4.2.4 Malware and Spyware

Directions: Type the correct word to complete the sentence. Since the very beginning of the computer age, threat actors have been making harmful code to attack or to invade computers. Originally, when most of the computers in the world belonged to governments or to corporations, malicious software ormalwareevolved as another part of espionage and spying. Here are some of the common types of malware, or malicious content.VirusAvirusis the worst kind of malware, intentionally designed to disrupt computer systems or networks. Viruses need users to get started, but once they are inside a system they can spread between computers and corrupt both data and software. It's important to know that viruses can't actually break the computer's physical components, but they can make programs and the computer's operating system stop functioning properly.Viruses come in many varieties, and they can have different goals including simple vandalism to financial gain to disabling parts of an enemy nation's infrastructure.Some viruses can deployransomware, which lock up a computer and demand money to release it. Other viruses can delete data, replacing the target files with code or information of its own. Some are designed to target specific types of programs, and others are designed to move through entire networks as quickly as possible.The most famous of all virus infections, designed to damage Iran's nuclear program, is Stuxnet. Discovered in 2010, this virus used several different types of code to disable machinery and to cover its tracks. The Stuxnet attack specifically targeted computers that wereair-gapped, or separated from any network. This meant that the attackers had to introduce the virus without relying on someone clicking a link or downloading a file. They instead used USB or flash drives with the virus pre-installed, and placed the drives near the nuclear facilities. One or more employees eventually plugged the flash drives into the air-gapped computers, and Stuxnet was off and running. In this way, the attack used both a virus andsocial engineeringto accomplish its goalWormsWormsare another type of malware that spread over a network by themselves, without needing human intervention. A worm can make copies of itself to move from one computer to another, taking advantage of weak spots in the network. Within the past 25 years or so, there have been many serious worm infections, affecting millions of computers. Sometimes worms carry another type of malware which may lock up data, steal sensitive information, installbackdoorsor infect entire systems.SpywareSpywareis a type of software that tries to view and record what you do on your computer. Users may inadvertently install spyware onto their computers because it often comes bundled with legitimate programs. Sometimes it can include akeylogger, which is a tool that records what you type, like your passwords and other credentials. This means that the threat actors who run the keylogger could steal your information.Most of the time, people use spyware to make money by showing you annoying pop-up ads or banners. They do this by getting the malware into lots of computers, bundled with legitimate programs. Companies that sell things want lots of people to visit their website. More visitors could mean more sales. So, they pay for ads that help bring people to their site. You might see these ads as banners on different websites. Websites can charge money based on how many people see the ad or click on it to visit the company's site.While it's not always illegal, there are many software programs designed just to show you more ads and pop-ups. If you click on these, the person who made the program gets paid by the company that's happy to have more people visiting their site.