Contents



Preface

This book on Computer Security Threats discusses the fundamentals of computer security and presents a broad set of ideas and some of the advanced research in this field. The book is triggered by the understanding that digitalization and growing dependence on the Internet poses an increased risk of computer security threats in the modern world. The chapters discuss different research frontiers in computer security with algorithms and implementation details for use in the real world. Researchers and practitioners in areas such as statistics, pattern recognition, machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning, data mining, data analytics

and visualization are contributing to the field of computer security.

these four sections are introduced for the reader in every chapter.

of client honeypot.

The introductory chapter on computer security threats provides a detailed introduction on the common computer system threats. The logical threats are a main cause of security incidents on computer systems. Knowing these threats and their characteristics helps in identifying the threats and aids in proactively devising steps to protect the systems. The chapter includes motivations and objectives of the hackers. The chapter also includes the classification of threats, which also includes an exhaustive coverage of all the threats. The details of the top security menaces of 2020 are introduced and the expectation for the latter half of 2020 is also discussed.

Malware is the main source of computer security threats and hence the second chapter is specifically focused on the detection of malware embedded into web pages, using client honeypot. In today's world with everyone depending on the Internet, web pages are facing a severe threat of client side browser attacks. The spread of malware uses software vulnerabilities, which attack the client application that sends a request to server. The detection methodology discussed in this chapter is based on client honeypot, which detects the various malicious program linked with web pages. Client honeypots are active security devices in search of malicious servers that attack clients. The client honeypot pretends to be a client and interacts with the server to examine whether an attack happens. Often the focus of client honeypots in on web browsers, but any client that interacts with servers can be part

This book consists of four sections: Section I is an introduction to computer security threats, Section II is on Malwares, Section III is on Botnets, and Section IV is on Blockchain. The book has eight chapters included in these four sections. The chapters include the introduction to computer security threats and techniques that address the threats. Section I is exclusively the introduction to the computer security threats. Section II is on the malicious software or malware, which is the main source of computer security threats. Another major computer security threat is due to botnets and hence Section III is on botnets. Blockchain technology is a decentralized, distributed ledger that records the provenance of a digital asset and its cryptographic algorithm makes it immune to attack. In a world where cyber security has become a key issue, blockchain is a potentially revolutionary technology as it promotes new levels of trust and transparency. Hence, Section IV is specifically on the security aspects of blockchain. Technologies explored in the chapters included in each of

*by Paula Fraga-Lamas and Tiago M. Fernández-Caramés*
