LOGIC BOMB…The IT bomb…..

Logic Bomb

Few days ago, I came across this term, seemed interesting so did a bit research on it(Nothing much 2 do in V day so spent my time doing this… 😛 )…Just hope U like it..

The name implies that it is definitely something destructive and so it is…

.It is basically a code or Logic with the following characteristics

The logic bomb has mainly the following characteristics:

1. It is triggered by a change in the environment.

2. It does something destructive like deleting files.

3. It deletes itself.

4. It does not replicate itself.

I would explain logic bombs based on these points.

IT IS TRIGGERED BY A CHANGE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

When I say a Change in the environment, I mean an event which triggers the Logic Bomb .It can be a simple mouse click to more complex events.

The event can be viewed as a change in the value of a “Parameter” or in a more logical context the presence or absence of a trigger.

Example:

You are walking down the road and suddenly a BIKE come s speeding towards you….You will try to move out of its way instantly ..(Personal choices vary….but If I were you …I would have done that….).So the bike was initially not there but suddenly it appeared and that made you move away. This is called POSITIVE TRIGGER.

Take another example:

You are walking in the rain….and the rain stops, so you close the Umbrella.

So the event was occurring and the stopping of the event was the Trigger. This is called NEGATIVE TRIGGER.

It’s secretly inserted into the code of a computer’s existing software, where it lies dormant until that event occurs.

It does something destructive like deleting files.

Its main task is to destroy files or important data. When the logic bomb is triggered by an event, it deletes files or data in the system. Other functions maybe secret information being sent to the wrong people, the network may be crippled for days, or denial of service attacks.

It deletes itself

One of the key features of LOGIC BOMB is that it destroys itself. Logic Bombs is also called SLAG CODE since “slag” is left after it detonates.

It does not replicate itself.

This one of the key points of difference between a VIRUS and a LOGIC BOMB is that it cannot form identical or modified copies of itself. So Logic bombs are generally not programmed to spread, it is specific in its activity and generally the victim is specific. A logic bomb stays put within the network in which it was inserted. This makes it much easier to create than a virus. All it needs to do is execute a task; it doesn’t need to reproduce, which is a more complicated function.

But the VIRUS can contain a LOGIC BOMB embedded in it, so the Virus could plant a Logic Bomb in the affected computer. There are some virus types that are considered logic bombs because they have a time-and-date trigger.

An example of this type of Virus is “FRIDAY THE 13^th” Virus.

Here the logic bomb is triggered when Friday has the date 13^th.

Logic bomb was first used by disgruntled employees; the payload of a logic bomb is usually pretty devastating to the company under attack. It’s often a tool used by angry employees…..

If an employee did not login for more than a month (which means he was sacked) the logic bomb would detonate and destroy all the data of the firm. So this is quite common in the IT field where employees frequently resort to this type of crime.

Well, like all things this also has a positive side, It makes restricted Software Access possible, for e.g. Imagine a demo software which uninstalls itself automatically after the TRIAL PERIOD expires.

Another application may be in DATA security. If someone tries to log in to someone else’s account using a Brute Force attack, then a logic bomb may be set to delete all the data after specified number of tries.

Cloud Computing….. A Basic idea…..

 

Cloud Computing

Wikipedia defines it as “internet based development of computer technology”

Until now we have been mainly using Internet for our needs for “information”. Now we are going to use the internet as a “Platform” on which we can run software.

Still now, we have seen software as a “product” which can be bought permanently. This article will change your perception towards “software”.

Imagine the business model of BSNL. You cannot buy the “telephone” one time and say that you have “bought” the whole Telephone Network (… I am not talking about Billionaires…!). You have to pay for the “service”. So, you basically use telephone as a “service” rather than an “object” which can be bought from a shop.

Look around you, and you will find a number of services you use daily like the Electricity, Water supply…etc

So this theory can also be applied to the “Software” world. Think about Microsoft word, suppose instead of buying the costly Office suite as a product, you only pay for the “amount of time” you use MS word and the “amount of Data” you process, through it.

This model is termed as SOFTWARE as a SERVICE (SaaS).

Well this is exactly what next generation software is going to be….

Sounds bad????

Think again!!!.The software does not need to be installed “in your local Hardware”. The software does not use your computer as the “platform”; instead it uses the INTERNET as the platform. Technically, the application is said to run on the “Cloud” (Think about it as dozens of web server is running a single Microsoft word..though this is not the exact representation).So irrespective of the power of your computer, it can run application smoothly. So actually, your data and your application are sitting on servers that you control. There are no restrictions on moving data into or off your Cloud Infrastructure. These servers are for all practical purposes indistinguishable from servers in your physical data center.

The internet ensures platform independence but the full feature set can be utilised only when coupled with certain other software,APIs,etc example: Flash in Youtube…

Examples:

Microsoft Live Workspace:

It is similar to the example I shared with you’ll. You can access the entire Microsoft Office suite along with its latest features through the Internet, irrespective of the configuration your computer. Your work is stored in online folders called SKYDRIVE so you don’t even need Pen drives to carry your work. You don’t need to have MS Office installed. All it requires is web browser (like Internet Explorer) and a decent internet bandwidth.

This is particularly useful for project works when different parts of a single document is being edited by a number of individuals simultaneously, so you have one final copy instead of ,merging individual copies.

All Microsoft Live services are based on the cloud computing Model.

The best part is that this service is absolutely free!!!

Orkut : It is also based on SaaS model. Social networking sites provide you a service in exchange of ads.

YouTube: This also is a classic example of SaaS. The video runs on your computer irrespective of whether you have any “media player”. But you still need flash player to run the video.

Cloud computing has also given rise to HaaS (Hardware as a Service)

Suppose instead of buying the entire processor, you only pay for the amount of processing power you need for processing your data, data storage and data transfer.

So this actually refers to the “purchasing of Processing Capacity” over the web. (Google has launched a similar service called the App Engine permitting developers to run web applications on Google’s Infrastructure)

Advantages of HaaS

1. It allows users to change their online hardware at any point of time.
2. Users can choose their own specifications.
3. Cheaper than actual hardware.

So now we can see, individuals as well as organizations can connect to “Cloud” computing resources to fuel their information activities rather than having to having to install “software” on their hardware.

So these are the some aspects of Cloud computing….Hope the article was informative…

Abhik Mitra

MICROSOFT STUDENT PARTNER

IT 2^ND YEAR

HERITAGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KOLKATA