What is Spoofing? How Cybercriminals Exploit it for Malicious Purposes - Essay Sample

Introduction

Spoofing is an act by an individual or organization disguising communication from an unknown source as being provided by a specific and known trusted source, which can be through phone calls, emails, or websites (“What is Spoofing?” 2020). Consequently, the individual or organization gains access to the victim's data and information, and network; thus, they can spread malware using infected links (“What is Spoofing?” 2020). In most cases, cybercriminals utilize spoofing as a precursor operation to launch severe attacks. Successful intrusions on organizations lead to loss of personal data, corrupted systems, and network breaches. Severe attacks may also affect the company's reputation and trigger a decline in revenues. In this paper, I elaborate on the roles of spoofing, the necessary preventive measures, and overall impacts on a targeted organization.

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Summary

Coastal State Hospital is a newly established health organization with numerous patients. The hospital implemented an online system to manage patient records, which could be accessed by health administrators and medical professionals only. The system was vital in improving the provision of health services. However, cybercriminals viewed it as an opportunity to fish out potential clients for health insurance companies. Therefore, an unidentified hacker gained access to the health administrator's user account and planted malware in the system. Over time, the embedded malware collected various patients' information, which was accessible to the hacker. Coastal State Hospital was unaware of the attack until when several patients questioned the targeted advertising links in their medical reports’ emails. Most clients believed the adverts were recommendations from the health administrators.

Roles of Spoofing

In this scenario, the hacker first bypassed the health administrator's user account security by successfully figuring out the passcode through password spraying. Moreover, the account had access to the work email, which made it easier for the hacker to plant malware in the system and monitor communication between the hospital and the patients. Through email hijacking, the attacker gained access to patients' records illegally (“What is Spoofing?” 2020). Spoofing enabled the hacker to evaluate the patients as potential health insurance clients based on their medical records. Thus, the hacker presented them with advertising links in their emails without the hospital's knowledge. The act of spoofing patients' records violated medical professionals' ethics and code of conduct, inhibiting the sharing of private information. Therefore, many clients questioned the hospital's online system's security and the health administrator's work ethics. Spoofing damaged the credibility of the Coastal State hospital.

Preventive Measures

Upon completion, the health organization installed security cameras, alarms, and panic buttons to combat any forceful entry by unauthorized persons (Schuckers, 2002). The security system aimed to prevent physical attacks from unknown individuals, ensuring the safety of the patients and the hospital's staff. However, it failed to account for attackers disguising themselves as trusted personnel. The online system had a security check unlocked by passcodes unique to user accounts of health administrators and medical professionals only. The strengths of each password varied based on the hospital's staff preferences on their particular passcode. Therefore, the accounts were at risk of potential hacking due to various weak passwords (Schuckers, 2002).

The Coastal State Hospital also conducted employee training on the significance of working ethically and protecting patients' personal information. Moreover, health administrators learned the effective utilization of the online system and the critical security protocol for patients' records. Nonetheless, the staff's medical ethics and passcodes were the only protection preventing the sharing of the hospital's data and information, which was insufficient.

Reactions

Due to the attack, Coastal State Hospital installed biometric devices to access staff's computers and the online system. The diverse biometric applications with fingerprint scanners and face identification provided additional security over the passcode system (Schuckers, 2002). Intruders would require the health administrators’ biometrics to access any patient's data and information. The health organization implemented an email security solution that monitors communication and minimizes the risks of spoofing attacks (“What is Spoofing?” 2020). The new application is able to detect unauthorized links shared in emails in real-time. Furthermore, the hospital introduced cryptographic authentication in their network system. Cryptographic authentication can identify and verify nodes; thus, detecting implanted malware (Chen et al., 2007). Lastly, Coastal State Hospital enforced a new security policy to review security credentials after three months. The approach ensured passcodes are maintained properly and difficult to hack.

Overall Impacts

In due time, the hospital lost confidential patient information, which affected the organization's credibility. The spoofing attack angered many clients, who felt betrayed. Some even went to court to seek legal compensation for the violation of their privacy. The Coastal State hospital had a decline in the number of patients, which reduced its annual revenues. Moreover, several media houses published the story; thus, damaging the health organization's public reputation. Consequently, new investors and patients rejected the opportunity to be part of what was once a leading health provider.

Conclusion

The openness of online network systems makes them vulnerable to spoofing attacks. Over the years, hackers have developed sophisticated technologies that are malicious to computer users. Therefore, organizations have to be vigilant and implement the necessary security protocols to protect valuable clients' data and information. Detecting spoofing may not be easy, but having exceptional preventive measures can aid in avoiding being a victim, and suffering numerous losses.

References

Chen, Y., Trappe, W., & Martin, R. P. (2007). Detecting and localizing wireless spoofing attacks. In 2007 4th annual IEEE communications society conference on sensor, Mesh, and Ad Hoc communications and networks (pp. 193-202). IEEE.

Schuckers, S. A. (2002). Spoofing and anti-spoofing measures. Information Security Technical Report, 7(4), 56-62.

What is spoofing? (2020, February 26). Forcepoint. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.forcepoint.com/cyber-edu/spoofing.