Monday
On the first day of Cyber-Academy bootcamp my class learned about Software and the many functions, theories and versions it provides; these include the Trouble Shooting Theory (I Eat Twix Every Valentine’s Day), Personal & Equipment Safety, the Operating Systems of Windows, Mac, & Linux Features and Tools, etc. Dr. Michael Wu from ODU then came and talked to the class telling us about ODU’s labs, technology, scholarships, and future career doors that could open to us because of the small actions we were taking at that point in our lives. He also conveyed a student’s interesting experiment with the digital compass on an iPhone. Charts where then shown ranging from the demand of social security workers to the raise in scholarships and hacking risks. It was shown that ODU has a security set up that allows researchers to detect and watch hackers that have “hacked” into the security and what information they try to steal and what viruses they leave behind.
Fun Fact: Hackers will use a fishing add to allow a virus through your security corrupting it and risking your private information.
Tuesday
Prof. Doug from ODU presented his work to the class and revealed to us that he worked closely with Dr. Wu at the university. He mainly protected the campuses’ websites, and internet branches in general. This branch included the lesson videos, digital research, student and parent/guardian information, and the Student Health records and this is only naming the primary subjects. Along with the ODU lesson, I also learned more about hardware and the many different objects that fall into this category. These include a motherboard, CPU (Central Processing Unit, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), Cmos (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), the two RAM types; DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module) and SODIMM (Small Out-Line Dual In-Line Memory Module), the two bridges on the motherboard that work with RAM; North and South bridge, and LGA (Land Grid Array) & PGA (Pin Grid Array) to name a handful of what we learned. The North bridge acts as a ticket booth in an amusement park that works as a small slow down period as the line flows into the “park” or the CPU and the South bridge acts as the parking lot or the In-Put & Out-Put system.
Wednesday
I have found out two things about hacking; 1. It can be extremely fun and interesting and 2. It is extremely dangerous. From things as simple as taking a picture and posting it on social media to as crazy as sending out a fake email and tricking a civilian into letting you into their bank accounts and email. Hacking has grown and branched out into so many places and even into regular homes from the hackers to the hacked. Black hat hackers hack for self-gain such as money and these such hackers can even be found in high school and college, and if caught, can earn jail time. White hat hackers on the other hand are those who’ve been hired and have signed contracts showing they have access to whatever information they were called in to search for by all companies involved and the user’s permission. Lastly, there are the grey hats which are those who think they’re doing the right thing but do not have any signed contracts. Even if grey hats had the user’s permission, they don’t have any of the company’s contracts and this can also land them in jail just like black hats. This doesn’t even cover the entirety of the hacking world and all the situations and examples I can ever fit into one paper or log. In all, this topic is incredible just like the ocean; calm and safe on the surface but a raging current of situations and dangers beneath.
Thursday
Security in the Cyberworld is one of the most complex things I have ever heard and been shown. Hearing about all the different people working every day to evolve our cyber protection along with all the ways the Cyberworld is linked through so many things (Ex. The Navy, Companies, Everyday life) that it’s just mind-blowing! Before this camp whenever I heard the world ‘Hacker’, I always thought of the script kiddies who are at a maxed level on a game but clearly stink at it. Now, I think of white, grey, and black hats along with other words like Social Engineering, Hardware, Security, Software and everything that falls beneath that category. There are so many things that fall beneath the tern ‘Cyber Security’, these include; Phishing (Spear Phishing, Whaling, Vishing), URL Hijacking & Typo squatting, Shoulder surfing, Tailgating/Piggybacking, and Dumpster diving. There are so many possible situations that a social engineer can slip into a work place, pick up on the small pieces of information that they need, and trick someone into giving them what they want. These usually include a large sum of money. Everything during this week has not only shown me just how deep and complex the internet is, but how fascinating it can be as well.