Though surveillance banners do not have an effect upon the frequency of trespassing incidents that occur on computer systems, they do lessen the severity of trespassing, according to research from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.
Examining 660 computers systems at a large public U.S. university, the research team found that hackers trespassed about 4.5 times per computer, regardless of whether it had a banner. However, hackers were 8 percent less likely to enter any commands if they spent more than 50 seconds on a computer system with a banner.
“An intruder cannot damage or pilfer a system without entering computer commands into that system,” said Theodore Wilson, lead researcher on the project with the University of Maryland Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “So it’s important to examine not just how often a system is breached, but what a hacker does while there.”
While the employed surveillance banner did not reduce the total number of trespassing incidents, it did affect the likelihood of an intruder escalating their offending by typing into the system on the first and second trespassing incidents.
The study is summarized in a new research brief, “A Surveillance Banner on Compromised Computer Systems Reduces Hackers’ Active Engagement.”
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and is fully detailed in an article in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, “The Effect of a Surveillance Banner in an Attacked Computer System Additional Evidence for the Relevance of Restrictive Deterrence in Cyberspace.”