Threats to an ICT system

Threats to an ICT system

1. Internal

   • Employees
     • Employees could sabotage the company by selling confidential data for personal gain, or accessing off limits data. They could also introduce a virus via a memory stick onto the system.
     • However, the employee could also take their laptop home and it could get stolen which is beyond their control.
   • Human error
     • Procedures may not be followed which could be things like not locking the computer when left unattended, or not locking the door to the office when leaving the office. These simple things could put sensitive data at risk from unauthorised access.
     • Employees may also not have a strong enough password which could result in their account being hacked in order to access restricted data on the system.
   • Methods of prevention
     • Procedures: these are essential as it means that all staff should follow the same procedure. For example when staff are leaving a computer unattended, they should lock their computer and if they are the only one in the office then the door should be locked. Both of these should ensure that first of all an intruder can't access the computer and then, if they did manage to then they shouldnt be able to access the system because of the password.
     • Different levels of access in the network. This would mean that any one trying to gain unauthorised access to the network wouldn't be able to just go on any computer like a low level employee and have access to the entire network. In order to have access to the more sensitive data they would need to go to a computer which is used by someone higher up in the organisation. However. the ICT equipment for someone higher up would probably have more security like actual security guards and possibly biometric locks on the doors.

2. External

   • Viruses
     • A virus could be introduced to the system in one of two ways. Either an email could be sent to an employee which contains the virus so that it can infect the system, or an employee could introduce the virus through a USB or hard drive-either by mistake or on purpose.
   • Spyware
     • Spyware is software that enables a user to obtain covert information about another's computer activities by transmitting data covertly from their hard drive.
   • Hackers
     • Hackers are people who gain unauthorised access to a network or data.
   • Methods of prevention
     • Firewalls to protect against unauthorised access from hackers. They provide a series of code in which the hacker would face when trying to gain access which would be hard to break through.