As the Internet becomes more ubiquitous, so do network attacks. There are security breaches in the news almost daily. Notable breaches include WikiLeaks, Target, Home Depot, Wyze camera, Equifax, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Ashley Madison, and so on.
Even during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, malicious actors took advantage of the public panic to deploy malware to infiltrate viruses and code into users’ computers and mobile devices to steal data. When hackers gain access to important personal data, they can wreak havoc or completely bring services to a standstill.
Common entities at risk are financial systems industry, utility industry, aviation industry, consumer devices industry, large corporations, automobile industry, government, medical systems industry, and the energy sector. Therefore, it is important to secure every computer and every component of a network. This week, you will learn about several types of attacks. Common security attacks today consist of social engineering, spoofing, denial-of-service attack, direct-access attacks, eavesdropping, phishing, privilege escalation, and tampering. You will also learn how to defend a computer from such attacks.
The most common defense mechanism used today to secure a computer or a network is a firewall. A firewall can be implemented in hardware or software form. A hardware firewall is a physical device that can be added to the network that has all kinds of security capabilities and can vet every packet coming into the network. A software firewall is a computer program that can be installed on individual devices of the network that can vet packets that arrive.
Besides firewalls, other methods are also used to secure computers. A common one is the use of authentication like two-factor authentication and password protection. Users are asked to use strong passwords or have another method of verifying their identity before accessing an account.
Social engineering is another kind of attack that has become widely popular among hackers in the last decade. Social engineering involves emails and phone calls sent to a user to find out more information about them, including login names, passwords, SSNs, etc. While there is no full-proof way of blocking social engineering attacks, one can be educated about their existence and be cautious before distributing any information to an unknown or unrecognized source.
Cybersecurity is a “hot field” today and the bureau of labor statistics predicts high job growth in this area in the next 20 years. Having sound knowledge of computer and network security will allow you to have a good career in this area.
Assignment: Critique Security Software
For this assignment, you must write a short paper describing ways to add security tools and appliances to the home network you designed for your sister in the previous assignment to make it secure.
Your paper should address the following:
- Anti-virus software
- Firewalls
- Intrusion prevention systems
- Intrusion detection systems
- Encryption software
- Passwords and authentication
Length: 2–3-page paper, not including title and reference pages
References: Include a minimum of 3 scholarly resources.
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