Forensics Based On Evidence Gathered With Peep Attacks Essay

Forensics Based On Evidence Gathered With Peep Attacks - Essay Example Cybercrime has been cited as one of the most prevalent problems in society. The vast majority of investigators perceive this crime to be on the rise and of becoming an ever increasingly complex and multi-faceted problem. This paper attempts to clarify the complex investigation effort following a Peep attack. We describe evidence collection and problem-solving techniques in the application of computer forensic analyses. A Peep attack is one of the most notorious hacking tools, based on the Robot Network (Botnet) Structure. A Botnet is a term for a collection of zombie systems and autonomous software robots. The threat from Botnets is growing at an alarming rate and the attack techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The majority of the literature describing Botnet attacks is focused on a varied level of IRC-based malware, the activity of Spam mail and the structure of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS). However, some Botnets are used primarily for data collection, remote control or various other purposes (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). Botnets have gained a significant presence on the Internet as a remote control means for malicious purposes. A Botnet can run programs under the control of a managed network infrastructure. In practice, Botnet communities usually have one or several owners and rely on individual friend-to-friend relationships for their operation (Desmond, 2005). Because new attacks originating from a Botnet are difficult to identify by default fingerprinting., there is rarely a geographically identifiable pattern to the distribution of the infected computers. Firewalls cannot readily be configured to react to a Botnet attack by using information obtained from previous attacks. The Peep attack is still a developing technique. In this paper we introduce a digital forensic analysis applied to the investigation of a Peep attack, and discuss some of the resulting problems and concerns. Although differing somewhat from the original definition of IRC Botnets, a huge network of zombie computers is