Social Engineering Task#1

My task was: “Get a fellow player to switch computers with you”

Did I accomplish it? Yes

Here’s the evidence: My computer vs my fellow player’s computer:

I edited this picture to remove objects that may uncover my identity.

 

How did I do it?

I waited for the right moment to ask someone to switch computers with me when everyone was busy. I simply ask to switch computers and the person agreed to it. The toughest part was to take pictures without looking suspicious, so I had to be quick.

Application: I think this is a task that could be easily performed by someone already working for a company. It is easy to innocently let a coworker use your computer when theirs is “too slow” or “frozen”. Now, once someone gets a hold on your computer and logged with your credentials, you are putting in danger any confidential information related to your job and even your own job. Someone could try to cause harm stealing information from your computer and worst, logged in with your credentials. You could be blamed for whatever crime they commit or at least a suspect and/or collaborator committing the crime.

Ethical reflection: These type of actions can compromise an entire company, a coworker at least. There are many ethical issues related to this type of activity. One way of performing this task “in the real world” and “in a way that is morally right” is to do it for training purposes, to audit the security training the personnel of a company has or maybe to do their Ethical Hacking class homework. :P I would also say that if it’s to protect our country, in some sort of mission working with the knowledge of the Government. The Social Engineer has to lie, betray, possibly steal and then commit the crime they are looking to commit with the stolen information/data. A person engaging in the same actions and on purpose to seize someone else’s computer at work or school doesn’t have good intentions. Someone can try to do this at work to gather information that no one is supposed to see outside of work. Use the same information to sell it or plan an attack against the company.

Social engineering task #!

My task was that make stranger to follow my social media. The picture of below is the stranger who follow my social media. I met him at the jazz bar, and I had a lot of conversations with him. After we finish the conversation, I told him to follow social media each. It was a great experience to make a friend who I never met before, but we became friendly fast.

  Everyone can approach people who have same interesting topics like I did. Make a conversation of their interesting and keep talking about that then people can be friend easily. When I follow his social media, I can see personal information of him such as birthday, name, cell-phone number, work-place, age, family member, gender, etc. If someone make a friend by using social media, they can easily know about other people without meeting them. So, someone can impersonate this person on internet. Or they can phishing people through cell phone.
In ethical aspect, I think there are both morally right and morally wrong. First, people can help each other by social media. If people were lost their child or family member for some reason, they can post missing post with picture of them on social media. then people can help to find missing people with a picture of them. I think this is one of right ways. The wrong way is that using information of people for commit a crime, or steal personal information. Usually, people using others picture to impersonate on internet. 

Ethical Assignment

My assignment for this week was to get a student to tell me their birthday, which was not hard at all to do. I am not sure what harm one could do with just this information. I would need to know more about the person to be able to try and do something malicious. Even if I tried to hack into something and got the birthday right a lot of companies have  more security measures now. Its weak information.

Ethical Post SCAP

For this project I choose to write about the internet activist Aaron Swartz. The situation he was presented with started when he turned his attention to JSTOR, a digital library of academic articles. He devised a method of downloading large numbers of articles from JSTOR, using a computer hidden in a closet at MIT. The school eventually caught him red handed in the act when he came into the closet to change a hard drive. He was arrested in January 2011.

The claims on him were as follows: He was arraigned by the Court on two state charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer, and recklessly damaging a protected computer. On November 17, 2011, Swartz was indicted by a Middlesex County Superior Court grand jury on state charges of breaking and entering with intent, grand larceny, and unauthorized access to a computer network.  On September 12, 2012, federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment adding nine more felony counts, which increased Swartz's maximum criminal exposure to 50 years of imprisonment and $1 million in fines. By the nd of the case he had 13-count indictment and was facing prosecution for alleged computer crimes.

One argument was that no one actually knew what he intended to do with the JSTOR after he would have downloaded the catalog. Some think he was planning on releasing it to the public because he believed it should be free. Another argument is that there were not actually any set guidelines to follow back then for these types of crimes so he definitely was put into a loosing position. He was being overcharged for all of these crimes. The pressure of this case was so much for him that he hanged himself on January 11th 2013.

The prosecutors did offer Aaron a plea to recommend a sentence of six months in a low-security prison, if Swartz would plead guilty to 13 federal crimes. Swartz and his lead attorney rejected that deal, opting instead for a trial in which prosecutors would have been forced to justify their pursuit of Swartz. This case was so unfair to him and the principle here is that if the government wants to take you down they can. Everything that happened in this case was not handled properly. It was only after his death that certain laws were revised that would have actually relieved  Aaron of 10 of his 13 counts  of felony.

Social Engineering Task #2

My task was to get someone to ask me for a favor.  I approached this task by attempting to brag about my tax return in the hope that I could get someone to ask me to help them file their taxes.  This was difficult but I was ultimately successful.  While out with some friends, I brought up how I was looking forward to my tax return so I could have some extra spending money for an up coming vacation.  A friend responded that she hates doing her taxes because it is complicated.  I commented that the online program I use makes it really easy.  This resulted in her asking for the name of the website.  I then stated how the website walks you through all the possible deductions step by step and that maybe she wasn't taking advantage of deducting all her expenses.  She asked for an example and I said your vehicle excise tax.  She said she had no idea she could deduct that and after a few minutes more conversation she asked me if I could help her prepare her taxes.

I think many people are looking for ways to save money or earn more money without having to put in a lot of effort.  By representing myself as just a good person trying to help fellow students save money by preparing tax returns for free and increase returns by helping to maximize deductions, I could easily take advantage of them.  I could capitalize on the "poor college student" offering to help prepare taxes for free by posting a flyer in the lounge or holding "office hours" there.  I could easily collect private information including address, social security number, bank account and routing numbers, employer, income, etc.  I could then use this information to file false returns the following year, open credit cards in their name, or siphon finds from their bank account.

I think these actions would be considered morally right as long as the intent is to help others save money and earn more of a refund, but if the intent is to steal information to use for personal financial gain, then it would be morally wrong.

Ethics Assignment #1

Situation: Anonymous hacks and defaces the website of a white supremacist organization called The Nationalist Movement. https://www.hackread.com/anonymous-hacks-website-of-the-nationalist-movement/

Claim: I believe this action was wrong

Argument: In this country, we have the right to freedom of speech.  We are free to have our own opinions and beliefs and to voice them.  We are also free to disagree with other people's opinions and beliefs and to voice those as well.  Just because we may disagree with another person's opinion, does not give us the right to vandalism their property, and in this case the website is the property of the organization hosting it.  The Nationalist Movement was not breaking any laws in having a website and posting their message and beliefs but what Anonymous did is nothing short of vandalism.  What if Anonymous physically painted their opposing view on the front of the building housing the organization's head quarters?  Is it fair to say Anonymous was justified because you share their opinion?  I do not see a difference between painting a swastika on the front of a temple or hacking the congregation's website and putting the swastika on the homepage.  Most people would consider this act wrong and unjustified, in fact it is a hate crime.  I do not see Anonymous' actions as being any different from this regardless of how I feel about the Nationalist Movement.

Principle: The underlying principle of my argument is "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Ethics blog post assignment 1

Russia Hacking the Election

Article

Situation:

The situation is during a high profile election of 2016(for the president of 2017), a few people from Russia put out political propaganda and hacked emails.

Claim:

It might have been much, however they are not wrong.

Argument:

They can like whoever they want for the presidency of USA, they cannot vote and have control over it. Many companies use propaganda so why when others do it it is wrong? It is up to the views of the propaganda to believe it or figure it to be a lie. They cannot be committing treason if they are not a USA citizen.

Principle:

Freedom of speech, how can you judge others for voicing a political opinion.