Intro to Information Security Module 1

Difficulties in Defending Against Attacks

Universally connected devices

Attackers from anywhere in the world can send attacks

Increased speed of attacks

Attackers can launch attacks against millions of computers within minutes

Greater sophistication of attacks

Attack tools vary their behavior so the same attack appears differently each time

Availability and simplicity of attack tools

Attacks are no longer limited to highly skilled attackers

Faster detection of weaknesses

Attackers can discover security holes in hardware or software more quickly

Delays in security updating

Vendors are overwhelmed trying to keep pace by updating their products against the latest attacks

Weak security update distribution

Many software products lack the means to distribute security updates in a timely fashion

Distributed attacks

Attackers use thousands of computers in an attack

User confusion

Users are required to make difficult security decisions with little or no instruction

3 Protections of Information

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability

3 Protections to Secure Information

Authentication, Authorization, Accounting

Products

Forms the security around the data. May be as basic as door locks or as complicated as network security equipment

People

Those who implement and properly use security products to protect data

Policies and Procedures

Plans and policies established by an organization to ensure that people correctly use the products