Cyber Security Case Study: Brief Overview of Cybercrimes

Inroduction

The world can be said to be a set of interconnected computer systems with a variety of components ranging from size and complexity. Studies have shown that having these systems interconnected exposes them to risks of attacks thereby making them vulnerable. There has been an increase in inappropriate breaches through the internet, denial of service attacks and rogue breaches (Geers, 2011). However, improvements in technologies have been hindered due to budgetary constraints during allocations. This has slowed down processes to develop more advanced technologies that would be immune to hacking. The recent rise in cybercrime has targeted health care services, financial institutions, manufacturing, the government and legal institutions (Davis, Wong, & Paterson, 2015). This paper aims to provide a brief overview of cybercrime, its types and degrees of damages, its causes, and the people behind it with a case study for Anthem Inc.

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Type of Threat

SQL Injection Attack

SQL is an abbreviation for Structured Query Language. In the case of Anthem Inc, this programming language was used to make communication with its databases. Its servers are believed to be using SQL to manage and store data in their databases. Cybercriminals target this kind of servers using codes which force the server to give out information that is held private. For the case of Anthem Inc., this information included usernames, passwords for their clients, credits, and personal numbers for their clients. This kind of information is appropriate enough for the attackers who are quick to grab it (Barret, Yadron, & Paletta, 2015).

The Degree of Harm to the Company

Valuable data which included information on former and current employees were exposed to risk. This information compromised included usernames and passwords to employee accounts, names and birthdays of their clients, social security numbers, street addresses and email accounts of their clients. Furthermore, information relating to employees' terms of work, salaries and performance contracts was also accessed and used to transfer cash from accounts. Such kind of information is dangerous in the hands of an enemy. Cyber-criminal gangs have shifted their focus to the healthcare industries because it takes ages to detect medical identity theft by patients. This gives the perpetrators of this crime ample time to milk dry the accounts of specific account holders.

Perpetrators of This Crime

It has not been established to date which the perpetrators of this crime were. However, fingers could be pointed to some perpetrators including; foreign governments, terrorists, malicious insiders, criminals who are out to make a profit and industry spies. In general, the system fell victim to some careless insiders and the hacking community that capitalized on system hiccups to penetrate the system.

Solutions to the Problem

Increased funding towards cyber security is top on the list in facilitating thorough cyber safety among high numbers of users. Increased funding for federal agencies to empower them with enough financial resources to counter cyber-crime. Also, investing in a highly sophisticated human resource with the expertise to monitor and strategize security to cut down vulnerable networks is a recommendable measure towards a cyber-secure environment (Geers, 2011). Lastly, employees are called upon to embrace appropriate measures to consider in case of a malicious threat in the system. Awareness and training of employees ensure minimal cases of cyber security breaches.

References

Barret, D., Yadron, D., & Paletta, D. (2015). US Suspects Hackers in China Breached About 4 million People's Records, Officials Say.

Davis, T., Wong, M., & Paterson.N.M. (2015). The Data Security GovernanceConundrum: Practicle Solutions and Best Practices for the Boardroom and the C-Suite. Column Business Law Review, 613.

Geers, K. (2011). Strategic Cyber Security. Kenneth Geers.