Cyber Security

Cyber Security

1. LO1 - Understand what is meant by cyber security

   • 1.1
     • Definition of Cyber Secuirty
       • The technologies, processes and practices used to protect networks, programs, computer systems and data from damage, attack and/or unauthorised access
     • CIA Triad
       • Confidentiality
         • This is used to protect sensitive, private information from unauthorised access
       • Integrity
         • This is designed to protect data from deletion or modification from any unauthorised party
       • Availability
         • This refers to the availability of your data. It is designed to protect data from unauthorised destruction
         • Authentication mechanisms, access channels and systems all have to work properly for the information they protect and ensure it's available when it is needed
   • 1.2
     • Types of cyber security incidents
       • Unauthorised access
         • Unauthorised access is gaining access to computer systems, networks, data and programs without permission
       • Modification of Data
         • This is when an individual or group gains access to a system using a range of tools to steal, destroy of alter the data or the software which manages the information
       • Inaccessible data
         • There are ways which users can be denied access to services or data to where they need the necessary permission. This is usually done by malicious software
           • Examples include an automatic account lockout, a malicious email link and DoS attacks
       • Destruction
         • Data can be destroyed intentionally through the methods of malware
           • Examples include viruses and Trojan horse software
             • Some sofware can randomly destroy data whereas Trojans target specific data such as personal records or payments
       • Theft
         • This is when hackers gain access to specific information about individuals and use this material to create a new identity and set up new accounts such as bank accounts for criminal transactions or sell properties which are owned by someone else
       • Information disclosure
         • Organisations and individuals maintain large amounts of information which can be personal and confidential to the employee or employer
   • 1.3
     • The need to protect personal data
       • Losing your personal data can lead to identity theft.
     • The need to protect an organisations data
       • Organisations are required to take necessary steps to protect financial and personal information held about employees and failure to do so can result in fines and appearances in court
     • The need to protect a state's data
       • State's need to make sure that their personal information has not been revealed to the public
       • Governments hand and retain massive amounts of information ranging from handwritten documents to recent digital data
         • Most information will be of limited interest and value but some information can be very valuable

2. LO2

   • 2.1
     • Vulnerabilities
       • System attacks
       • Physical threats
       • Environmental
       • Accidental
       • Intentional
       • Organised crime
       • State sponsored
     • Key terms
       • Cyber dependant crime
         • These acts include the spread of viruses and other malware, hacking and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks
           • Dependant on the use of computers
       • Cyber enabled crime
         • Committing crimes such as fraud, theft and bullying via IT
           • Can be done without the use of computers
       • Data mining
         • The process of using special software to look at large amounts of computer data in order to find out useful information
       • Money Laundering
         • The process by which criminals hide the origin of the proceeds of their crime, by transferring money through different bank accounts and countries to make it look as if it comes from a legal source
     • Types of threats that digital systems face
       • Spam
         • Irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purpose of advertising, phishing and spreading malware
       • Trolling
         • Make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them
       • Phishing
         • The practice of sending emails purporting to be from a reputable company in order to gain personal information
       • Smishing
         • The practice of sending text messages purporting to be from a reputable company in order to gain personal information
       • Vishing
         • The practice of making phone calls or leaving voice messages purporting to be from a reputable company in order to gain personal information
       • Pharming
         • The practice of directing internet users to a bogus website that mimics a real one in order to gain personal information
       • Spyware & key-logging
         • Software that enables a user to obtain covert information about another's computer activities by transmitting data covertly from their hard drive
       • Viruses
         • A piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or destroying data
       • Forums
         • A website or webpage where users can post comments about a particular issue or topic and reply to other user's posting
       • Cookies
         • A packet sent by a web server to a browser, which are used to identify the user and track their access to the server
   • 2.2/2.3
     • Types of hackers
       • Scammers
       • Phishers
       • Insider
       • Hacktivist
       • Cyber criminal
       • Script Kiddie
       • Vulnerability broker
       • Cyber Terrorists
     • Motivations
       • Espionage
         • The practice of spying or using spies
       • Righting percieved wrongs
         • If you have been done wrong by a company or person
       • Publicity
         • Notice or attention given to someone by the media
       • Fraud
       • Score settling
       • Public good
       • Thrill
       • Income generation
     • Types of phishing attacks
       • Phishing
         • The practice of sending emails portraying to be from a reuptable company in order to gain personal information
         • You can avoid a phishing attack by identifying the attacker before you become a victim
       • Pharming
         • You can avoid a pharming attack by using a trusted and legitimate Internet Service Provider
         • The practice of directing internet users to a bogus website that mimics the appearance of a real one, in order to obtain personal information
       • Spear phishing
         • The practice of sending emails ostensibly from a known or trusted sender in order to reveal confidential information
         • You can avoid a spear phishing attack by identifying the attacker before you become a victim
   • 2.6
     • Types of hackers
       • White Hat Hacker
         • These are ethical hackers, or a computer security expert, who specialise in penetration testing and in other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organisation's information systems
       • Black Hat Hacker
         • A Black Hat Hacker is an individual with extensive computer knowledge whose purpose is to breach or bypass internet security
     • Ethical hacking
       • Ethical hacking and ethical hacker are terms to describe hacking performed by a company or individual to help identify potential threats in a computer or network
         • For hacking to be ethical the hacker must obey the following rules
           • Expressed permission to probe the network and attempt to identify potential security risks
           • You respect the individual's or company's privacy
           • You close out your work, not leaving anything open for you or someone else to exploit at a later time
           • You let the software developer or hardware manufacturer know of any security vulnerabilities you locate in their software or hardware, if not already known by the company
       • An ethical hacker attempts to bypass system security and search for any weak points that could be exploited by malicious hackers. This information is then used by the organisation to improve the system security, in an effort to minimise or eliminate any potential attacks
     • Hacktivism
       • This is the act of hacking a website or computer network in an effort to convey a social or political message. The person who carries out the hacktivism is known as a hacktivist
     • Surveillance & Monitoring
       • Surveillance is simply a company or individual’s way of watching what an employee is doing, usually without their knowledge. This happens in different ways, network logs, activity monitoring, web logs, problem tracking, screen watching. Some of these are basic tools used by the network manager, other tools that are accessed only when a fault has been noticed or recurring.
     • The ACTS
       • Data Protection Act 1998
         • The Data Protection Act was designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filling system
       • Computer Misuse Act 2000
         • This protcts personal data held by organisations from unauthorised access and modification
       • Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
         • Regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications
       • Communications Act 2003
         • The Communication Act consolidates the telecommunication and broadcasting regulators in the UK. The act introduced legal recognition of community radio and paved the way for full-time community radio services in the UK.