Hacking: The Next Generation

Summary

This chapter illustrated important yet wholly different scenarios that offer two entirely different perspectives. In the first case study, we discussed a scenario in which the attacker is motivated by his emotional faculties. The actual techniques the attacker employed in this case study were not complex, yet the consequences of his actions are devastating to the targeted corporation, in addition to being virtually undetectable by network firewalls and intrusion prevention systems that are often wholly depended upon to be the gatekeepers of a company’s intellectual property.

In the second scenario, we discussed how an attacker was able to gain access to confidential data belonging to a corporation by cross-pollinating vulnerabilities from different systems and applications. This case study also demonstrated the real possibility of risk and negligence being introduced into a corporation in situations where executives are continuously influenced by the quest for silver bullet solutions instead of basing their strategy on a holistic risk-based approach that is coupled with the right amount of talent.

In addition to the specific scenarios we presented, this chapter demonstrated the complexity of real-world security incidents that are based on varying motivators and the cross-pollination of vulnerabilities.

For any given corporation, the quest toward risk reduction and information security may seem chaotic to even the most seasoned professionals. The security team must reduce risk ...