New and Rapidly Advancing Threats
One of the biggest threats to network security in 2014 is the end of support for the Windows XP operating system (OS). On April 8th 2014, Microsoft will discontinue support for the aging OS. What this means for users of Windows XP is that as new vulnerabilities and exploits are discovered, they will not be fixed – the vulnerabilities will only continue to grow. For any business environment that is still using Windows XP beyond April 8th, the machines running the OS will become the organization’s biggest security flaw. It is highly likely that hackers are holding back on using known zero-day exploits for Windows XP until after April 8th because they know that beyond that date, the exploit will not be addressed by Microsoft. The two ASDI computers in the accounting department that are still running Windows XP must be upgraded or replaced before the end of support is reached.
Sandboxing is a technique used by the IT staff at ASDI to seal up programs into a virtualized environment for the purpose of quarantining them from other programs and resources. This helps to prevent malware infection or spread between programs. While it is very difficult for malware to escape a sandboxed environment, it is not impossible. According to McAfee Labs 2014 Threats Predictions, by Bing Sun, “We believe exploits (especially zero day and advanced persistent threats) will soon evolve to include features that defeat sandboxing” (2014). It is likely that this threat will become more prevalent in the next twelve months, and as such, IT staff at ASDI will be required to practice greater diligence in preventing the spread of malware.
Attacks on point of sale (PoS) systems are gaining popularity recently. This is a consi...
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It is best to prevent security incidents from occurring in the first place – therefore prevention should be a top priority for the IT staff at CEG. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommends five main categories of incident prevention; risk assessments, host security, network security, malware prevention, and user awareness training (Cichonski P., Grance T., Millar T., & Scarfone K., 2012 p.24). Risks of the various types of possible security incidents should be identified and prioritized based on likelihood and potential harm. Risk assessment should be periodic and ongoing. Host security is achieved by hardening each host on the network. Host hardening includes keeping current on the latest software patches, enabling and monitoring audit logs, and assigning permissions based on a system of least privilege. Network security is primarily concerned with securing the perimeter of the network to prevent unauthorized intrusion. This includes the use of firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), securing VPN, and blocking unnecessary ports. All hosts on the network must run and regularly update malware protection software. And all employees should...
Network breaches are an ever-present and growing threat to network security. There are many ways that such breaches can occur, and the following material will analyze five case studies. The issues to be addressed will include, what went wrong, how could it have been prevented, and what measures could be instituted to prevent a reoccurrence.
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Rest assured that there are many other cyber crime attack methods that can be employed but, this paper will specifically a...
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A public utility company employed SecureState to repair their internal and external network security. Consequently, SecureState was able to access the network due to a variety of exploits. Many threats would not be present if systems were updated with the latest operating software and patches and were properly configured. This engagement revealed several critical problems within the client’s system, allowing SecureState to gain access to more resources than intended. The improperly segmented networks combined with easily exploitable vulnerabilities can allow attackers to gain access to entire networks potentially causing untold levels of damage.
Not a long ago, technological innovation was making its baby steps into our lifestyle. There was never a major talk on cybersecurity, even though the idea was present. Progress in technology have brought new ideas and innovations that have attracted, in turn, malicious and criminal practices; with this fast paced world we live in, we cannot afford to put our plans and goals on hold in order to deal with the problem. Today, it’s fair to say that we are all trying to catch up with the pace of technological advancement, and that is a difficult thing to accomplish, due to how fast and how complex the field has grown to be. It’s the same story in the case of cybersecurity, where we seem to be forced to react, rather act. At some point, it seemed like the cyberwar was left to the IT industries organizations to handle, until many more companies have been attracted to the technology world, due to various reasons, including competition and their respective market growth, an observation confirmed by Judith H. Germano (2014): “With time and experience (and even more alarming news report), more companies are becoming aware of, and realizing they need to address, cybersecurity concerns on a proactive basis” (p. 7). Nowadays, the society is more connected than ever, making it a target for criminals more than ever, and it requires a collective effort to achieve Information Security
IT Specialist and system administrator’s job duties are to test, patch and install the latest security updates and software fixes on an organization existing system. However, this task can become a race against time in trying to mitigate a security breach. Many times the system admin has to wait for the software vendor to produce a patch to fix the problem. This is most apparent when a company is infected with a Zero-Day Exploit.
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Potential risks and security breaches have been on the rise with a growing number of skillful hackers. This results in an increase to external threats to personnel and businesses. However, when complex security measures and the appropriate level of controls are utilized, there is a reduction to the potential risk and loss due to failure or breach. Therefore, such practice will enhance system reliability.
“ Prevention is better than cure ”, if computer users are aware of Malware attacks, they may prevent those attacks . So, in this research paper i am going to focus on Malware and Protecting Against Malware.
Taber, M (n.d.). Maximum Security: A Hacker's Guide to Protecting Your Internet Site and Network (chapter 3.)
Unequivocally speaking, the threat of a cyber-attack has become one of the most critical domestic and national security challenges we face as a nation today. Infrastructures supporting government operations are ...