Outline of computer security
Short description: Overview of and topical guide to computer security
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to computer security:
Computer security; security applied to computing devices such as computers and smartphones, as well as computer networks such as private and public networks, including the whole Internet. The field covers all the processes and mechanisms by which digital equipment, information and services are protected from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction, and is of growing importance in line with the increasing reliance on computer systems of most societies worldwide.1) Computer security includes measures taken to ensure the integrity of files stored on a computer or server as well as measures taken to prevent unauthorized access to stored data, by securing the physical perimeter of the computer equipment, authentication of users or computer accounts accessing the data, and providing a secure method of data transmission.
Essence of computer security
Computer security can be described as all of the following:
Areas of computer security
Access control; selective restriction of access to a place or other resource. The act of accessing may mean consuming, entering, or using. Permission to access a resource is called authorization.
:* Computer access control; includes authorization, authentication, access approval, and audit.
:::Authentication
::::* Knowledge-based authentication
:::::* Integrated Windows Authentication
::::* Password
:::::* Password length parameter
:::::* Secure Password Authentication
:::* Secure Shell
:::* Kerberos (protocol)
:::* SPNEGO
:::* NTLMSSP
:::* AEGIS SecureConnect
:::* TACACS
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Physical security; protecting property and people from damage or harm (such as from theft, espionage, or terrorist attacks). It includes security measures designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, (such as a computer room), equipment (such as your computer), and resources (like the data storage devices, and data, in your computer). If a computer gets stolen, then the data goes with it. In addition to theft, physical access to a computer allows for ongoing espionage, like the installment of a
hardware keylogger device, and so on.
Data security; protecting data, such as a database, from destructive forces and the unwanted actions of unauthorized users.<ref name=“Summers, G. 2004 p4-5”>Summers, G. (2004). Data and databases. In: Koehne, H Developing Databases with Access: Nelson Australia Pty Limited. p4-5.))
Information privacy; relationship between collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public
expectation of privacy, and the legal and political issues surrounding them. Privacy concerns exist wherever
personally identifiable information or other sensitive information is collected and stored – in digital form or otherwise. Improper or non-existent disclosure control can be the root cause for privacy issues.
Internet privacy; involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, repurposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet. Privacy can entail either Personally Identifying Information (PII) or non-PII information such as a site visitor's behavior on a website. PII refers to any information that can be used to identify an individual. For example, age and physical address alone could identify who an individual is without explicitly disclosing their name, as these two factors relate to a specific person.
Mobile security; security pertaining to smartphones, especially with respect to the personal and business information stored on them.
Network security; provisions and policies adopted by a network administrator to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network-accessible resources. Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator.
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Internet security; computer security specifically related to the Internet, often involving browser security but also network security on a more general level as it applies to other applications or operating systems on a whole. Its objective is to establish rules and measures to use against attacks over the Internet. The Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information leading to a high risk of intrusion or fraud, such as phishing. Different methods have been used to protect the transfer of data, including encryption.
World Wide Web Security; dealing with the vulnerabilities of users who visit websites. Cybercrime on the Web can include identity theft, fraud, espionage and intelligence gathering. For criminals, the Web has become the preferred way to spread malware.
Computer security threats
The variety of threats combined with the rapid development of new threats has made cyber insecurity and the removal of information assurance the 'status quo'. As long as man continues to use the computer, man will also takes interest in manipulating, modifying, creating and bypassing 'rules' and 'security standards.'
The most common and effective method of violating computer security protocols is Phishing; Phishing is the process of providing a cloned login page for a site the victim uses, for example, Google's Gmail - once the user enters his/her login information, the data is captured and access to the victims account is gained.
Many corporations executive's, mid-ranking managers and even low level staff of many current U.S. corporations have no idea that a malicious user is quietly and passively intercepting their communications. Why? A strong motivation is the theft of Intellectual Property. Often victims of phishing either never become aware there privacy has been breached, or many months pass before they become aware that their privacy has been lost.2)
Methods of Computer Network Attack and Computer Network Exploitation
Social engineering is a frequent method of attack, and can take the form of phishing, or spear phishing in the corporate or government world, as well as counterfeit websites.
Computer defenses and security measures
Access control
Access control; selective restriction of access to a place or other resource. The act of accessing may mean consuming, entering, or using. Permission to access a resource is called authorization.
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Physical security; protecting property and people from damage or harm (such as from theft, espionage, or terrorist attacks). It includes security measures designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, (such as a computer room), equipment (such as your computer), and resources (like the data storage devices, and data, in your computer). If a computer gets stolen, then the data goes with it. In addition to theft, physical access to a computer allows for ongoing espionage, like the installment of a
hardware keylogger device, and so on. Examples of physical security system components include:
Application security
Data security
Data security; protecting data, such as a database, from destructive forces and the unwanted actions of unauthorized users.<ref name=“Summers, G. 2004 p4-5”/>
Information privacy; relationship between collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, and the legal and political issues surrounding them. Privacy concerns exist wherever personally identifiable information or other sensitive information is collected and stored – in digital form or otherwise. Improper or non-existent disclosure control can be the root cause for privacy issues.
Internet privacy; involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, repurposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet. Privacy can entail either Personally Identifying Information (PII) or non-PII information such as a site visitor's behavior on a website. PII refers to any information that can be used to identify an individual. For example, age and physical address alone could identify who an individual is without explicitly disclosing their name, as these two factors relate to a specific person.
Mobile security
Mobile security; security pertaining to smartphones, especially with respect to the personal and business information stored on them.
Network security
Network security; provisions and policies adopted by a network administrator to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network-accessible resources. Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator.
Internet security; computer security specifically related to the Internet, often involving browser security but also network security on a more general level as it applies to other applications or operating systems on a whole. Its objective is to establish rules and measures to use against attacks over the Internet. The Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information leading to a high risk of intrusion or fraud, such as phishing. Different methods have been used to protect the transfer of data, including encryption.
Virtual private network (VPN); extends a private network across a public network, such as the Internet. It enables a computer or network-enabled device to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while benefiting from the functionality, security and management policies of the private network.
3) A VPN is created by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections, virtual tunneling protocols, or traffic encryptions.
IPsec; protocol suite for securing Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each IP packet of a communication session. IPsec includes protocols for establishing mutual authentication between agents at the beginning of the session and negotiation of cryptographic keys to be used during the session. IPsec can be used in protecting data flows between a pair of hosts (host-to-host), between a pair of security gateways (network-to-network), or between a security gateway and a host (network-to-host).
OpenVPN; open-source software application that implements virtual private network (VPN) techniques for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It uses a custom security protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS for key exchange. It is capable of traversing network address translators (NATs) and firewalls. It was written by James Yonan and is published under the GNU General Public License (
GPL).
World Wide Web Security
World Wide Web Security; dealing with the vulnerabilities of users who visit websites. Cybercrime on the Web can include identity theft, fraud, espionage and intelligence gathering. For criminals, the Web has become the preferred way to spread malware.
History of computer security
Computer security industry
Computer security software
Testing labs
independent organization which evaluates and rates antivirus and security suite software for Microsoft Windows and Android operating systems, according to a variety of criteria. Every other month, the researchers publish the results of their testing, where they list which products they awarded their certification.
ICSA Labs; independent division of Verizon Business that tests and certifies computer security software (including anti-spyware, anti-virus, and firewall products), for a fee.
Virus Bulletin; magazine that conducts tests of anti-virus software. The magazine itself is about the prevention, detection and removal of malware and spam. It regularly features analyses of the latest virus threats, articles exploring new developments in the fight against viruses, interviews with anti-virus experts, and evaluations of current anti-malware products.
West Coast Labs; tests computer security products for a fee. Its Checkmark Certification program reports test results to the public.
Computer security companies
McAfee, Inc. (Intel Security); American global computer security software company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and the world's largest dedicated security technology company. On February 28,
2011, McAfee became a wholly owned subsidiary of
Intel. In early 2014, Intel announced it would rebrand McAfee as Intel Security in 2014.
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Computer security publications
Journals and magazines
The Hacker Quarterly; technical and political articles of interest to the internet security community
Virus Bulletin; magazine about the prevention, detection and removal of malware and spam. It regularly features analyses of the latest virus threats, articles exploring new developments in the fight against viruses, interviews with anti-virus experts, and evaluations of current anti-malware products.
Books on computer security
Books on cryptography
Cyber security communities
Computer security organizations
Academic
CERIAS; a center for research and education of information security for computing and communication infrastructures located at Purdue University.
CERT Coordination Center; A program of
Carnegie-Mellon University that develops advanced methods and technologies to counter large-scale, sophisticated cyber threats in partnership with other academic programs and with government and law enforcement agencies. The Cert Knowledgebase compiles information on information security incidents.
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Georgia Tech Information Security Center; department of Georgia Tech that deals with information security issues such as cryptography, network security, trusted computing, software reliability, privacy, and internet governance.
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Oulu University Secure Programming Group; studies, evaluates and develops methods of implementing and testing application and system software in order to prevent, discover and eliminate implementation level security vulnerabilities in a pro-active fashion. The focus is on implementation level security issues and software security testing.
Commercial
Government agencies
ARNES; Academic and Research Network of Slovenia, which is responsible for development, operation and management of the communication and information network for education and research. It includes the SI-CERT, the Slovenian Computer Emergency Response Team.
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Law enforcement agencies
Internet police; police and secret police departments and other law enforcement agencies in charge of policing the Internet. The major purposes of Internet police, depending on the state, are fighting cybercrime, as well as censorship, propaganda, and monitoring and manipulating the online public opinion.
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FBI Cyber Division; Federal Bureau of Investigation division that heads the national effort to investigate and prosecute internet crimes, including “cyber based terrorism, espionage, computer intrusions, and major cyber fraud.” This division of the FBI uses the information it gathers during investigation to inform the public of current trends in cyber crime. It focuses around three main priorities: computer intrusion, identity theft, and cyber fraud. It was created in 2002.
National Security Agency; The United States Bureau responsible for national cybersecurity and military communications protection.
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US-CERT; also known as the
United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, organization within the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD); a branch of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications' (CS&C) National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). US-CERT is responsible for analyzing and reducing cyber threats, vulnerabilities, disseminating cyber threat warning information, and coordinating incident response activities.
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Independent non-profits
Independent web-sites
Attrition; information security-related website, updated at least weekly by an all-volunteer staff. The “Errata” section is devoted to pointing out inaccuracies, omissions, and other problems with mainstream media related to computer security and hacking. Additionally, staff members publish opinion pieces such as “Security Rants” pointing out problems with the computer security industry.
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Persons influential in computer security
John McAfee; founded McAfee Associates (later called McAfee, Inc.; Intel Security) in 1987, resigned from the company in 1994. At the
DEF CON conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in August 2014, he warned Americans not to use
smartphones, suggesting apps are used to spy on clueless consumers who do not read
privacy user agreements.
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Phil Zimmermann; creator of
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), the most widely used
email encryption software in the world.
11) He is also known for his work in
VoIP encryption protocols, notably ZRTP and Zfone. He was a principal designer of the cryptographic key agreement protocol (the “association model”) for the Wireless USB standard.
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Monica S. Lam –
Stanford University computer science professor, director of its MobiSocial Computing Laboratory, involved in Programmable Open Mobile Internet 2020 of the National Science Foundation.
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Moti Yung—Israeli cryptographer currently at Google research.
See also
Clear
Clear may refer to:
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Snippet from Wikipedia: Clear
Clear may refer to:
- Transparency, the physical property of allowing light to pass through
Disambiguation
Disambiguation
© 1994 - 2024 Cloud Monk Losang Jinpa or Fair Use. Disclaimers
SYI LU SENG E MU CHYWE YE. NAN. WEI LA YE. WEI LA YE. SA WA HE.
© 1994 - 2024 Cloud Monk Losang Jinpa or Fair Use. Disclaimers
SYI LU SENG E MU CHYWE YE. NAN. WEI LA YE. WEI LA YE. SA WA HE.
References
External links