| The Internet has evolved from a small trusted academic research network to serving as a global network for executing mission-critical commercial, financial, and government services. These advances in technology have revolutionized entire industries, but at the same time, have introduced security threats that cybercriminals have learned to exploit. The majority of attacks are performed for financial gain, and as a result, an underground economy has emerged that operates as a marketplace for organized criminal organizations that specialize in the sale of illicit electronic goods and services. Virtually everything has a price, whether it is a list of email addresses used for spam email targeting, stolen credit card numbers, login credentials, or a rental service that allows miscreants to control hundreds of thousands of compromised computers for their own nefarious purposes. To make matters worse, every Internet-connected computer is a potential target. The simple action of browsing a web site or opening an electronic document can result in the covert installation of malware that can exfiltrate sensitive information. In some cases, there are no proactive measures that can be implemented in order to protect against these types of attacks. Modern antivirus solutions have become increasingly less effective against sophisticated scams that make use of social engineering and targeted malware attacks that take advantage of software vulnerabilities. The objective of this dissertation is to counter these security threats by using offensive techniques to gain a better understanding of online criminal operations, fight cybercrime, and mitigate existing problems. |
