers; Stuxnet embodies self-protection shields within itself that curbs the attacked computers from transmitting the virus to more than three computers, moreover, it also weakens the security systems in