1.4.2

• Penetration testing:

  • Penetration testing (or pentesting) is when organisations employ specialists to simulate potential attacks on their network- deliberately trying to find security holes in their own system
  • The goal is to:
  • Identify the targets of potential attacks
  • Identify possible entry points
  • Attempt to break in
  • Report back the findings
• Penetration testing:

  • External penetration testing:
  • Targets: e-mail servers, web servers or firewalls
  • Goal: Can the hacker get in and if so, how deep and what can they do
  • Internal penetration testing:
  • Targets: Anything within a certain company or site
  • Goal: What damage can a disgruntled employee do with standard access rights
• Anti-malware software:

  • Used to locate and delete malware, like viruses, on a computer system. The software scans each file on the computer and compares it against a database of known malware. Files with similar features to malware in the database are identified and deleted
  • There are thousands of known malware, but new forms are created each day by attackers, so anti-malware software must be regularly updated to keep systems secure
  • Other roles of anti-malware software:
  • Checking all incoming and outgoing emails and their attachments
  • Checking files as they are downloaded
• Firewall:

  • A firewall manages incoming and outgoing network traffic
  • Each data packet is processed to check whether it should be given access to the network by examining the source and destination address
  • Unexpected data packets will be filtered out and not accepted in the network
• User access levels:

  • Control which parts of the network different groups of users can access
  • Files can be 'Read-Only' or 'Read and Write'
  • User access levels help limit the number of people with access to important data, so help prevent insider attacks on the network
• Passwords:

  • Passwords help prevent unauthorised users accessing the network
  • Passwords should be strong - they should be many characters long, use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols - and be changed regularly
• Encryption:

  • Encryption is the process of scrambling data into an unreadable format so that attackers cannot understand it if intercepted during transmission
  • The original data (known as plaintext) is converted into scrambled ciphertext using an encryption key. Only at the correct destination will the encryption key be used to convert the ciphertext back into plaintext to be understood by the receiving computer
• Physical security:

  • Hardware, software and networks are protected by physical methods
  • Locks and passcodes are used to restrict access to certain areas
  • Surveillance equipment can be used to deter intruders
  • Other methods used are intruder alarms, fences, walls and barbed wire, security guards, ID cards and turnstiles