A VPN  acts as a secure tunnel to a trusted third-party server. All data that is sent via this tunnel gets encrypted which means it is now protected from intrusion. Encryption makes it harder to crack and recognize the user.
Web-based VPNs are available who charge a monthly fee. These VPN services are easy-to-setup for business or personal use. Once you get connected to a VPN, your IP address changes to another IP address. This means even if you getting spied upon they can’t identify you as your digital footprint and location is encrypted.

ii) Privacy Extension
There are a ton of privacy extensions which modify and enhance the security of browsers. These extensions let you control your internet experience. There are privacy extensions which can block the ads on the sites that you visit. More, kill’s the third-party scripts which might send your data to someone you don’t know.

b) Briefly explain the following terms.
i. Cyber warfare
Cyber warfare is any virtual conflict initiated as a politically motivated attack on an enemy's computer and information systems. Waged via the Internet, these attacks disable financial and organizational systems by stealing or altering classified data to undermine networks, websites and services. Cyber warfare is also known as cyber warfare or cyber war.

ii. Computer Forensic 

Computer forensics is the application of investigation and analysis techniques to gather and preserve evidence from a particular computing device in a way that is suitable for presentation in a court of law. The goal of computer forensics is to perform a structured investigation while maintaining a documented chain of evidence to find out exactly what happened on a computing device and who was responsible for it.

 Question 3
 a) Without protection against malware and intruders, connecting to the Internet could be very dangerous. Firewalls, intrusion detection system and antivirus software have become the tools to overcome this problem. Briefly explain these THREE (3) tools.

i) Firewall 

A firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set of security rules. They establish a barrier between secured and controlled internal networks that can be trusted and untrusted outside networks, such as the Internet. A firewall can be hardware, software, or both.

ii) Intrusion detection system

An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a system that monitors network traffic for suspicious activity and issues alerts when such activity is discovered. While anomaly detection and reporting is the primary function, some intrusion detection systems are capable of taking actions when malicious activity or anomalous traffic is detected, including blocking traffic sent from suspicious IP addresses.

iii) Antivirus software

Antivirus software is a type of utility used for scanning and removing viruses from your computer. While many types of antivirus (or "anti-virus") programs exist, their primary purpose is to protect computers from viruses and remove any viruses that are found. Most antivirus programs include both automatic and manual scanning capabilities.

 b) Information systems controls is one of the components of an organizational framework for security and control. Information systems controls consist of two - general and application control. A company must know how and where to deploy security tools and security personnel must know what controls a company must have in place to protect its information system. 

Contrast between General Controls and Application Controls.

General Controls | Application Controls
Define:
General controls: It apply to all areas of the organization including the IT infrastructure and support services.
Application controls: It refers to the transactions and data relating to each computer based application system; therefore, they are specific to each application.
 Objective:
General controls: To ensure the proper development and implementation of application, as well as the integrity of programs, data files and computer operations.
Application controls: Completeness and accuracy of input and update, validity (proper authorization) and maintenance (complete and correct overtime).


Question 4
Malicious Software programs are referred to as Malware. Describe FOUR (4) types of malicious software.

i) Worm- a worm is a self-replicating virus that does not alter files but duplicates itself. It is common for worms to be noticed only when their uncontrolled replication consumes system resources, slowing or halting other tasks.

ii) Trojan (Trojan Horse)- a Trojan horse is a program in which malicious or harmful code is contained inside apparently harmless programming or data in such a way that it can get control and do its chosen form of damage, such as ruining the certain area on your hard disk. A Trojan horse may be widely redistributed as part of a computer virus.

iii) Malware - Malware (for "malicious software") is any program or file that is harmful to a computer user. Thus, malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and also Spyware, programming that gathers information about a computer user without permission.

iv) Virus- a virus is a program or programming code that replicates by being copied or initiating its copying to another program, computer boot sector or document. Viruses can be transmitted as attachments to an e-mail note or in a downloaded file, or be present on a diskette or CD

Question 5 

a) Nowadays securing information systems has become an important issue in organization to protect itself against computer crime. 

Define computer crime and provide an appropriate example. 

- Computer crime is an act performed by a knowledgeable computer user, sometimes referred to as a hacker that illegally browses or steals a company's or individual's private information. In some cases, this person or group of individuals may be malicious and destroy or otherwise corrupt the computer or data files.
 Example:

b) Briefly explain THREE (3) reasons why information systems are vulnerable to destruction, error and abuse? 

i)  Vulnerability exist at each layer and in the communications between the layers. Users at the client layer can cause harm by introducing errors or by accessing systems without authorization.

 

ii)    Through communication networks, information systems in different locations are interconnected. The potential for unauthorized access, abuse, or fraud is not limited to a single location but can occur at any access point in the network 

 

iii)       When large amounts of data are stored in electronic form they are vulnerable to many more kind of threats than when they existed in manual form.

c) Discuss the THREE (3) most important tools and technology for safeguarding information resources.
i) Firewall - Prevents the accesses of private networks or system when connected to the internet from the unauthorized users.

ii) Encryption - Provide security for electronic transmissions through the unprotected network.

iii) Antivirus and Anti-spyware- One checks the system infections like viruses worms and deletes the malicious software's. While other will fights with the intrusive and harmful spyware programs.

Question 6 

a) Identity management software automates the process of keeping track of all information systems users and their system privileges, assigning each user a unique digital identity for accessing each system. 

Define authentication.
Authentication is the process of determining whether someone or something is, in fact, who or what it declares itself to be. Authentication technology provides access control for systems by checking to see if a user's credentials match the credentials in a database of authorized users or in a data authentication server.

 b) Identify and briefly describe FOUR (4) authentication technologies. 
i)      Is often established by using the passwords known only to the authorized users. An end user uses a password to log on to a computer system and for accessing specific systems and files 

 

ii)      A token is a physical device, similar to an identification card, that is designed to prove the identity of a single user.

 

iii).      A smart card is a device about the size of a card credit that contains a chip formatted with the access permission and other data.

 

iv)       Biometric authentication uses system that read and interpret individual human traits, such as fingerprints, irises, and voices, in order to grant or deny access. 

a) Describe ransomware.

Ransomware is a subset of malware in which the data on a victim's computer is locked, typically by encryption, and payment is demanded before the ransomed data is decrypted and access returned to the victim. The motive for ransomware attacks is nearly always monetary, and unlike other types of attacks, the victim is usually notified that an exploit has occurred and is given instructions for how to recover from the attack. Payment is often demanded in a virtual currency, such as bitcoin, so that the cyber criminal's identity isn't known.

b) State how do we prevent and protect our computer from ransomware

i)Restore any impacted files from a known good backup. Restoration of your files from a backup is the fastest way to regain access to your data

ii)Do employ content scanning and filtering on your mail servers. Inbound e-mails should be scanned for known threats and should block any attachment types that could pose a threat.

 c) Discuss the effects of computer crime to an organization.

i) The loss of intellectual property and sensitive data.
ii) Opportunity costs, including service and employment disruptions.
iii) Damage to the brand image and company reputation.

1. Security isn’t simply a technology issue, it’s a business issue. Discuss.

Security is an important business issue because it affects the competitive and strategic issues of the organization. As the lines between work and play blurs due to the advances of technology, it becomes more apparent that ‘Information Security’ within the workplace is not just the IT department’s issue. Information or data is a business enabler, it enables operations and productivity so, the security of it should be viewed as essential and promoted throughout the company – but, in most cases it is not.

2. Who poses the biggest security threat: insiders or outsiders?
Insiders is the person who poses the biggest security threat because the insiders have the knowledge about the security of an organization. one of the things that the insiders to is hacking the security because they know better the flow of the organization compared to the outsiders. this is because the insiders have 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.

 

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?
             One of the greatest threats to an e-commerce is poor management. When the management is not committed to ensuring security and does not support budgets for purchase of anti-virus software licenses, that keep internal networks robust will cause pose a big security threat. The lack of proper anti-virus makes the e-commerce vulnerable to viral attacks. To minimize or reduce this threat, Management should commit to regular IT security audits of the e-commerce website to ensure that security is optimized and all potential problems are dealt with as soon as they occur.

            E-commerce security issues relate to internal business networks and an interface between transactions done by the customer and the network. Hackers pose a threat to the security of the network, because they can gain access to internal systems via the e-commerce website. Such threats can be avoided by using a firewall between the website and the internal network, and by encrypting all the transaction data.

CASE STUDY 1
THE LOOMING THREAT OF CYBER

1. Is cyber warfare a serious problem? Why or why not?
It shows that cyber ware is a core problem as it is more complex than conventional warfare. Although many potential targets are military a country’s power grids, financial systems, and a communication network can also be crippled. Non-state actors such as terrorist ore criminal groups can mount attacks, and it is often difficult to tell who is responsible. Nations must constantly to be on the alert for new malware and other technologies that could be used against them, and some of these technologies develop by skilled hacker groups are openly for sale to interested government. it can make one of the government destroy in term of their financial or education. it is a serious matter to be look and must been solved because there are a lot of hackers that can obtain others government information

.
2. What solutions are available for this problem? Do you think they will be effective?

The solution that the country must take to prevent from this problem is Computer crimes or rules should therefore be established, maybe in combination with an organization monitoring the cyberspace, with large and serious consequences against states violating these rules. Cyber weapons won’t go away and their spread can’t be controlled. Instead, as we’ve done for other destructive technologies, the world needs to establish a set of principles to determine the proper conduct of governments regarding cyber conflict. They would dictate how to properly attribute cyber attacks, so that we know with confidence who is responsible, and they would guide how countries should respond.