Network Security
Information and system security is essential for individuals and organizations using internet-connected computer systems because these computers are easily susceptible to a variety of security attacks. A security breach is “a case of unauthorized computer access”. These breaches come in a variety of forms including being attacked by a computer virus, having web server’s shutdown, being locked out of a compromised system, being hacked and having secret programs like keyloggers installed that track every key you press on your keyboard, having sensitive information like suggestive photos, credit card or contact information stolen and even possibly leaked. An example attack is a denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack), such as Ping Flood Attack or the Ping of Death attack. DDoS attacks overwhelm the computer system “with too many requests for resources, such that it cannot respond to legitimate requests. (The University of Texas at El Paso, n.d.).” Security software can protect individuals and organizations from hacking events such as these.
Phishing is a deceptive practice that occurs when a fraudster recreates a legitimate email and sends it to an unsuspecting receiver. “The word derives from "fishing", where one puts out bait and hopes a fish will bite”. The recipient unknowingly opens the email believing it is authentic and clicks links in the message that allow the fraudster to compromise the recipient’s system. An example might be receiving an email from Amazon asking for credit card information. A customer of Amazon’s might not think twice about opening a purported email from Amazon.com or clicking a link to provide credit card information.
In a phishing scam, links in the email do not send credit card information to Amazon but to the hacker instead. Computer systems are vulnerable to phishing attacks because they do not know which emails are legitimate and which are not. They display email messages regardless, and it is up to the recipient to decide if they should open the message or click links within. To prevent phishing attacks, only open emails from people and businesses you know and solicit. Before you click a link, position your mouse cursor over the link and the links destination is displayed. If the links destination URL does not match the intended destination, it is most likely a phishing scam. Never respond to a suspicious email message. Additionally, antivirus software can also detect phishing emails and isolate them from your inbox.
Computer viruses come in many varieties such as worms, Trojans, and spyware. Some viruses are more crippling than others. A simple virus may compromise a web browser, or log keys pressed on a keyboard. Others may disable an entire computer system. Much like clicking a link in a phishing scam, the recipient of the virus often must click or execute the virus before it can compromise the system. Computer systems are vulnerable to computer virus attacks because they exploit security holes in operating systems and applications that allow them to run. Once the virus has been executed it wreaks havoc on the target system, sometimes severely, by wiping all data from the computer or preventing a user from logging in, other times it might run silently in the background unbeknownst to the user.
A system can be secured from computer viruses by installing antivirus software. Antivirus software scans computers looking for viruses and compromised files and can then isolate and repair issues it discovers. The “virus definitions” must be updated constantly for the software to be effective. “Preventing virus infection in PCs is difficult because tens of billions of new viruses are created per year, and these viruses should be removed from infected PCs” . Another solution for combating computer viruses is simply updating the computer operating system which will patch security holes that might be compromised by hackers.
References
Shimbo, K., Kurino, S., & Yoshikai, N. (2019). Credibility of Alert Messages for Computer Virus Infection. 2019 International Conference on Computing, Electronics & Communications Engineering (ICCECE), Computing, Electronics & Communications Engineering (ICCECE), 2019 International Conference On, 89–93. https://doi.org/10.1109/iCCECE46942.2019.8941863
The University of Texas at El Paso. (n.d.) Denial of Service Attack. https://www.utep.edu/information-resources/iso/security-awareness/technical-security-resources/what-is-dos-attack.html
Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/
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