White Hat hacking : system and application security focusing on its fundamentals, malware and Wi-Fi vulnerability

No technology, even a modern variant, is completely secure. With cyberattacks occurring daily and growing more sophisticated, this thesis aims to highlight the need for good cyber security. The primary objectives of this thesis were: 1. to evaluate the malware situation worldwide to illustrate current threats 2. to analyse threat reports and work by a cyber security specialist to show the evolution of malware and contemporary trends in cyberattacks 3. to carry out security testing and repair a file damaged by malware which would demonstrate how malware acts and how vulnerable systems really are. 4. to demonstrate how DEP, ROP and honeypots are effective methods of security. To achieve these objectives, various methods were employed. Reports from OWASP, Sophos and Microsoft were studied and analysed along with work by Mikko Hyppönen, a cyber security expert. Virtual machines were set up to run Kali and RouterSploit along with test labs which were used to run malicious script. DEP, ROP and honeypots were setup and run on a personal machine. Finally, to repair the damaged file 010 Editor and PE Viewer were used. The main results showed how cyber threats had drastically changed; which Wi-Fi settings were the most/ and least secure and why; how severely malware can damage a file including time-consuming efforts for repair; the effectiveness of DEP, ROP and honeypots as security methods. The results clearly illustrate the need for effective cyber security due to the ever-changing nature of cyberattacks. These changes bring constant challenges to the realm of cyber security as White Hats try to prevent Black Hats from gaining the upper hand. Put simply, cyber security specialists can win, but there will always be a fight.Example of a script Running the browser hook script to attack and execute the redirect "Rick Roll.