Network Security - Password Cracking and Computer Viruses

Information security is essential to protecting personal and sensitive data from unauthorized access or disclosure. Both individuals and organizations must prioritize information security to ensure privacy, maintain trust, and comply with laws and regulations.

Information security is crucial for protecting individuals' and organizations' sensitive data from unauthorized access or release. Information security helps organizations ensure privacy, maintain trust, and comply with laws and regulations. Unauthorized access through security breaches often leads to fines and lawsuits, as the organization is liable for protecting its user's data. Organizations usually handle sensitive data such as customer information, financial records, and trade secrets. If this data were to fall into the wrong hands, it could have severe consequences for the organization and its customers.

For individuals, information security is essential for protecting personal information such as name, address, date of birth, and financial information like a social security number. Individuals interact with the Internet in various forms, knowingly and unknowingly sharing personal data. An example yet to be widely known is the metadata shared in photos, frequently including the date and location the individual took the picture (Vahid, 2019). Although there are many forms of security, individuals should know that data shared on the Internet is not fully protected.

In the age of the Internet, where personal information can be easily accessed and potentially exploited by cybercriminals, it is more important than ever to prioritize information security. Many types of attacks can compromise a system, including malware, ransomware, phishing, and DoS attacks, each with its symptoms and consequences. Using strong, unique passwords, practicing safe browsing habits, keeping systems and applications up to date, using a firewall, and educating users about computer security is essential.

In addition to the listed attacks, cybercriminals can use simple ping commands to execute ping floods, ping of death, Smurf attacks, and ICMP tunneling. However, these types of attacks are generally not effective on modern networks. Ping commands and traceroutes are typically utilized to troubleshoot network issues; however, abuse of this technology can overload websites and ultimately crash them. Over time the effectiveness of ping attacks has reduced due to increased security measures built into firewalls.

Networks can add levels of protection by utilizing stateful inspection firewalls. Protecting the Network from Denial of Service Floods provides in-depth explanations of optional capacity settings. Page ten shows a protection protocol for ping floods and the firewall's threshold of 1000 packets. This threshold is per second; upon reaching the threshold, the firewall immediately stops checking the packets and adds a second before resuming (Juniper Networks, Inc., 2008). However, many of these protections rely on up-to-date operating systems, antivirus software, and firewalls. This reliance is typically why small businesses are more at risk of cybersecurity attacks, as larger organizations have increased awareness and security protocols due to the detrimental and widespread impact a successful attack can have internally and externally.

Many companies implement password requirements, as far as even generating recommended passwords with built-in password management. Individuals tend to be more vulnerable to password cracking due to weak passwords, lack of password complexity, password reuse, password expiration, and poor password management. Using strong, unique passwords and a password manager is vital, and following good password management practices is critical. A good practice would be to update your passwords regularly, even if there is no prompt for password expiration.

Computer systems are vulnerable to viruses for several reasons. Many computer systems do not have adequate security measures to protect against viruses. These security measures can include antivirus software, firewalls, and updates to operating systems and applications. Individual users are often the weakest link in the security of a computer system. Users may unknowingly download and install viruses, open malicious email attachments, or visit websites that contain viruses. Network-connected computer systems risk infection by network-transmitted viruses, including viruses transmitted via email, instant messaging, or downloaded from the Internet. Modern computer systems are complex, with many different components and interactions. This complexity can create vulnerabilities that viruses can exploit. Viruses constantly evolve, and cybercriminals continue developing new types making it difficult for security measures to keep up and effectively protect against new threats.

Two recommendations for protecting a computer system or network from computer viruses include installing and maintaining antivirus software and keeping the operating systems and applications up to date. Antivirus software detects and removes viruses from a computer system. It is essential to install antivirus software on all computers and to keep it up to date to protect against the latest threats. Operating systems and applications often release updates that include security patches to fix known vulnerabilities. It is vital to keep all systems and applications up to date to protect against known threats.

In conclusion, information security is essential to protecting personal and sensitive data from unauthorized access or disclosure. Both individuals and organizations must prioritize information security to ensure privacy, maintain trust, and comply with laws and regulations. Many types of attacks can compromise a system. Implementing measures such as using strong, unique passwords, practicing safe browsing habits, keeping systems and applications up to date, using a firewall, and educating users about computer security to protect against these threats is essential. Taking these steps can reduce the risk of system compromise and protect against a breach's negative impact.


Reference

Juniper Networks, Inc. (June 2008) Protecting the Network from Denial of Service Floods https://jncie.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/801003_protecting-the-network-from-denial-of-service-floods.pdf

Vahid, F., et al (2019). TEC 101: Fundamentals of Information Technology & Literacy (7.1.2.). zyBooks. https://learn.zybooks.com/zybook/TEC101:_Fundamentals_of_Information_Technology_&_Literacy_(TED2249A)/chapter/2/section/9 (accessed January 2023).