Computer security: hacking tendencies, criteria and solutions

Abstract

Computer crime and more particularly computer hacking has become increasingly active in today's business environment. Proof of this statement is a survey completed by the Computer Security Institute and the FBI which revealed that corporations, banks and governments all face a growing threat from computer crime (Berst, 1999, p1). Different methods can be used to control access to computer networks such as firewalls, but none is hacker-proof New ways and means must therefore be defined which will minimise or eliminate computer crime. These ways should involve the utilisation of audit logs and user profiles in a proactive sense. Typical proactive actions that can be defined include: online monitoring, template analysing, generation of reports and generation of alert signals. The objective of this paper is to define and describe a proactive model which will identify a hacking attempt before it has been performed, on any computer system with more effective and easy to use graphical interfaces. This model should also provide useful tools for the security officer. It will inform the officer of different levels of hacking attempts according to statistical predefined norms.