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Information Security. INTRODUCTION. Information security – a broad term encompassing the protection of information from accidental or intentional misuse by persons inside or outside an organization
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INTRODUCTION • Information security – a broad term encompassing the protection of information from accidental or intentional misuse by persons inside or outside an organization • This plug-in discusses how organizations can implement information security lines of defense through people first and technology second
The Second Line of Defense - Technology • Three primary information security areas • Authentication and authorization • Prevention and resistance • Detection and response
AUTHENTICATION AND AUTHORIZATION • Authentication – a method for confirming users’ identities • Authorization – the process of giving someone permission to do or have something • The most secure type of authentication involves a combination of the following: • Something the user knows such as a user ID and password • Something the user has such as a smart card or token • Something that is part of the user such as a fingerprint or voice signature
Something the User Knows such as a User ID and Password • User ID and passwords are the most common way to identify individual users, and are the most ineffective form of authentication • Identity theft – the forging of someone’s identity for the purpose of fraud • Phishing – a technique to gain personal information for the purpose of identity theft
Something the User Has such as a Smart Card or Token • Smart cards and tokens are more effective than a user ID and a password • Token – small electronic devices that change user passwords automatically • Smart card – a device that is around the same size as a credit card, containing embedded technologies that can store information and small amounts of software to perform some limited processing
Something That Is Part of the User such as a Fingerprint or Voice Signature • This is by far the best and most effective way to manage authentication • Biometrics – the identification of a user based on a physical characteristic, such as a fingerprint, iris, face, voice, or handwriting • Unfortunately, this method can be costly and intrusive
PREVENTION AND RESISTANCE • Downtime can cost an organization anywhere from $100 to $1 million per hour • Technologies available to help prevent and build resistance to attacks include: • Content filtering • Encryption • Firewalls
Encrypting Stored Data • Encryption • Uses high-level mathematical functions and computer algorithms to encode data • Files • Can be encrypted “on the fly” as they are being saved, and decrypted as they are opened • Encryption and decryption • Tend to slow down computer slightly when opening and saving files
Content Filtering • Organizations can use content filtering technologies to filter e-mail and prevent e-mails containing sensitive information from transmitting and stop spam and viruses from spreading • Content filtering – occurs when organizations use software that filters content to prevent the transmission of unauthorized information • Spam – a form of unsolicited e-mail
FIREWALLS • One of the most common defenses for preventing a security breach is a firewall • Firewall – hardware and/or software that guards a private network by analyzing the information leaving and entering the network
FIREWALLS • Sample firewall architecture connecting systems located in Chicago, New York, and Boston
DETECTION AND RESPONSE • If prevention and resistance strategies fail and there is a security breach, an organization can use detection and response technologies to mitigate the damage • Antivirus software is the most common type of detection and response technology
BYU’s Free Antivirus Software • Log into Route-Y • Under the “Miscellaneous” tab choose Software Distribution, • Select the “Software” tab (near the top left) • Click on Symantec Products • DownloadAntivirus software for your operating system
DETECTION AND RESPONSE • Hacker - people very knowledgeable about computers who use their knowledge to invade other people’s computers • White-hat hacker • Black-hat hacker • Hactivist • Script kiddies or script bunnies • Cracker • Cyberterrorist
DETECTION AND RESPONSE • Virus -software written with malicious intent to cause annoyance or damage • Worm • Denial-of-service attack (DoS) • Distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) • Trojan-horse virus • Backdoor program • Polymorphic virus and worm
DETECTION AND RESPONSE • Security threats to e-business include: • Elevation of privilege • Hoaxes • Malicious code • Spoofing • Spyware • Sniffer • Packet tampering
Back Up Principles • Scope: • Documents, Data, Media • Executable Program files • Operating System and Drivers • Frequency • How often should you back up? • Cost of lost information vs • Cost of back up (time, media)
Back Up Principles • Keep copy of backup files “off site” • Test back ups before deleting prior version • Protect hardware from natural disasters. • Maintain redundant or backup systems for critical functions. • Make plans for ongoing processing in the event of hardware/software/data disaster. (Consider 9/11)
Back up Media - Magnetic Tape • Tape is a sequential media – not suitable for real time processing • Tape is used mainly for backup and archive • Relatively inexpensive & compact
Back up Media – Hard Drives • High capacity • Relatively fast back up • Internal vs. external • Internal is less expensive • External is portable • Relatively inexpensive
Back Up Media –Optical (CD, DVD) • CD = 650 – 850 MB; $.10 (<$.14/GB) • CD recorders are common • DVD = 4.7 – 17 GB; $.30 (<$.06/GB) • DVD recorders less common • Record once vs. many times (R vs. RW)
Back Up Media –Solid State Devices • Compact Flash (CF) • Secure Digital (SD) • Flash Drive (USB/Thumb Drive) • Very portable • Damaged by electric pulses. • High cost/GB
Software Patches • Set it to update automatically • Can seriously reduce viral vulnerability • Blaster example
Scenario 1 • You receive an email from your mom. The text says “Here is the information you requested” and there is a word document attached. Do you open it?
Scenario 2 • You buy a new computer at CompUSA. What do you need to do to keep it safe from attacks?
Scenario 3 • You have a great iTunes collection. Your roommate’s friend wants to load his iPod too. What do you think?
Scenario 4 • You receive an email from PayPal asking you to update your personal information. What do you do?