Digital_Disaster_Notes (1).docx

**[Digital Revolution]** The Digital Revolution refers to the advancement of technology from analog electronic and mechanical devices to the digital technology available today. The era started to during the 1980s and is ongoing. The Digital Revolution also marks the beginning of the Information Era...

**[Digital Revolution]** The Digital Revolution refers to the advancement of technology from analog electronic and mechanical devices to the digital technology available today. The era started to during the 1980s and is ongoing. The Digital Revolution also marks the beginning of the Information Era. ### **History of Digital Revolution:** No alt text provided for this image The development and advancement of digital technologies started with one fundamental idea: The Internet. Here is a brief timeline of how the Digital Revolution progressed: - 1947-1979 -- The transistor, which was introduced in 1947, paved the way for the development of advanced digital computers. The government, military and other organizations made use of computer systems during the 1950s and 1960s. This research eventually led to the creation of the World Wide Web. - 1980s -- The computer became a familiar machine and by the end of the decade, being able to use one became a necessity for many jobs. The first cellphone was also introduced during this decade. - 1990s -- By 1992, the World Wide Web had been introduced, and by 1996 the Internet became a normal part of most business operations. By the late 1990s, the Internet became a part of everyday life for almost half of the American population. - 2000s -- By this decade, the Digital Revolution had begun to spread all over the developing world; mobile phones were commonly seen, the number of Internet users continued to grow, and the television started to transition from using analog to digital signals. - 2010 and beyond -- By this decade, Internet makes up more than 25 percent of the world\'s population. Mobile communication has also become very important, as nearly 70 percent of the world\'s population owns a mobile phone. The connection between Internet websites and mobile gadgets has become a standard in communication. It is predicted that by 2015, the innovation of tablet computers will far surpass personal computers with the use of the Internet and the promise of cloud computing services. This will allow users to consume media and use business applications on their mobile devices, applications that would would otherwise be too much for such devices to handle. **Digital Technology Benefits:** -------------------------------- ### **1: Social Connectivity:** Digital technology makes convenient to link with friends, family, and work even if apart from each other one to another country. Due to the social media like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Email via laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, nobody needs feel isolated in the digital era. **2: Learning Opportunities:** The digital technology is helpful for the learning opportunity by using the internet. Lessons and courses can now be delivered virtually online. It can also be easier to use for people with disabilities and often give them equal access. **3: Information Storage:** This technology has provided storing of gigantic values of information in relatively small spaces. Bulk of media *i.e *photos, music, videos, contact information, and other documents can be carried around on small devices like mobile phones.  **4: Entertainment:** Since the start of the digital revolution most of peoples get their fun from online social media or playing computer games. Traditional media has evolved too, as televisions and broadcasting have become digitized, along with radio. **5: GPS and Mapping:** Global Positioning System or Mapping will help us to finding our way with satellite technology, which gives you up-to-date information such as time of arrival at your destination, as well as alternative routes. **6: Ecommerce:** Ecommerce is which refers to the online business with the use of internet. The individuals and companies which buying and selling their products and services online they're engaging in ecommerce engaging in ecommerce. Terminology of ecommerce is also emphasized other facilities like auctions, internet banking, payment gateways, and online ticketing. ***7*: Optimize and Obtain Better Conversion Rates:** Unlike traditional marketing, which includes expensive TV, radio, or print ads, online advertising platforms are much more affordable. You can also [improve your ad conversion rate](https://www.cardinaldigitalmarketing.com/conversion-rate-optimization-agency/) more conveniently than you can with traditional advertising. **Importance of Science and Technology in Disaster Management** --------------------------------------------------------------- Science and technology play an important role in disaster management because they can be used to predict and monitor potential disasters, as well as to develop strategies for responding to and mitigating the impacts of disasters. In the past, science and technology have been used to predict and [[monitor natural disasters]](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/294762175.pdf) such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. By understanding the patterns of these events, scientists and engineers have been able to develop warning systems that give people time to evacuate or take other safety precautions. Science and technology have also been used to develop better methods for responding to and mitigating the impacts of disasters. For example, advances in communications technologies have allowed first responders to coordinate their efforts more effectively during emergencies. And new construction techniques are being developed that can help buildings withstand the force of earthquakes and hurricanes. As we continue to face the threats of natural and man-made disasters, science and technology will play an increasingly important role in helping us manage these risks. **Role of Science and Technology Plays in Disaster** ---------------------------------------------------- 1. Preparation 2. Response 3. Recovery 4. and Mitigation Science and technology play an important role in disaster management by providing information and tools that can be used to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of disasters. Disaster management is the process of planning, coordinating, and executing activities to reduce the impact of a disaster. Science and technology can provide information and tools that can be used at each stage of the disaster management process. **Preparation:** Science and technology can be used to identify potential hazards and develop plans and procedures for dealing with them. For example, computer modeling can be used to predict the path of a hurricane or the spread of a wildfire. This information can help emergency responders plan their response and evacuation efforts. **Response: **Science and technology can also be used during a disaster to assist emergency responders. For example, satellite imagery can be used to assess damage after a hurricane or earthquake. [[GPS tracking]](https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjJ_KKhmLGAAxVjkmYCHb_WDIUYABAAGgJzbQ&sig=AOD64_2W0uSrAcMTbZaOrgDBnjHUN437ng&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiQzJuhmLGAAxVha2wGHRIfAYMQ0Qx6BAgHEAE) can be used to locate people who are stranded or lost. And mobile apps can provide real-time updates on conditions in affected areas. **Recovery:** After a disaster has occurred, science and technology can help with the recovery effort. For example, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to map damage from a hurricane or earthquake. This information can help aid workers identify areas that need assistance. [[Remote sensing]](https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-remote-sensing-and-what-it-used#:~:text=Remote%20sensing%20is%20the%20process,sense%22%20things%20about%20the%20Earth.) can also be used to assess damage from floods or landslides. **Mitigation: **Finally, science and technology can be used to mitigate the effects of future disasters. For example, engineering can be used to design structures that are resistant to earthquakes or hurricanes. And disaster risk reduction plans can be developed that take into account the potential impact of climate change. **Technology Resources for Disaster Management** ------------------------------------------------ In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on the role of science and technology in disaster management. This is due to the fact that technology can play a vital role in mitigating and managing the effects of disasters. There are a number of different technology resources that can be used for disaster management. One of the most important is satellite imagery. Satellite imagery can be used to map the extent of damage caused by a disaster, as well as to track the movement of people and debris. This information can be used to help plan rescue and relief operations. Another important technology resource is GIS (geographic information system). GIS can be used to create detailed maps of an area affected by a disaster. This information can be used to identify safe routes for evacuation, as well as potential locations for relief camps. Other useful technology resources include weather forecasting systems and early warning systems. These systems can provide critical information about impending disasters, which can help people take appropriate precautions. Aerial Robotics: It assesses damage in real-time, increases situational awareness through high-resolution mapping and delivers items faster, cheaper and more efficiently. E.g. Global Non-profit We-Robotics Program Assistance Robotics identifies local human needs and provides robotics solutions through regional flying labs Social Media Solutions: Resulting in faster, more effective answers that ultimately help the beneficiaries. For example, World Food Program (WFP) Mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) uses mobile technology to address the barriers of data collection. Security Threats To Your Computer Systems ========================================= **A computer system threat is anything that leads to loss or corruption of data or physical damage to the hardware and/or infrastructure**. Knowing how to identify computer security threats is the first step in protecting computer systems. The threats could be intentional, accidental or caused by natural disasters. **What is a Security Threat?** ------------------------------ Security Threat is defined as a risk that which can potentially harm computer systems and organization. The cause could be physical such as someone stealing a computer that contains vital data. The cause could also be non-physical such as a virus attack. **What are Physical Threats?** ------------------------------ **A physical threat is a potential cause of an incident that may result in loss or physical damage to the computer systems**. The following list classifies the physical threats into three (3) main categories; - - - To protect computer systems from the above mentioned physical threats, an organization must have physical security control measures. The following list shows some of the possible measures that can be taken: - - - - - - - - - - **What are Non-physical threats?** ---------------------------------- **A non-physical threat is a potential cause of an incident that may result in;** - - - - - - The non-physical threats are also known as **logical threats**. The following list is the common types of non-physical threats; - - - - - - - - - - - **To protect computer systems from the above-mentioned threats**, an organization must have **logical security measures **in place. The following list shows some of the possible measures that can be taken to protect cyber security threats **To protect against viruses, Trojans, worms, etc. an organization can use anti-virus software**. In additional to the anti-virus software, an organization can also have control measures on the usage of external storage devices and visiting the website that is most likely to download unauthorized programs onto the user's computer. **Unauthorized access to computer system resources can be prevented by the use of authentication methods**. The authentication methods can be, in the form of user ids and strong passwords, smart cards or biometric, etc. **Intrusion-detection/prevention systems can be used to protect against denial of service attacks.**There are other measures too that can be put in place to avoid denial of service attacks. **Spoofing** Spoofing is when someone hides their identity to evade detection for their wrong acts and pretends to be someone else in an attempt to gain trust and get sensitive system information. The common spoofing done by changing the hardware or MAC address is called MAC cloning, changing the IP address or the unique identity on the network is called IP spoofing, and impersonating as someone else in their digital communication is called email spoofing. **Information-gathering attacks** Information gathering is the practice of attacker gaining priceless details about probable targets. This is not an attack but only a pre-phase of an attack and is totally passive as there is no explicit attack. Systems including computers, servers, and network infrastructure, including communication links and inter networking devices, are sniffed, scanned, and probed for information like whether the target system is up and running, what all ports are open, details regarding the operating system and its version, etc. Some of the information-gathering attacks are sniffing, mapping, vulnerability scanning, phishing, etc. **Password attacks** The simplest way to achieve control of a system, or any user account, is through a password attack. If the personal and behavioral details of the victim are known, the attacker starts with guessing password. Frequently, the attacker uses some form of social engineering to trace and find the password. Dictionary attack is the next step in password attacks and is automated. **Malware** After gaining access to a system, the attacker takes the support of malware or malicious software that clandestinely acts against the interests of the computer user. **Virus** Computer viruses are the most communal threat to the computer users. Computer viruses are malicious software designed to blow out from one computer to another through file transfer, piggybacks on genuine programs and OS, or e-mails. The email attachments or downloads from particular websites contaminate the computer and also other computers on its list of contacts by using the communication network. Viruses influence the system security by changing the settings, accessing confidential data, displaying unwanted advertisements, sending spam to contacts, and taking control of the web browser \[[](https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/72730#B2)\]. The viruses are identified as executable viruses, boot sector viruses, or e-mail viruses. **Worms** Computer worms are fragments of malicious software that reproduce swiftly and blow out from one computer to another through its contacts, again spreading to the contacts of these other computers and so on and reaching out to a large number of systems in no time. Captivatingly, worms are prepared for spreading by exploiting software vulnerabilities. Worms display unwanted advertisements. It uses up tremendous CPU time and network bandwidth in this process thereby denying access to the systems or network of the victim, creating chaos and trust issues on a communication network. **Trojans** Trojans are programs that appear as perfectly genuine but, in reality, have a malicious part embedded in it. Trojans are spread usually through email attachment from the trustworthy contacts and also on clicking on fake advertisements. The payload of Trojans is an executable file that will install a server program on the victim's system by opening a port and always listening to that port whereas the server is run on the attacker's system. Hence, whenever the attacker wants to login to the victim machine, they can do so by means of the backdoor entry making it hidden from the user. **Spyware and adware** Spyware and adware are software with a common property of collecting personal information of users without their knowledge. Adware is intended to track data of the user's surfing behaviors, and, based on that, pop-ups and advertisements are displayed. The adware clause in the agreement during the installation process is often skipped with least seriousness. Spyware on the other hand gets installed on a computer and gathers information about the user's online activities without their knowledge. Spyware contains keyloggers that record everything typed on the keyboard, making it unsafe due to the high threat of identity mugging. **Scareware** Scareware is yet another malware that tricks victims by displaying fake alerts and forcing the victim to buy protective software that is fraudulent. The alerts or the pop-up messages sound like warning messages along with proper protective measures, which if followed creates security issues. **Rootkit** Rootkit is a pool of software tools that gets mounted in stealth along with some genuine software. Rootkit allows remote access and administrative control on a system. With these privileges, the rootkit performs malicious activities like disabling of antivirus, password sniffing, keylogging, etc. **Keylogger** Keylogger software has the ability to record keystrokes and also capture screenshots and save it to a log file in encrypted form. Keylogger software can record all the information that is typed on the keyboard including passwords, e-mail, and instant messages. The log file created by the keylogger is saved and mailed to the attacker on a remote machine with the motive to extract password and banking details for financial fraud. **Ransomware** Ransomware is a malicious software that hampers admission to computer or files on the computer. The computers may be locked or files encrypted. Accordingly, the two common types of ransomware are lock screen ransomware and encryption ransomware. The victim will be demanded ransom for the restriction to be removed, and this gets displayed on victim's system. There can also be notification stating that establishments have detected illicit activity on this computer and demands ransom as fine to avoid prosecution. **Rogue security software** Rogue security software is another malicious program that deceives users to believe that there is malware installed on their system or the security measures are outdated and hence of concern. They offer installing or updating users' security settings. Then it is an actual malware that gets installed on the computer. **Botnets** A collection of compromised systems or bots acts as a team of infected computers under the control of a bot master to remotely control and send synchronized attacks on a victim host. This army of bots, agents, and bot master constitute a botnet. Botnets are used for sending spams and also for distributed denial of service attacks. **Denial-of-service attacks** Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks as the name suggests deny users from accessing or using the service or system. This is mainly done by overwhelming the bandwidth, CPU, or memory wherein the access to the network of the victim machine or server offering the service gets denied. DoS attacks thus interrupt the service of a computer or network systems, making it inaccessible or too inferior in performance. **Distributed DoS** In distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks, the victim is targeted from a large number of individual compromised systems simultaneously. The DDoS attacks are normally done with the help of botnets. The botmaster is the attacker who indirectly attacks the victim machine using the army of bots or zombies. The DDoS attacks occur when a large number of compromised systems act synchronously and are being coordinated under the control of an attacker in order to totally exhaust its resources and force it to deny service to its genuine users. It is the upsurge in the traffic volume that loads the website or server causing it to appear sluggish. **IoT-based attacks** The last decade has seen exponential increase in the use of Internet of Things (IoT) that are smart devices used at home, organizations, and businesses. The issue with these IoT is its weak security as these devices are often overlooked when it comes to applying security patches that create lead-ins for attackers to seize these devices to infiltrate the networks. An IoT-based attack is any cyberattack that leverages a victim's use of IoT to sneak malware onto a network. **Session hijacking** In session hijacking, the hacker takes control of a session going on between two hosts. Session hijacking usually takes place in applications that use TCP with a sequence number prediction. With that sequence number, the attacker sends a TCP packet. **Blended attacks** A blended attack is a software exploit that encompasses a mixture of exploit techniques to attack and propagate threats, for example, viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. **Website attacks** Website attacks are targeting browser components that are at risk of being unpatched even when the browser is patched. SQL injection attacks are intended to target any website or web application that uses an SQL database such as MySQL, Oracle, etc. by taking advantage of the security flaws in the application's software. This attack is used to obtain and corrupt user's sensitive data. **Mobile phone and VOIP threats** Malware target mobile phones, VoIP systems, and the IP PBXs as these devices have plentiful published vulnerabilities. There are attack tools freely available on the Internet, and misusing these vulnerabilities makes these attacks too common and simple even for a script kiddie. **Wi-Fi eavesdropping** Wi-Fi eavesdropping is an attack used by network attackers to grab sensitive information of a target system. It is the act of silently listening on an unencrypted Wi-Fi network. **Spam** Spams are unsolicited bulk e-mail messages that annoy the user with unwanted and junk mails. It gives burden for communications service providers, organizations and individuals alike. These emails can be commercial ones like an advertisement or noncommercial one like chain letters or anecdotes. Spam is considered an active vehicle for virus propagation, scams, fraud and is a threat to computer privacy. Spam also phishes for interesting information with offers and promotions that trick victims into following links or entering details. **Present-day computer security threats and trends** Predicting the computer security threats and trends is usually done to lend a hand to the security experts who take proactive measures to protect security. Normally the predictions for any year depends on how it went in the previous years, and the changes expected are mainly in terms of the tactics and scale of the biggest and significant threats that were successful in implementation and also in evading detection. The investment on security is justified in many organizations only after analyzing these predictions. Phishing and other social engineering tactics are likely to continue in the coming years too with increased complexity and sophistication. They will appear to be more and more convincing to trick people into clicking on a link or opening attachments. Even with strong defenses to protect against ransomware, hackers are expected to all the time target more victims with large digital assets. The rise of cryptocurrency like bitcoin will also trigger more ransomware attacks by letting demands for payment made incognito. Cryptojacking can also be seen as a common trend of future as it involves hackers hijacking with a purpose of mining for cryptocurrency. As the Internet of Things is becoming widely popular and more ubiquitous, the IoT attacks will be on the upsurge. IoT includes laptops, tablets, smart wearable devices, webcams, household appliances, Wi-Fi-enabled speakers, appliances, alarm clocks, medical devices, manufacturing equipment, automobiles and networking devices like routers, gateways, switches, NAS servers, and even home security systems. Security is rarely the first concern in the competition to bring new products and technologies. Thus the more IoT devices, the greater the risk, making IoT attacks to be on the rise in coming years. Data breaches will continue in the coming years as data remains a valuable black market attraction. Totally new approaches for data and infrastructure protection are essential as more and more data is moved to the cloud. Also, in the coming years, there will be more attacks targeting electrical grids, automated transportation systems, computerized water treatment facilities, etc. State-sponsored attacks are when states or nations are using their cyber skills to infiltrate other governments and execute attacks on severe infrastructure. As political strains grow, state-sponsored attacks steal political and industrial secrets, spread misinformation, perform DDoS attacks, execute prominent data breaches, etc. Another target of attacker is the all-time sensitive medical record of patients. As the healthcare industry gets used to the digital age, concerns around privacy, safety, and computer security threats are also seen to rise. There are worries about a hacker taking over and changing dosages of medicines, disabling vital sign monitoring, etc., as these are life-threatening to the patients. Now, with the self-driving cars, semiautonomous vehicles, and the connected cars, the risk of cyber security is stringent and serious. With high-tech automobiles, the future will likely see an increase in not only the number of connected cars but in the number and severity of system vulnerabilities detected. For hackers, this means yet another opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities and cause threat to life. Endpoint security will be a major concern for organizations as malware infections of employee-owned devices are going to be a major security issue in 2020 when employees start "working from home" in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic. When organizations permit employees not to risk their health and safety and allow them to use their own devices, attackers will target those devices to bypass the multilayered defenses of the organization. The advantage to hackers is that the users' personal devices are less protected compared to corporate devices as users rarely apply added measures to protect their smart devices from impending threats. Artificial intelligence also gets applied on both sides of the barricade for protecting and attacking the computers. Artificial intelligence is being used for person identification, threat detection, etc. to aid security; however it is also being weaponized by hackers to develop increasingly complex malware and attack methods.