Officer Ward

Officer Ward
Cyber Defender & Detention Center Security Officer

Officer Ward believes that most people who disrespect the privelages of Cyberspace are more ignorant than criminal, and that most cyber criminals can be rehabilitated into faithful cyber citizens through education about the dangers of delinquency in Cyberspace.

Working closely with Commander Omni and the Cyber Defense Academy, Officer Ward hopes to secure Cyberspace for everyone.

Favorite Quote:

It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do
- John Baptiste Moliere

Favorite Food:

Cupcakes

Interests:

Coaching softball, fishing, catching cyber criminals

November 24 2009

Cyber Crimes: IP Spoofing

All right. IP spoofing. Let's get to it. The best way to understand IP spoofing is with an example. Say you were mailing a mean letter to someone you didn't like. You probably don't want the person reading the nasty letter to know who sent it, so you change the return address on the envelope from your actual address to one you just made up. Better yet, you change it to the address of someone else you don't like! This way, when the person receives the nasty letter, they'll think someone else sent it! Of course, you would never do this in real life because you're not a jerk. Moving on.

Cyber criminals do the same thing, but with IP addresses. Rather than using their own IP address when they do their cyber villainy, they'll use a false address so their victim won't know who's behind the attack. Sometimes, the criminal will try to copy the IP address of a computer that their target network already trusts. This way, they won't have to hack the password. Sneaky!

So there you have it. Don't do it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a pirate to catch.

posted by Officer Ward
topic: Cyber Crimes

November 9 2009

Cyber Criminals -Robert Morris

Here's a weird one for you. In 1988 (that's right, over 20 years ago), a student named Robert Morris created the world's first Internet worm. According to Morris, this worm wasn't meant to cause the $530,000 worth of damages it did, but rather it was meant to be a tool to measure the size of the internet. Unfortunately, the worm copied itself over and over again and, before it could be stopped, it infected thousands upon thousands of computers.

Morris wasn't given any jail time for what seemed like an honest mistake, but he was still forced to do community service and was put on probation. Today he works as a professor. Pfft. I don't know why he got off so easy.

Sorry, that's not fair. I'm actually glad Morris didn't receive harsh punishment for his mistake. I guess I'm just upset about my blunder with Captain Jack Plunder. Don't you worry though, we'll catch him. Just like Morris, I'm not about to let one little mistake get in my way.

posted by Officer Ward
topic: Cyber Criminals