Identifying and preventing vulnerabilities

• How to prevent vulnerabilities

  Penetration testing

  Anti-malware software

  Firewalls

  User access levels

  Passwords

  Encryption

  Physical Security
• Penetration Testing


  practice of deliberately trying to find security holes in your own system
• Goal of Penetration Testing

  identify targets

  identify possible entry points

  attempt to break in

  report back findings
• Anti-malware software


  will detect malware such as viruses, worms, trojans and spyware
• What happens when Anti-malware software detects malware

  when malware detected it is send to the anti-virus company where the malware is verified

  once verified the company creates a signature of the virus

  the signature is added to the virus database and computers will run an update
• Viruses can morph to avoid detection from anti-malware software which makes it harder to create a signature
• Encryption


  a way of securing data so that it cannot be read without the encryption key
• How Encryption works

  passwords stored by websites are almost always stored in an encrypted form

  if hacker obtains the data in the password database, they will not be able to read passwords easily

  devices and computers can also have their storage and hard disk data encrypted
• Encryption of transmitted data

  HTTPS (Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol)

  your web browser sends it key and form data, encrypting it with the server's key

  the server encrypts the web page you request using your web browser's key
• Encryption of individual files


  files can be encrypted individually on a computer using a password so only people with the password can view the file

  software such as zip files allow encryption to be applied
• Encryption of drives


  ordinary computer drives can be encrypted so that a password is needed to access the infomation

  for removeable media, special hardware can be bought which encrypts data on the disk
• Firewalls 


  separate a trusted network from an untrusted network

  data is sent around a network in small packets of infomation which are checked to see where they are coming from / going to

  packets that dont match filtering rules are dropped (packet filter)

  firewalls can be run on dedicated hardware or as software
• Firewall capabilities

  prevents attackers from gaining access to computers on a network

  can block certain malicious computers by filtering packets from a certain IP address

  can prevent access to certain ports on the network (port blocking)

  malicious or inappropriate websites can be blocked

  dedicated hardware firewalls are expensive

  software firewalls will slow down a computer
• User Access Levels


  Access rights may be set on disks, folders and even individual files

  People on different levels have different levels of access

  e.g. admin, teachers and students in schools have different levels of access to data
• Password policy

  passwords are often checked as they are created to make sure that the conform to the parameters given in a required policy
• Password policies feature examples

  minimum length of characters

  include at least one lowercase letter

  include at least one uppercase letter

  include at least on special character / symbol

  change password every month
• Physical Security

  where hardware, software and networks are protected by physical methods
• Examples of Physical Security

  Security lighting

  fingerprint scanners

  swipe cards