Page 31 - DCAP309_INFORMATION_SECURITY_AND_PRIVACY

Unit 2: Threats

As most sophisticated cyber criminals prefer targeting banks and government organisations, Notes
there is an urgent need to revamp the security system for Internet activities and to put in
place effective internal controls. As the hackers’ prime objective is to find secure IDs for
accessing networks for cyber burglary, authentication procedures should be made secure
and foolproof from hacking.
The rapidly-increasing use of mobile-banking technologies augments risks and increases
vulnerability. When a large number of customers prefer using wireless technology, iPhones,
iPads, and Android-enabled smart phones for financial services, the cyber criminal may
use the opportunity to phish with an application, and gain access to their secure credentials.

Ethical hackers are in greater demand to counter cyber crimes which are growing at an
alarming speed.
Experts specialised in different aspects of cyber policing, ranging from the relatively
inexperienced greenhorns to seasoned cyber security greybeards need to visualise the big
picture, anticipate potential attacks to the organisation and mitigate risks from cyber
hacking.
An ethical hacker is not a cyber criminal though he knows well the art and science of
hacking. He exercises his hacking expertise prudently for ethical concerns and deploys the
cyber tools effectively to counter hacking and to identify the loopholes in order to safeguard
the system from lethal cyber criminals.
Cyber Security
Ethical hacking must be encouraged for detection and prevention of automated application
attacks, because hackers are becoming adept at automating attacks by intensifying
computerised attacks at smaller, vulnerable and largely homogenous targets.
For this, IT security professionals should monitor and analyse attack data, extract relevant
information, share information for enlarging the knowledge base for identifying attacks
and select appropriate mitigation tools.

They must ensure that controls are in place at all times to deter automated attacks. Securing
data confidentiality, and availability in the cyber realm is becoming an increasingly
challenging objective for the government and private sectors. Organisations must engage
competent, well-trained, skilled, information security professionals to continuously
monitor and manage cyber threats and secure sensitive organisational information assets.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/mentor/article2356616.ece

2.5 Summary

 Any person, act, or object that poses a danger to computer security is called a threat.
 Any kind of asset that is not working optimally and is mission-critical or essential to the
organization, such as data that are not backed-up, is called a vulnerability, while anything
imperfect is called a weakness.
 Threats from outside the organization must be addressed, since the damages
from non-secured information system can effect in disastrous consequences for the
organization.

 By network-based threats we signify that to be effective, latent attackers need network
access to corporate computer systems or to networks accessed by corporate computer
systems.

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