Potential Threats posed by the USB Memory Stick
Using a USB memory without prior examination can lower the potential threshold to threats. Generally, the exposure to threats can be on the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) such as viruses, targeted malware, spyware and HAVEX which can scan the OPC servers. The USB should not be plugged in without proper examination. Plugging it might affect any computer particularly the working PC. The malware in most instances targets specific computer functionalities and operations such as the security system, confidentiality, and availability. It becomes necessary that cautionary measures are taken in order to realize that these operations are protected. In case the USB memory is inserted to the computer and the computer is not equipped with proper protection in terms of the updated anti-virus it is likely to be infected.
It is not advisable for the USB memory to be plugged in with an aim of viewing or verifying the contents. The reason why plugging in of the USB is not advisable is that it can transfer executable viruses, trojan horses or worms on to the work computer. There are ways and techniques which can be used to deal with the viruses or malware in case it is noticed that there is a potential threat to the computer or any given system. There are different operating systems which can be threatened by the malware. Taking Windows, for instance, malware on the Windows platform is in most occasions found in executable binaries (Nicholas & Brandon, 2016). However, this is not always the case, there are probabilities that it might fail to happen. Therefore, there are possibilities that the USB memory might spread the virus onto the computer. However, it should be noted that the virus will just be spread when the computer is on an AutoRun. Thus, it is advisable that the AutoRun is disabled and the programs run manually.
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Propagation Mechanisms
There are various propagation mechanisms which are being used by the malware to help in the transportation and spreading of particular infections to the system or a given computing device. Propagation mechanisms entail infection of the existing interpreted content by the viruses or existing executable files. These propagation mechanisms start by exploiting a software vulnerability. The viruses which are attached to a given executable program can do most of the things the program is commanded to do (Stallings , Brown, Bauer, & Bhattacharjee, 2012). Once the virus has entered into a given computer system, it will start to perform functions such as erasing files and running secret operations. The activities which can only be done at the discretion of the user of the computer will be done by the malware or the virus too. The given amount of programs shared by a USB memory like the one highlighted in this case above will determine the flow or spread of the virus. Nevertheless, when there are inclusions involving tougher accessibility to the system, the transport and spread of the virus will be slowed and hindered.
As it stands in the 21st-century computer systems, the viral mode of a system infection is virtually several mechanisms of propagation. Computer viruses have three parts and propagation mechanisms. The first is the infection mechanism which entails a way in which the virus spreads as well as propagates thus enabling its replication. The infection vector like in the case of USB memory can create a situation which the virus is spreading and repeating the activity so as to distort the operations of the system. Also, there is the mechanism known as the trigger this is the condition which provides a determination for the delivery of the payload. Lastly, there is the mechanism of the payload itself which involve damage. Taking the case of a USB memory stick plugged in the computer, in the event it has a virus, it will trigger the payload which might be in terms of compromising the confidentiality and availability as well as the availability of the system.
Mitigation Measures
One of the dangerous malware is the Mirai which in most cases, relies on the telnet and passwords to infect other devices. It is necessary that the malware and other viruses are identified, detected and mitigated so as to prevent the possibility of the occurrence of threats. There are steps which can be put in place to mitigate various malware. In the case of the use of a USB memory stick, malware such as Botnet and DDoS attacks might be present. This malware can attack the computer and slow down its operations. In a general process, it is advisable that the computer is up to date in terms of its operating system. Again, most computers have antivirus software and it is necessary that the antivirus is updated regularly. The Trojan horse or the virus can be deleted, followed by a scan to ensure that the virus is completely removed from the system (Sinanović & Mrdovic, 2017).
Figure 1. Source: (Sinanović & Mrdovic, 2017).
As pointed out in the paragraph above, Mirai is one of the most dangerous malware which can affect the operating system. The most efficient and effective way to protect devices from this malware is changing the default remote access system (Sinanović & Mrdovic, 2017). It is significant to realize that this malware cannot be prevented using antivirus mechanisms. This is because the Mirai does not leave any clean signature. Again, it turns infected computers into a Bot for the various DDoS attack operations as illustrated in Figure 1. As a point to note, the malware is divided into various parts such as loader which loads as well as executes the malware functions on the devices. Thus, the Telnet server should be installed because of its various techniques of mitigation. In the case of Mirai, it is advisable and probably to create an IDS signature for various parts of Mirai operations. This mitigation mechanism is the most effective and efficient one.
References
Nicholas, C., & Brandon, R. (2016). Document Engineering Issues in Malware Analysis. Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Symposium on Document Engineering - DocEng 16 . doi:10.1145/2960811.2967174
Sinanovic, H., & Mrdovic, S. (2017). Analysis of Mirai malicious software. 2017 25th International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks (SoftCOM) . doi:10.23919/softcom.2017.8115504
Stallings, W., Brown, L., Bauer, M. D., & Bhattacharjee, A. K. (2012). Computer security: Principles and practice (pp. 978-0). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
