Vulnerabilities and Attacks Targeting Social Networks and Industrial Control Systems

Abstract: Vulnerability is a weakness, shortcoming or flaw in the system or network infrastructure which can be used by an attacker to harm the system, disrupt its normal operation and use it for his financial, competitive or other motives or just for cyber escapades. In this paper, we re-examined the various types of attacks on industrial control systems as well as on social networking users. We have listed which all vulnerabilities were exploited for executing these attacks and their effects on these systems and social networks. The focus will be mainly on the vulnerabilities that are used in OSNs as the convertors which convert the social network into antisocial network and these networks can be further used for the network attacks on the users associated with the victim user whereby creating a consecutive chain of attacks on increasing number of social networking users. Another type of attack, Stuxnet Attack which was originally designed to attack Iran's nuclear facilities is also discussed here which harms the system it controls by changing the code in that target system. The Stuxnet worm is a very treacherous and hazardous means of attack and is the first of its kind as it allows the attacker to manipulate real time equipment.