Open source tools: applications and implications

• Main Author: Stull, Michael D.
• Other Authors: Arquilla, John
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/7750

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === The Internet provides users with unparalleled access to a wide variety of open source tools. Some of the tools may be used in conjunction with others or by themselves, often with great disruptive effect on a target. The rapid pace of discovered vulnerabilities in computer systems, along with the cooperation of expert programmers, has given users access to tools that lower the "entry costs" for conducting sophisticated attacks. Internet security is dependent upon reacting effectively to continually changing modes of attack, and is therefore almost always a step behind, in an action-reaction process. The availability of pre-tailored attack codes gives possible enemies an avenue to attack the US anonymously, with only a small investment of resources. However, attackers do still need both tools and the knowledge of how to use them to carry out most attacks. Still, more knowledge of the proper utilization of open source tools is progressively being coded into these open source tools, opening up the ability to conduct attacks to a higher percentage of the Internet population