Page 79 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN
P. 79
There are allegations that
Russian hackers interfered
with the US electoral
system. Some claim this
led to the defeat of Hillary
Clinton in 2016’s election
the open nature of the Bitcoin transactions that
were used for payments). And the attack was
relatively easily halted by a security researcher
who inadvertently realised that by registering a
domain name found within the malware, he
activated a built-in ‘kill switch’. This doesn’t tally
with the sophistication of the tools that were used
in the attack, or the capabilities of those alleged to
be behind it (some have pointed the finger at North
Korea).
So how did we get to a point where hackers can
rob and extort with impunity, and – if analysis is
to be believed – nations such as Russia or North
Korea can interfere in political campaigns? Russian
president Vladimir Putin came close to conceding
that Russian elements could be behind recent
TROJANS RANSOMWARE SPEAR-PHISHING
As its name suggests, a Trojan is This subset of malware made the headlines An evolution of phishing (the spelling harks
a form of malware that sneaks into for the WannaCry attack, but has been right back to early phone-based hacking,
your computer under an innocuous guise around since at least 2012. It searches or ‘phreaking’), spear-phishing is more
(like an email attachment). Its cargo for important files, encrypts them and direct, and consists of targeted campaigns,
can be any form of malware. A Trojan’s demands a ransom (usually paid in Bitcoin) usually over email, to spread malware in
specific ability is getting in, then for their safe return. In some cases, a particular network or company.
leaving a backdoor open for others the ransomware can lock down a machine The messages sent out would be laden
to follow undetected. rather than specific files. with Trojans.
