Operation Aurora

Cyber-attack incidents are increasing day by day in the computer world. A couple of months ago US accused China of Hacking COVID 19 research data. In June 2020 Australia hit by massive cyber-attack by Chinese hackers. So, these types of cyber-attacks are got a very long history. However, when it comes to the topic of Cyber-attack, we should know the massive attack from China in 2010 that completely frightened the world.

Operation Aurora:- 

A series of cyber-attack from China took place in the year of 2010. The attack majorly Targeted the USA private sector companies such as Google, Adobe, Yahoo, Morgan Stanley, and more than 20 companies.

Let's take you to the purpose of Operation Aurora.

According to McAfee, the main goal of the attack was to gain access and potentially modify source code repositories at these high tech, security, and defense contractor companies. 

So, what happened exactly?.

That was on 12th Jan 2010 Google revealed that it had been the victim of cyber-attack occurred in Mid-December and originated from China.

In 2010 china was the second-largest economy and also it had a membership of WHO. The series of cyber-attack conducted by Elderwood gang others such as PLA unit 61398. They accessed lakhs of computers of US Private computers. The major reason behind the attack is to get access to the latest technology developed by US Companies. It targeted various sectors of Companies such as shipping, engineering, electronics, finance, software sectors, Manufacturing, and many more. It majorly targeted the internet explorer and the plan is to break the defense and steal the data. It all started in the mid of 2009 and on January 4th China stopped the attack.

The internet has seen a massive increase in usage over the last decade. The capabilities of software programs have also enhanced exponentially. The need for distributed computing and connectivity to the world to remain updated on current trends is the reason for businesses to increase their online presence. Some of these businesses are completely online with no offline element in their service or product.

 

Let’s look into 5 easy way to protect yourself from cyber-attack: -

1. Use an Internet Security Suite: - A collection of software services that protect a user's computer from viruses and other malware. A Premium Internet Security Software can prevent most of the cyber-attacks and malware which steal private data stored on your computer.

2. Use Strong Passwords: - A strong password protects from fraud and identity theft. Hackers use password guessing as the most common way to break your computer.

3. Keep Your Software Up-to-Date: - Software updates offer plenty of benefits includes repairing the security holes, which will protect your computer from hackers.

4. Manage your social media settings: -

It’s very important that you keep your information as secure as possible from strangers, avoid any "public" settings. Check your audience before posting a status and manage your privacy settings.

5. Fraudulent emails: - recognize and avoid fraudulent email. Scammers use email to trick you into giving them your personal information. They may try to steal your account numbers, passwords, or Social Security numbers. If they get that info, they could access your email, bank, or other accounts.

Lessons Learned: -

It's been a 10-year journey. 10 years since Aurora we have to educate people, most of the companies looked into their policy and procedure after the incidents and started tracking the connection is good or bad.

Education on cyber-attacks, information security is one of the key components however we need an additional level of protection to prevent the data loss.