Welcome to the module focusing on the security of data
in this module we'd like to think about why ensuring and maintaining confidentiality integrity and authenticity
of data should be in the main purpose and role of computer security policies.
Let's start by reaching back to the essence of this problem.
What is computer security usually fail against attacks.
The reason is that system users are often unaware of the threats they're facing.
And if they're unaware they can't counteract the threats.
The second aspect of data security that relates both to users and administrators is a failure to clearly
identify the resources that require protection.
There's a common thinking pattern that picture's a safe computer network separated from the big bad
internet with a firewall.
This has been outdated for some time now.
You can't base your security policy on this type of assumption.
One problem that relates only to computer systems administrators is their unchecked belief in technology.
We tend to think subconsciously that since we've paid a lot of money for security solutions provided
by a popular brand they'll be completely reliable and efficient.
If you don't know the mechanisms behind a solution or technology or don't even know attack vectors running
a piece of software or tool won't make you secure
users and administrators need to keep track of new developments and utilities in the system security
field and deal with threats differently than is shown in the slide.
Why is this also hard.
The main reason for this difficulty is a new growing trend known as the consumerization of I.T..
The tables have turned since the development of high tech software and devices
in the past.
New technologies were enterprise led and only after time emerged on the consumer market
devices were customized for the needs and goals of businesses.
Today there's no recognizable boundary between consumer and corporate technology.
Appliances and software are being designed with users in mind.
What are the effects of this reversal.
It's harder to say whether the smartphone you're holding is a company device or a private device.
The same technology can be used at work and for Play it wasn't quite this way a while back.
And this shift seems to have blurred the lines between business computer systems and home systems.
New developments mean that more and more people can work from home and we use our own devices a laptop
or a smartphone for work.
System administrators have limited control over these devices.
If there's any control at all
administrators can't force us to stop using our own devices because our productivity would be lowered.
We can do some tasks remotely while traveling or on holidays
companies can't ban sending e-mails from outside their offices.
While this would improve security it just simply isn't feasible.
Given this new emerging reality I.T. security staff have to reformulate their strategies and actions
a good solution for this problem was introducing a new term.
It's ridiculous to say that our security measures are ineffective because script kids launch exploits
remotely
advanced persistent threat has a different ring to it though.
Saying that we can be susceptible to threats that are advanced and persistent is not equivalent to an
admission of guilt.
Apt was coined and defined in 2006 by the US Army
when the military began to realize that existing computer security models were ineffective
funds on fighting launched attacks were irrationally high compared to the results.
Something had to be changed.
Originally referred to persistent threats or those threats that were a long term risk
are a good example of persistent activity is the slew of attacks on American high tech companies that
were detected by Google and occurred from 2006 to 2007.
In this attack e-mail boxes of the company's staff had been monitored for over a year.
Today advanced persistent threats are understood as attacks that successfully launch malicious software
on targeted computers.
Malicious software is a broad term.
We'll show you why launching a program can cause an attacker to take over a system
local attacks and large scale attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in security systems.
We'll talk about this vector in the following modules
by and large advanced persistent threats include internal attacks.
For the most part internal attacks render any technological protection measures useless.
The last category of threats cluster Zepps or the attacks that target trusted communications channels
the amount of information exchanged between computer systems is huge
intrusion detection systems implemented in banks and insurance institutions.
Often react only the active suspicious user actions
attackers exploit the tendency of special's ideas tools to react to unauthorized claims payments.
But ignore information extraction.