Protecting our Cyber Space
Staying Ahead of the Game
Basel Alomair
National Center for Cybersecurity Technology (C4C)
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)
What is Cybersecurity?
• A very wide-ranging term with no standard definition
• Cybersecurity is the science of protecting networks,
computers, programs and data from attack, damage or
unauthorized access.
• Cybersecurity is the availability, integrity and secrecy of
information systems and networks in the face of attacks,
accidents and failures.
• We can divide it into
• knowing what to do—science of cybersecurity
• Knowing how to do—engineering of cybersecurity
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Types of Attacks
• Man-in-the-middle
• Malware
• Denial-of-Service (DoS)
• Unpatched software
• Socially engineered attacks
•…
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Cost of Cyber Attacks
• The UK suffered 44 million cyber attacks in 2011 – the
equivalent of 120,000 a day – and such attacks are estimated
to cost the country up to £27 billion a year.
• A global price tag of $338 billion in 2011–Symantec
• When theft of intellectual property is factored in, the figure
soars past $1 trillion-former head of the NSA, General
Michael Hayden
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Attacks on the Rise
• CERT-In: 23 in 2004 vs. 22,060 in 2012
• Ponemon Institute: 18% increase in successful attacks
• Ponemon Institute: 26% increase in average cost
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Cyber Attacks to Cyber Warfare
• In the 2006 war against Hezbollah, Israel alleges that cyber
warfare was part of the conflict, targeting the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF)
• In September 2007, Israel carried out an airstrike on Syria.
U.S. military sources speculated that the Israelis may have
used cyber warfare to allow their planes to pass undetected
by radar into Syria
• In September 2010, Iran was attacked by the Stuxnet worm
targeting its nuclear facility.
• May 2013, US DoD accused China’s military of launching
cyber attacks against US computer systems
• Over 120 countries developed strategies to use the Internet as a
weapon
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HOW MANY ATTACKS?
1,385 Defacement
26 in April
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HOW MANY ATTACKS?
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Tip of the Iceberg
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Regin
• Regin is a multi-purpose data collection tool.
• Multiple versions were found in the wild.
• Targets: several corporations, institutions, academics, and
individuals
At least since 2008
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Challenges
• Cyber Attacks can be launched at any time and from
anywhere
• Attacks cost next to nothing
• Successful attacks can be catastrophic
• Changing Environment: Technology adoption is moving faster
than security implementation
• Shifting Strategies: data in transit (66%) vs. stored data
(26.5%)
• No metrics to measure (in)security
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Threats
• Any device that has an IP could be a target to cyber attacks
• Nation states have the potential to disrupt an enemy’s
economy and perhaps reach their strategic objectives without
risk to their armed forces
• “If you want to hit a country severely you hit its power and water
supplies. Cyber technology can do this without shooting a single
bullet.”
• Isaac Ben-Israel (Major General Israeli Air Force)
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Internet of Things
• Objects and
people will be
equipped with
identifiers
• Managed and
inventoried by
computers
• IBA Research:
more than 30
Billion devices by
2020
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Internet of Things
• Security firm: Global cyberattack was launched from more
than 100,000 everyday appliances
• Gadgets included routers, televisions and at least one "smart"
refrigerator
• Poorly protected "smart" devices may be easier to infect and
control than PC, laptops, or tablets
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Internet of Things
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Good News
• Tremendous research attention
• Research Labs
• Dedicated conferences and workshops
• Encouraging results
Speed
cycles/byte
Energy consumption
µJ/bit
SHA-like
40.18
20-30
Our results*
0.02
0.00026
* Alomair and Poovendran, U.S. Patent 20,130,145,169, entitled EFFICIENT AUTHENTICATION FOR MOBILE AND PERVASIVE
COMPUTING, (IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing).
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Conclusion
• Cyber threats are increasing
• Attackers are changing strategies continuously
• Must stay ahead of the game
• Research, research, and more research
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Thank You!