systems with security features. They make mistakes in judgment and in implementation. They take

shortcuts.

2) Hardware imperfection.
New technologies emerge bring new forms of vulnerabilities. In the rush to bring products to market and increase connectivity, the security implications are not always thoroughly researched and

understood. Weaknesses are not discovered until after the products have been on the market

Security engineering lags behind the product development curve.

3) Malware.
There are malicious software that always been updated to breakdown the network and do harm towawds the owner such as worms, viruses, Trojan horses and spyware.

c) Discuss the THREE (3) most important tools and technology for safeguarding information resources.
1) Authentication.
Authentication which is a system that checks the identification of an end user who wants to access it. Some types of authentications are token, smart cards, biometric authentication and two-factor authentication.

 
2) Firewalls
 Is a combination of hardware and software that prevents unauthorized users from accessing private networks and provides additional security by determining whether packets are part of an on-going dialogue between sender & receive.

3)  Identity management software
For automates the keeping track of all users and privileges and for authenticates users, protecting identities and control access.

 

Security is no longer just a technology issue, it is also a business issue as well because majority of the companies out there today rely on computer systems to keep their employees information secure as well as their customers’ information, sales transactions, and the details on their vendors, their success is dependent on the secureness of this information. For a non-technologies business especially, they need to understand enough about security that they can take ownership of security approval processes. Ultimately it is because the business themselves that will bear the consequences of a poorly secured system. It is difficult to say that a case of internal fraud or financial misstatement is a purely IT issue. However, such incidents are preventable through a well-defined security structures allocated to the appropriate business users. Since the business bears the risk it is logical that they should be fully engaged in the design of the solutions to prevent the occurrence of such risks. Without adequate understanding and design of the computer security structures, users are not able to use the functions that they require in order to run the business processes. If incorrectly designed, the same security structures will allow users access data and functions that they should not be using including system administration functions, access to sensitive personal data or commercially sensitive data such as sales figures. 

 

For example, Zappos.com joining the ranks of Sony, Gawker, rootkit.com and many others have lost account passwords and other data to hackers which included names, e-mail addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, and the last four digits of credit card numbers along with cryptographically scrambled passwords, but not the actual passwords. This has cost them their business reputation, branding and also customer’s trust. There will always be a possibility of a breach in security for every company. It could be due to a cyber-attack, human error, or even social engineering. But, if risk management of security is a common goal amongst every employee not just the IT department, it can help manage and minimise security risks in the long run. Therefore, both the business and technical departments must take responsibility for collaborating to address this issue. IT security is a priority that should simply be regarded as good business practice.

2.      Who poses the biggest security threat: insiders or outsiders?

 

While an organization usually faces more external threats, the reality is that organizations need to be just as concerned about the insider threat. An insider attack is one of the biggest threats faced by organizations since these types of hacks can be very difficult for IT teams to identify. This is because an insider – whether he’s an employee or a contractor – is already entrusted with authorized access to at least some systems and applications on a corporate network. It can be very hard for those in IT to decipher whether he’s just performing his regular job tasks, or carrying out something sinister. An angry employee who already has access to company files could be secretly leaking documents to competitors, or he could be sabotaging systems or corrupting data because he is miffed at his employer. The same could be said about former employees, who often retain access to the network even long after leaving the organization. 

 

However, they are most often not deliberately a threat. Outsiders are the ones who have bad intentions, but they don’t have access. Network restrictions are usually strong enough to keep them out. So instead, they focus their efforts on tricking unsuspecting insiders into opening the doors for them. And once inside, they are indistinguishable from the insiders. Employee web browsing is one of the most used pathways to accomplish this. Outsiders set up a website capable of exploiting any computer that browses to it, and then they send emails to the insiders that entice them to click a link to that site. Most employees will not take the bait, but it just takes one person to give in to curiosity and click the link. Malicious outsiders are very good at this. They can craft emails that look like they are from someone within the company and reference projects or people that the recipient knows. It can be very difficult to tell these emails are not legitimate. With a little perseverance, it’s just a matter of time before someone clicks. Because of this, efforts to protect the company from malicious outsiders can only go so far. Companies today must prioritize protecting against threats from their own insiders. One employee clicking the wrong link doesn’t have to put the whole company at risk. Therefore, companies need to take both outsiders and insiders seriously, because they can each have disastrous consequences.

 

 

 
3.      Suppose your business had an e-commerce Web site where it sold goods and accepted credit card payments. Discuss the major security threats to this Web site and their potential impact. What can be done to minimize these threats?

 

E-commerce platform will have certain vulnerabilities that are known to attackers. One of the major security threats would be Malware which is the malicious software that attackers insert into the web files or pages once they have gained access to the site. Malware may be found on an individual’s computer if they have themselves fallen victim to a phishing attack or otherwise been compromised, or it may be inserted directly onto the website after a successful SQL injection or if administrative account access has been granted to a harmful entity. As with software, malware can perform an extremely wide range of activities, from turning the computer into a botnet that can be part of a DDoS attack, to stealing credit card and account information from the website users. One type of malware that targeted Magento sites was able to take credit card information and store it in images so that the attacker could easily access it without flags being raised. Credit card information and personal identifying information are now regularly submitted online or stored in a network  that can be considered as a necessity for any e-commerce platforms. However, it could be vulnerable. Markets on the so-called “dark web” that sell stolen information can wreak havoc by enabling others to charge money to someone’s account or even steal their identity. This can risk the business to face major potential lawsuits by customers and users. There are also bad bots that scrape websites for pricing and inventory information. They then use this information to change pricing on the web site or hold popular inventory in shopping carts, leading to a drop in the business’ sales and revenue.

 

In order to minimize these threats, we need to update the computer operating systems and patch regularly in order to defend against malware and phishing. This will help prevent vulnerabilities from being exploited and help detect and block threats from entering the system. We also need to use a secure connection for online checkout. It is best to use strong SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) for Web and data protection. SSL certificates are crucial for authenticating the identity of the business and to ensure that the data in transit is encrypted. This ultimately protects the company and customers from getting their personal or financial information stolen. For customer’s data safety, we have to require strong passwords and enable Two-factor Authentication (2FA). Enabling two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security by requiring two pieces of information for every new login attempt. Instead of only requiring a password, it would, for example, require customers to verify their account via a one-time use authentication code received thru SMS. Most importantly, network’s computers must be equipped with antivirus and anti-malware software.

 

 

Cyberwarfare is a serious problem because it poses a unique and dauting a challenges for security experts, not only in detecting and preventing intrusions but also in tracking down prepetrators and bringing them to justice. The most prominent threats so far include the succesfull attacks on the FAA airline system, including one in 2006 that partially shut down air traffic data system in Alaska. And also the case of cyberspies that inflitrated the U.S electrical grid in April 2009 and left behind software programs whose purpose is unclear. Beside that, it also include the intruders that successfully penetrated the Pentagon’s 300 billion dollar joint strike fighter project and stole several terabytes of data related to design and electronics systems. In Iraq, insurgents intercepted Predaor drone feeeds using software downloade from the internet.

 

 

 

The solutions are available for this problem is the congress should considering legislation so that it would require all critical infrastructure companies to meet newer,thougher cybersecurity standards. As cyberwarefare technologies develop and become moe advanced, the standard imposed by this legislation will likwly be insufficient to defend against attacks. 

Secretary of Defense Gates ordered the creation of Cybercom, the first headquaters designed to coordinate government cybersecurity efforts. It was activated in May 2010. It will coordinate the operation and protection of military and Pentagon computer networks. It will coordidnate efforts to restrict access to government computers an protect systems that run the stock exchanges, clear global banking transactions and manage the air traffic control sysytem. Its ultimate goal will be to prevent catastrophic cyberattacks against the U.S. Some insiders suggest that it might not able to effectively organize the governmental agencies without irect to the Presient, which it currently lacks. 

Because spy agencies like the CIA are prohibited by law from acting on American soil, some people are proposing to entrust some of the cyberwarfare work to private defense contractors. There is no effective way for a domestic agency to conduct computer operations without entering prohibited networks within the U.S. or even conduct investigations in countries that are American allies. Preventing terrorist or cyberwar attacks may require examining some email messages from other countries or giving intelligence agencies more access to networks or Internet service providers.