The Salami Hack & the Computer Misuse Act Legislation

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Administrator Posted in A Level Concepts, Computer Science, Solved Challenges, UK Legislation

This post is part of series of blog posts investigating different impacts of UK legislation relevant to Computer Science with a particular focus on:

Data Protection Legislation
Intellectual Property Protection (incl. Copyright and Trade Marks legislation)
Computer Misuse Act (1990)

The Salami Hack: Unveiling Cybersecurity Threats and the Relevance of the Computer Misuse Act in the UK

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, a peculiar and insidious method has emerged, known as the “Salami Hack.” This sophisticated cyberattack involves stealing small, seemingly inconsequential slices of data over an extended period, eventually accumulating valuable information or causing significant damage. As authorities and cybersecurity experts grapple with the implications of such attacks, the Computer Misuse Act in the United Kingdom plays a crucial role in addressing and preventing cybercrime.

Understanding the Salami Hack

The Salami Hack, also referred to as “salami slicing” or “slice-of-salami” attacks, is a methodical and patient approach to data theft or manipulation. Instead of conducting a large-scale breach, hackers discreetly compromise systems by taking tiny increments of data over time, making it challenging for victims to detect the breach immediately. The stolen data might include sensitive information, financial details, or intellectual property.

This method often involves exploiting vulnerabilities in network security, leveraging social engineering tactics, and deploying malware to remain undetected for extended periods. The cumulative effect of these seemingly minor intrusions can be devastating, as hackers gradually assemble a comprehensive picture of the target’s confidential information.

An alternative use of the salami approach is the salami embezzlement technique, a form of financial fraud where perpetrators make imperceptible transactions or transfers over an extended period of time. These seemingly negligible financial transactions (sometimes as low as transferring a few pennies from a huge range of accounts) collectively accumulate to substantial financial gains for the fraudster, often escaping immediate detection: Victims of this type of fraud may not notice the negligible loss incurred or may decide not to report it as it may seem negligible.

Relevance of the Computer Misuse Act

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is the cornerstone of cybersecurity legislation in the United Kingdom, addressing unauthorized access, modification, or interference with computer systems. In the context of the Salami Hack, several provisions within the Act become particularly relevant:

Unauthorized Access (Section 1): The Salami Hack typically involves unauthorized access to computer systems. Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act makes it an offense to gain access to a computer system without permission. This provision is crucial for prosecuting hackers engaged in salami slicing activities.

Unauthorized Modification (Section 3): If the Salami Hack includes unauthorized modifications to computer data or systems, Section 3 of the Act becomes applicable. This provision criminalizes unauthorized actions that cause damage or disruption to computer material.

Making, Supplying, or Obtaining Anything for Use in Offenses (Section 3A): Those who create or distribute tools, malware, or any other resources for the purpose of committing cybercrimes, including salami slicing attacks, may be prosecuted under this section.

Jurisdiction and Extradition (Section 9): The Act also addresses the issue of jurisdiction, allowing the UK authorities to prosecute individuals involved in cybercrime, even if the offenses occur outside the country. Extradition arrangements further strengthen the ability to bring cybercriminals to justice.

Penalties under the CMA

The CMA stipulates severe penalties for offenses related to computer misuse. Depending on the severity of the crime, individuals found guilty of salami embezzlement could face imprisonment, fines, or both.

Challenges and Future Considerations

Despite the effectiveness of the Computer Misuse Act, addressing cyber threats like the Salami Hack poses ongoing challenges. The rapid evolution of technology requires continuous updates to legislation, as well as international collaboration to combat cybercrime effectively.

Enhancing cybersecurity measures, fostering public-private partnerships, and promoting awareness about evolving threats are essential components of a comprehensive strategy to safeguard against the Salami Hack and other sophisticated cyberattacks. As technology advances, so must the legal frameworks designed to protect individuals, businesses, and governments from the ever-present threat of cybercrime.

Disclaimer
This article was generated with the help of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI, and is provided for educational purposes. The content is created based on general knowledge and may not be fully accurate. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice.

Question 1[2 marks]

What is the Salami Hack, and how does it differ from traditional cyberattacks?

Question 2[2 marks]

Explain the concept of “thinly sliced” transactions in the context of salami embezzlement. How does this incremental approach contribute to the difficulty of detecting and preventing such cybercrimes?

Question 3[4 marks]

Explain the significance of the Computer Misuse Act in the context of the Salami Hack. Which specific sections of the Act are relevant to addressing such cyber threats?

Question 4[2 marks]

What are the potential penalties individuals might face under the Computer Misuse Act if found guilty of offenses related to salami embezzlement?

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Solution...

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The Library – Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Administrator Posted in Computer Science, Computing Concepts, Database Concepts, Solved Challenges

Your local library would like you to design a new system to store information about all the books available on the shelves, as well as about the members of the library and the borrowings and reservations they make.

The requirements of this library are as follows:

Use our online ERD tool to design the Entity Relationship Diagram for this library. Note that you have not been given any information about the pieces of information to store about the books, authors, borrowings and reservations so you will have to decide of the most relevant fields to include on your ERD.

Design Your ERD Online

For more information about relational databases and Entity Relationship Diagrams, visit the following pages:

Relational Databases Concepts
Driving School ERD: A similar task where you can check the solution

Solution...

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Tagged with: Entity Relationship Diagram, ERD

Candy Crush – Level Generation

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Administrator Posted in Computer Science, Python - Intermediate, Python Challenges, Solved Challenges

In this Python challenge we will complete an algorithm to generate the 9×9 grid of candies used in the game Candy Crush.

In the game of Candy Crush, 81 candies are displayed using 9 rows of 9 candies. There are 6 different candies of different shapes and colours.

To implement this game, we will be using a 2D array of integer values. Each value be stored as an integer between 1 and 6. We will also use 6 different pictures of sweets so that we can render the grid by replacing the numbers stored with their corresponding picture.

Here is our 2D array matching the above Candy Crush grid:

grid = [[1,2,3,4,6,2,5,1,3],
        [5,2,6,4,5,6,1,2,3],
        [4,1,1,3,3,6,2,4,5],
        [2,3,4,1,5,1,6,4,1],
        [5,5,3,2,1,4,3,2,2],
        [1,3,6,2,5,5,1,4,4],
        [6,1,6,3,4,6,6,3,6],
        [4,6,4,2,3,4,2,5,3],
        [4,5,1,1,3,5,2,4,6]]

Python Code so far…

Task 1: Generating a Random Grid

The code provided above will always generate the same starting grid. Your task is to add some code to randomise the grid so that each of the 81 cells of the grid contains a random integer value between 1 and 6. The following flowchart will help you implement this code.

Task 2: Identifying and Removing Blocks

In the game Candy Crush, every time a block of 3 or more adjacent candies of the same type in a row or in a column is detected, it is automatically removed from the grid. Your second task consists of detecting if the grid that was randomly generated (task 1) contains any blocks of 3 adjacent candies, and if so replace these candies.

In order to identify blocks of at least 3 adjacent candies, we can search for any candy on the grid which has two candies of the same type on either side (left and right) or above and below.

Let’s see how we can identify a block of three in a row:

Let’s see how we can identify a block of four in a column:

Once a block has been identified, we can break it by replacing either all three candies or by simply replacing the candy in the middle position. Not that in the game of Candy Crush, when a candy is removed, the candies above fall down to fill up the empty space and a new candy is generated at the top of the grid. However, we do not need to implement this at this stage, as we are only working on generating a valid start up grid that does not contain any block of 3 or more candies of the same type.

Let’s investigate the algorithm needed to detect and remove any block of three adjacent candies using the following flowchart:

Your task is to implement the above flowchart within the Python code provided above. Once done, all generated grids should not contain any blocks of 3 or more adjacent candies of the same type.

Extension Task

Now that thew grid is ready, we could ask the user to enter a row and column number of the candy they would like to remove. From there, we should implement the rules of the Candy Crush game to drop new candies from the top and see when a block has been created and should hence be removed from the grid.

Solution...

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Snakes and Ladders using Python

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Administrator Posted in Computer Science, Python - Intermediate, Python Challenges, Solved Challenges

Snakes and ladders is a board game for two or more players and is played worldwide. It originated in ancient India as “Moksha Patam”, and was brought to the UK in the 1890s. It is a race game where each player progresses through the 100 numbered cells of the board by rolling a dice. When a player lands at the bottom of the ladder, they can automatically move their token to the top of the ladder. However, when a player lands in the mouth of a snake, they slide down to the tail of the snake.

The first player to reach the last cell of the board (cell 100), they win. However they have to land exactly on this cell. If they reach a number higher than 100, then their token bounce back. For instance, if a player is on cell 98 and rolls a 6, they move as follows: 98 >> 99 >> 100 >> 99 >> 98 >> 97 >> 96.

Another rule is that when a player rolls a 6, they can have another turn.

We have started to implement the game using Python code. However our code is incomplete. For instance, we our game is only for one player. We dd not implement all the ladders and snakes of the board. And we did not check if the player is allowed another go (when rolling a 6).

After checking and testing the code provided below, you will need to complete 3 tasks to finalise this code:

Python code so far…

Solution...

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Pacman – Pac-dots Randomiser

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Administrator Posted in Computer Science, Python - Intermediate, Python Challenges, Solved Challenges

In this challenge, we are looking at using a 2D Array to create the maze used in a Pacman Game.

Our 2D array will contains different numerical values to represents the corridors, walls and the pac-dots:

So in our 2D-array a corridor is represented using a 0, a wall using a 1 and a pac-dot using a 2.

maze = [[1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1],
        [1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1],
        [1,0,1,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,1],
        [1,0,1,0,0,1,0,1,0,0,1,0,1],
        [1,0,0,0,1,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1],
        [1,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,1],
        [1,0,1,0,1,1,0,1,1,0,1,0,1],
        [1,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,1],
        [1,0,0,0,1,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,1],
        [1,0,1,0,0,1,0,1,0,0,1,0,1],
        [1,0,1,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,1],
        [1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1],
        [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1]]

We can then easily add pac-dots in our maze using the following code:

maze[3][3] = 2
maze[3][9] = 2
maze[9][3] = 2
maze[9][9] = 2

We can then use a script to paint all the tiles of this maze on the screen. In this case we have done so using Python Turtle.

Python Code

Your Task

Your task is to add a piece of Python code to add four new pac-dots on this maze. These pac-dots should be randomly placed in the maze but not over a wall or an existing pac-dot.

Here is the flowchart for this algorithm:

Solution...

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Tagged with: 2D Array

Hogwarts Sorting Hat Algorithm

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Administrator Posted in Computer Science, Python - Beginner, Python Challenges, Solved Challenges

In this challenge, we will implement an algorithm to help the sorting hat at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry decide which house you would more likely belong to.

When a new student join Hogwarts school, they are assigned to one of the four school houses depending on their personal qualities. The four houses are:

Gryffindor values bravery, loyalty and chivalry
Ravenclaw values curious minds, creativity and inventiveness
Hufflepuff values kindness, friendliness, patience
Slytherin values ambition and competitiveness

Now let’s look at our algorithm step by step using a flowchart that we will convert into a Python program.

Our algorithm will work by asking the end-user some yes/no questions to help define their personality and main qualities. Based on the answers provided by the end-user, the algorithm will allocate points to four score variables, one for each house.

At the end, after collecting all the end-user’s answers, the algorithm will find which house scored the most point and inform the end-user of the house that is a best match to their personality.

Step 1: Initialising the Sorting Hat Algorithm

FlowchartPython Code

Flowchart

Python Code

# Hogwarts Sorting Hat Algorithm

# Step 1: Initialise the Sorting Hat
print("~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~")
print("~                     ~")
print("~   The Sorting Hat   ~")
print("~                     ~")
print("~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~")
print("")
print("Welcome to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry!")
print("Answer the following questions to be assigned your new house.")
print("")
gryffindor = 0	
hufflepuff = 0
ravenclaw = 0
slytherin = 0

Python Code

Complete the Python code below…

Step 2: Asking Yes/NO Question

Using IF statements
Let’s ask our first question to see if the user is considering themselves as being a brave person. If so we will add one point to their score for Gryffindor as bravery is a trait of the Gryffindor house.

FlowchartPython Code

Flowchart

Python Code

# Step 2: Collect user inputs
brave = input("Are you a brave person?").lower()
if brave=="yes":
  gryffindor = gryffindor + 1

Using IF and ELSE statements
Now let’s consider another question which could lead to two outcomes depending on the user’s answer. For instance let’s ask if the user considers themselves as being patient. If the answer is “yes” we will increase their Hufflepuff score by one however, if their answer is “no” we will increase their Slytherin score by 1 as students from the Slytherin students tends to be rather impatient.

FlowchartPython Code

Flowchart

Python Code

patient = input("Would you describe yourself as being patient?").lower()
if patient=="yes":
  hufflepuff = hufflepuff + 1 
else:
  slytherin = slytherin + 1

Step 3: Adding more questions

It’s now your turn to work out the Python code needed to add the following 8 questions:

Question 3Question 4Question 5Question 6Question 7Question 8Question 9Question 10

Step 4: Displaying the scores for each house

FlowchartPython Code

Python Code

# Step 4: Display the scores
print("Total Scores:")
print(" - Gryffindor:" + str(gryffindor))
print(" - Ravenclaw:" + str(ravenclaw))
print(" - Hufflepuff:" + str(hufflepuff))
print(" - Slytherin:" + str(slytherin))

Step 5: Selecting the house with the highest score

FlowchartPython Code

Python Code

# Step 5: Select the house with the highest score
if gryffindor>=ravenclaw and gryffindor>=hufflepuff and gryffindor>=slytherin:
   print("You belong to Gryffindor!")
elif ravenclaw>=gryffindor and ravenclaw>=hufflepuff and ravenclaw>=slytherin:
   print("You belong to Ravenclaw!")
elif hufflepuff>=ravenclaw and hufflepuff>=gryffindor and hufflepuff>=slytherin:
   print("You belong to Hufflepuff!")
elif slytherin>=ravenclaw and slytherin>=hufflepuff and slytherin>=gryffindor:
   print("You belong to Slytherin!")

Extension Task

Can you think of any additional questions you could add to your program to take more accurate decisions?

Solution...

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Tagged with: Flowchart, Selection

Structure Diagram for an online-shop

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Administrator Posted in A Level Concepts, A Level Quiz, Computer Science, Computing Concepts, GCSE Concepts, GCSE Quiz

An online-shop or e-commerce website is a complex web-based system that includes many functionalities. In order to design such a complex system. it is essential to think think abstractly to simplify the system we want to create and to break down the system into smaller modules.

Abstraction

An online shop is an abstraction, in other words a simplified model of a real life supermarket.

To define an abstraction, you need to consider which details your system will include and which details will be removed from your system to simplify it.

Online Shop Abstraction
Details to keep	Details to remove
The ability to browse through different categories The ability to pick an item and view its full description and price The ability to add an item to your shopping basket The ability to proceed to checkout The ability to enter your card details and proceed to payment	The physical layout of the supermarket The building aspect, colour of the walls, width of the aisles, type of floor, etc. The physical dimensions of your trolley or shopping basket The ability to pick up an item and manipulate it. The ability to pay in cash The need for the cashier to scan every item of your shopping trolley The presence of other customers in the shop

There are many reasons why we would want to simplify our model:

A simplified model will be easier to code
You will be able to complete the project in a shorter timeframe
The system will not require too much processing power to run smoothly
The system will be adapted to the input and output devices available
The system will be easier to use

Once you have defined the scope of your abstraction (the details that your system will include) the next step is to break down this system into many sub-modules that can be tackled one at a time. This is what we call decomposition.

Decomposition

Decomposition consists of breaking down a complex system into smaller sub-systems / modules.

The benefits of decomposition is to:

Break down a complex system into smaller, more achievable sub-tasks
Organise your time and resources more effectively, especially when working as a team. Different team members can work on different sub-tasks.
Identify opportunities where you can re-use existing modules that you may already have implemented within other projects. For instance many system will require a login screen, many games will require a leaderboard. You might already have the code for these sub-modules.

Structure Diagrams

Structure diagrams are often use in computer science to help with the decomposition stage of the project. They help you break down your project into smaller sub-systems. And then for each sub-system you can break these down further into smaller modules or sub-tasks.

For instance, use the drag and drop activity below to complete the structure diagram for an online shop such as Amazon:
Structure Diagram – Online ShopOpen in New Window

Abstraction, Decomposition and Structure Diagrams

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Administrator Posted in A Level Concepts, A Level Quiz, Computer Science, Computing Concepts, GCSE Concepts, GCSE Quiz

Any software developer, working on a new project will need to take time to step back and think before going straight into programming mode and writing their first line of code!

Their first step will be to consider their new system as an abstraction of reality: in other words a computer system is a simplified model of a real life situation.

Let’s consider a game of Pong for instance. A game of Pong is an abstraction of a tennis game at Wimbledon or Rolland Garros.

Abstraction

To define an abstraction, you need to consider which details your system will include and which details will be removed from your system to simplify it.

Pong Game Abstraction
Details to keep	Details to remove
A bouncing ball Two rackets/paddles that can move up and down The net (a line across the screen) A basic scoring system	The spectators / the stands The referee Light and shadow effects Player and ball movement in 3D Impact of gravity on the ball Spin effects applied to the ball The concept of games and sets The Texture (grass/clay) and line marking of the court Sound effects when the player runs or hits the ball Weather conditions (incl. wind, rain, etc.)

There are many reasons why we would want to simplify our model:

A simplified model will be easier to code
You will be able to complete the project in a shorter timeframe
The system will not require too much processing power to run smoothly
The system will be adapted to the input and output devices available
The system will be easier to use

Decomposition

Decomposition consists of breaking down a complex system into smaller sub-systems / modules.

The benefits of decomposition is to:

Break down a complex system into smaller, more achievable sub-tasks
Organise your time and resources more effectively, especially when working as a team. Different team members can work on different sub-tasks.
Identify opportunities where you can re-use existing modules that you may already have implemented within other projects. For instance many system will require a login screen, many games will require a leaderboard. You might already have the code for these sub-modules.

Structure Diagrams

For instance, use the drag and drop activity below to complete the structure diagram of the game of Pong:
Structure Diagram – Pong GameOpen in New Window