Mark Meade * The Origins of Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency is becoming more popular in mainstream culture . People buy , sell , and mine cryptocurrency to make a quick buck without any knowledge of the origins of crypto , which can be traced back to ancient times . This presentation will highlight the history of crypto , how it was
created , the economic impact , and why interest in cryptocurrency is on the rise .
Jennifer Novak * Memory-Resident Malware Memory-resident malware is malicious code that writes itself to a system ’ s memory . Stored in the system ’ s random-access memory ( RAM ), it is difficult to detect . This research will examine this hard-to-find malware and how it enters the system . Some of the memory dump and forensic tools used to discover it will also be discussed . Finally , mitigation strategies will be proposed .
Varun Parakala * Russian State-Sponsored SolarWinds Attack In December 2020 , the U . S . Government acknowledged that hackers acting on behalf of a foreign government broke into key government networks , including the U . S . Treasury and Commerce Departments , obtaining access to their email systems . The hackers gained access by injecting malicious code into a SolarWinds tool used by government agencies and businesses . This research will discuss how this attack happened .
Athena Patel * Cyberattacks Approximately 60 % of the world ’ s population connects to the Internet every day . Although the Internet has made our lives easier , there are many hidden dangers . With the US being the number one target of all cyberattacks , the chances of becoming a victim are likely . This research explores how these attacks occur and what steps can be taken to circumvent them .
Makenzie Robertson * The Most Serious Bug in Software History In 2021 , a zero-day attack took advantage of an unknown vulnerability in the Log4j-Core Java library . Log4j is a popular open-source Java-based logging utility . The log4shell exploit allowed hackers to execute code on vulnerable machines . This Remote Code Execution ( RCE ) could extract information or deliver malware to compromised servers . This research will examine the Log4j exploit and recommend mitigation strategies .
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