Question

1.) Describe a recent event (or events) you have seen or heard regarding computer viruses and/or hacking.  

2.) What controls (or more broadly - risk response) that we covered in Ch. 4 may have helped prevent/detect/correct the bad outcome? (If you feel like nothing covered in the chapter could have helped - that is fine - just make sure and state that)

- With our Election right around the corner - you may find some interesting stories around vote integrity and security. If you wish to share information about vote integrity - make sure to double-check the information source! Sadly, much disinformation persists online in this day and age.  

Please include a news source url in your post unless you are describing an event that occurred at a private company or to a close friend or family member that was not necessarily newsworthy.  

Answer 1

1) Computer virus is a type of computer program which results into infecting other computer programs. This destroys the original program and develop its own codes which may cause error into the system.

These spread through a number of means like attachments, emails, internet or because of any infected external device.

Let us cover an event relating to computer virus. Last year I was completing my summer internship from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Ghaziabad. I was assigned in the accounts and finance department where I had the work to create debit notes and prepare GST invoice. I was being provided with a system and a unique password to access the company's SAP portal where work was supposed to be performed. After preparing the GST Invoice, an excel sheet was generated by default containing all the information feeded in the SAP. That file was being saved on the system. Due to some fault occuring in the system because of sms bugs from unsecured sources, there caused a virus attack in the system and we came to know gradually about it as the Excel file in the system were automatically cleared from the system. After this the unsecured programs were removed and anti virus was being installed to insure the security and safety of data.

This is an example of computer virus.

If we talk about hacking, it is an activity done by any individual in order to have illegal access to someone else's person account or system.

Let us discuss an event related to hacking. Few months before, my boss hired a new software engineer for handling his official data. He was suppose to collect information and had access to boss' system. After few days from his appointment, I just had a talk with my boss as he was little tensed. His personal Microsoft account on which platform he used to connect through his business official, was unable to be logged in by him after he tried many a times. But to his shock, he was getting confirmations regarding finalisation of various pending projects by his partner businessmen through mail thanking for his participation.

Now, this was not possible to finalise on any project without each and every business partner. So, ge was in a dilema if anyone else is using his account and gas changed the password because of which my boss was unable to login to his account. This activity is called as hacking.

Later he informed his business men that the one who is having access to his account is not him but anyone else and thus not to discuss any office sensitive matter on that platform. The one who hacked the system can access his account and misuse the information stored over there.

So these were the recent events relating to virus or other hacking events.