What Is Cyber Forensics and Why Is It Important for Businesses?

Cyberattacks are increasing with each passing day costing billions of dollars to organizations all over the world. Therefore, to ensure that the same vulnerabilities are not exploited again, organizations need cyber forensics experts to investigate and determine the root cause of cyberattacks while implementing much-needed security measures to prevent such attacks from happening in the first place.

This article will discuss cyber forensics, different types of cyber forensics, and the importance of cyber forensics in cybercrime.

What Is Cyber Forensics?

In simple words, cyber forensics is gathering, analyzing, and investigating data from a computer or mobile device, which is then converted into proof to be presented in court. The primary goal of cyber forensics is to determine who is responsible for cyberattack while documenting the evidence and subsequently performing a thorough investigation.

Cyber forensics is a necessary and integral tool in the fight against cybercrime. The list of cyber threats has exponentially grown in the last decade and includes various acts such as identity theft, cyberbullying, terrorism, and much more. Cyber forensics experts’ responsibility is to use different cyber forensics tools to investigate such cyberattacks and present actionable insights that the organization can use to take corrective actions.

Types of Cyber Forensics

The following are the different types of cyber forensics that you must know about if you are interested in having a career in cyber forensics.

1. Network Forensics

Network forensics is one of the types of cyber forensics that deals with monitoring and analyzing computer network traffic to collect legal evidence and important information that can help with the investigation process.

2. Database Forensics

Database forensics is another type of cyber forensics related to the study and thorough investigation of databases and the related metadata.

3. Email Forensics

Another type of cyber forensics is email forensics, which deals with the recovery and analysis of emails. The investigation includes recovering deleted emails, contacts, and information from calendars as well.

4. Mobile Phone Forensics

Another type of cyber forensics is mobile phone forensics, which deals with analyzing and investigating mobile devices. It generally involves recovering SIM and phone contacts, incoming and outgoing SMS, audio, videos, and call logs, among other things.

5. Malware Forensics

Malware forensics is another type of cyber forensics that deals with identifying malicious code and involves the study of their viruses, payload, and worms, among other things.

Importance of Cyber Forensics in Cybercrime

Cyber forensics plays an important role in the identification of cybercrime. It is needed for the investigation of crime-related activities and law enforcement. There have been several instances such as hacking and denial of service wherein the computer system act as the crime scene. Therefore, in such scenarios, the proof of the crime is hidden inside the computer system. This proof can be emails, documents, browsing history, or anything else. Therefore, to investigate the crime scene and present proof in the court of law, cyber forensics plays a crucial role in eliminating cybercrime.

Growth of Cyber Forensics Jobs

Cybercrimes are only increasing by the day. Therefore, organizations need computer forensics or cyber forensics experts to solve various cybercrimes. Moreover, the future of the IT industry lies within cyber forensics. With people becoming more and more dependent on technology, cybercrimes will only increase in the future. Therefore, there will be a lot of demand and growth the cyber forensics jobs.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Is Network Forensics? How to Successfully Examine the Network?

The growth in networking activity, connectivity, and complexity has been accompanied by increasing criminal activities conducted within the networks. Therefore, forcing both law enforcement and enterprises to undertake specialized investigations. However, making sense of fragile digital data inside the network can become a very complex and difficult task if one is not aware or specialized in network forensics.

In this article, we will discuss network forensics, different steps involved in examining network forensics, different tools available for network forensics, and the difference between computer forensics and network forensics.

What Is Network Forensics?

Network forensics analyzes the network traffic and monitors data packets transferred over the internet for intrusion and malware detection. It involves collecting and recording data, analyzing the issue, determining the best troubleshooting response, and implementing it.

Network forensics experts collect data from different websites and network equipment, including intrusion detection systems (IDS) and firewalls, to analyze network traffic data. Moreover, network forensics can also be used for monitoring, preventing, and analyzing potential attacks.

Network Forensics Examination Steps

The following are the seven different steps involved in the network forensics examination.

1. Identification

The first step in the network forensics examination is identification. This step is very crucial as it can have a huge impact on the conclusion of the case. The step involves the process of recognizing and determining the incident based on the different network indicators.

2. Preservation

The second step in the network forensics examination is preservation. In this step, the network forensic expert will isolate the data to ensure that people do not tamper with the evidence. There are different cyber forensics tools available that can help with the preservation of evidence. These include tools such as Autopsy and Encase.

3. Collection

The third step in the process is known as collection. In this step, the network forensic expert records the physical scene and duplicates digital evidence using the standard procedures and methods.

4. Examination

The examination is the fourth step in the process. In this step, the network forensic expert will record all visible data and examine different pieces of data that might be useful in the court of law.

5. Analysis

The fifth step in the network forensic examination is an analysis of the collected data. In this step, the expert will draw a conclusion based on the evidence that was collected and examined previously.

6. Presentation

The sixth step in the network forensic examination is the presentation of analysis. It means that the evidence is presented in the court of law, wherein the expert will summarize and provide an explanation of the conclusions at hand.

7. Incident Response

The final step in the network forensic examination is incident response. The detected intrusion is based on the data gathered for validating and assessing the incident.

Types of Tools Available

There are several different tools available that can help with network forensics. These tools include

1. dumpcap

2. Xplico

3. NetworkMiner

4. snort

5. Scapy

6. Libpcap

7. ngrep

All of these tools are designed to help you at different stages of the network forensic examination.

Difference between Computer Forensics and Network Forensics

Network forensics is a sub-branch of computer forensics or digital forensics. However, it is significantly different than digital forensics. For instance, network forensics deals with dynamic and volatile information, whereas computer forensics mainly deals with data at rest. That said, network forensics deals with the monitoring of computer network traffic for collecting legal evidence which can be useful in the investigation process.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How Penetration Testing Professionals Can Help Your Small Business

The digital age has motivated many young entrepreneurs to start their businesses. But this achievement has come with its own cost. Most small businesses have become vulnerable to cyberattacks because of weak policies and not taking the risk certainly. If you run an establishment like this, the risk factor will be similar. In such cases, penetration testing professionals will help you strengthen your IT infrastructure.

Read More: 312-96: EC-Council Certified Application Security Engineer (CASE) - Java

IBM’s The Cost of Insider Threats Global Report 2020 report shows that small organizations with less than 500 employees spend an average of $7.68 million per incident. Another research has also revealed that 43% of SMBs don’t spend any resources on cybersecurity, which often proves fatal. The pandemic has increased cybersecurity challenges. Penetration testing is a necessary process to figure out security vulnerabilities. If you run a small business, it will help your establishment in multiple ways. Here are a few reasons why penetration testing for small businesses is highly recommended.

What Is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing is an approved and planned cyberattack conducted to discover exploitable security vulnerabilities. Penetration testing professionals hunt for real-time weaknesses within your system that could jeopardize the confidentiality, integrity, and data availability (CIA-triad).

A penetration tester is akin to an attacker seeking gaps and vulnerabilities. However, they differ because the penetration tester is authorized to introduce the attack while the attacker isn’t. The goal of the penetration testing plan is to identify and remove the threat.

Why Small Business and Startups Are Unduly Targeted by Cyberattackers

Penetration testing for small businesses is necessary because it provides insight into your organization’s defenses from a hacker’s perspective. It is also a sure strategy to get a sense of your security posture. These tests use the same methodologies and technologies as an attacker to uncover loopholes.

Small businesses and startups are easy targets for cybercriminals because they are more vulnerable. They are also disproportionately targeted because they are less likely to invest in cybersecurity. Since your venture may be an easy target, penetration testing is critical for your business continuity.

How Penetration Testing Professionals Can Help Your Small Business

Now that you understand why penetration testing is essential for your small business, let’s examine how penetration testing professionals will be helpful.

Be one step ahead of cybercriminals

Your business continuity depends on your ability to uncover vulnerabilities before malicious attackers can exploit them. Penetration testing professionals can shed light on misconfigurations and loopholes that your cybersecurity strategy may have overlooked.

Ensure compliance is met

Most businesses are mandated to protect the sensitive information they carry. They are also liable to a lawsuit and other penalties if a data breach occurs. Financial industries and health care sectors are required to follow the PCI-DSS regulations for continuous and yearly penetration testing.

Save money in the long run

Most small businesses and startups don’t have defense strategies because they feel it is too expensive. However, penetration testing for small companies saves you money in the long run. Adhering to penetration testing best practices will be cost-effective when you think about all the benefits you stand to enjoy. Moreover, a penetration testing plan will guide you in distributing your cybersecurity budget to get most of the money spent.

Expose the capabilities of your network defenses

The more time a vulnerability goes unnoticed, the more time an intruder has to exploit such weaknesses. Based on the insights offered by Ponemon Institute, the standard time necessary to detect a data breach is ideally 197 days. These attackers use that period to steal confidential information, redirect your customers to another site, or even shut down your website indefinitely.

However, penetration testing professionals can assess your defense systems’ capabilities and the people in charge of your networks. They use pen tests to illuminate whether your IT team has the necessary tools in place. Or whether your intrusion detection/protection systems are effective.

Besides, an independent tester can quickly assess your system, gauge your security team’s efficacy, and discover other existing gaps in the system.

Secure Your Small Business with CPENT

Small businesses have a limited budget, so it is understandable to see your reprehensions about the penetration testing process. In such cases, a better idea is to facilitate penetration testing training for your IT team. Pentesting professional certification will add cybersecurity specialists to your system without any additional expenses.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Are Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)?

As digital technology continues to evolve in nearly every business today, threat intelligence data collection has garnered a lot of attention, helping companies make informed decisions about their network security. Threat intelligence analyst rely on accurate data collected on Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) to effectively carry out their roles and responsibilities in the security system.

Threat intelligence is a beneficial investment for organizational security as it allows you to identify and stop attacks. The main objective of threat intelligence is to provide you with an in-depth overview of the cyber threats that could become a great risk to your data and help you protect your business.

Whether you’re a CISO worried about attacks or an aspiring Threat Intelligence Analyst, this blog will help you on everything you need to know about IOCs and the part they play in threat intelligence.

What Is Threat Intelligence in Cybersecurity?

Threat or information security intelligence in cybersecurity is the knowledge of collecting and analyzing data to understand and prevent cyberattacks. It also outlines the security vulnerabilities in your system that need to get fixed to protect your sensitive data from the paws of cybercriminals. This detailed and strategic cyber threat intelligence presents a clear roadmap for your IT security team to enhance your security posture.

What Does Threat Intelligence Data Do? Why Is It Important?

Nowadays, organizations collect and analyze a massive amount of data across multiple security systems. On top of that, there are limited professionals available to handle data streams, increasing the few data analysts’ burdens. Threat intelligence is the solution to data collection issues. Some of the best threat intelligence solutions utilize the latest Machine Learning (ML) tools to automate everything from data collection and processing to loading it into your application database. ML tools help organize data collected from various sources and try to match a common point between these data. The tools feed in the Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and Indicators of Attack (IRAs) and the tactics of threat actors to get an optimal result.

What Are IOCs?

IOCs are pieces of data collected by incident handlers, threat hunters, digital forensic analysts, or the Security Operations Center (SOC) that indicate a breach/compromise of the organization’s system or network.

IOCs are proof that a cyberattack took place and provides information on what happened. It is an ongoing process, especially for IT companies, to identify malicious data and manage cybersecurity so it is used in the future to prevent cyberattacks. Organizations develop a specific capability to understand and identify IOCs on their network and use an incident response plan to avoid the thread and recover the affected malicious system.

Any unnatural element or a tampered element found within the network/system could be considered an Indicator of Compromise. The typical Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) acknowledged examples of IOCs are virus signatures, IP addresses, MD5 hashes of malware files, URLs and domain names of bot or botnet command and control servers, encrypted files, logs, etc.

Many open-source threat exchange (OTX) platforms, such as AlienVault, IBM X-Force, Anomali Threat Stream, SolarWinds, Palo Alto Networks Autofocus, LogRhythm, etc., provide IoC details shared by many industries and organizations. These IOC lists generally consist of suspicious and blacklisted email IDs, File Hash (Imp hash, MD5, SHA, Pehash), IP address, NIDS, URI, URL, Bitcoin address, etc.

The SOC of an organization could incorporate these details into their IDS (Intrusion Detection System), and IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) rules to monitor and validate against the incoming traffic. These open-source indicators are also known as Indicators of Concern, which the vulnerability assessment system could use to match and identify IOCs.

IOCs to Watch Out For

Compromises can happen anywhere, anytime. Here’s a list of what you should be on the lookout for.

◉ Login anomalies

Login failures indicate that an authorized user is trying to login into an existing account to access the data.

◉ Increase in database read volume

Many companies and organizations store essential data in databases, making them the prime target for the attacker. Hence, as the read volume in the database increases, it is an identification of the attack.

◉ Huge HTML response 

Extracting the essential data from a web application by SQL injections contains a huge HTML response size compared to a general request.

◉ Identifying web traffic

Detect web traffic that does not look like human activity.

◉ Mobile setting changes:

Most cyberattacks are through mobile devices. It is always good to check the settings or app replacement used for a cyberattack.

What Are IOAs?

IRAs are the detection of the attacker’s tactic and techniques to perform the attack. IOA takes place before an attack becomes real. It takes up the gap left by IOCs. It also allows the company to act before the malware can be exploited. It is a collection of multiple IOCs used to create threat models. With the aid of an intelligent program, IOAs identify defensive strategies against new threats.

How Are IOCs Used in Threat Intelligence?

Cyber threat intelligence is information that an organization or a company uses to understand immediate and future threats. In the context of threat intelligence, IOCs also play an essential role in determining the future threats’ characteristics by taking necessary steps to prevent attacks. For example:

◉ Domain names URL and IP addresses

Malware targets the internal host that is in contact with the attacker.

◉ Attachment and email address

In a phishing attack, the attacker sends an email containing a link or an attachment, initiating a malware command once accessed. For instance, by clicking on the link sent by the hacker, you are redirected to an official-looking organization’s page, which is a bogus page appearing precisely like the real page, where both new and existing passwords are requested. The attacker, monitoring the page, hijacks the first password to access the secured areas on the network. The user is redirected to the password renewal page. However, while being turned, a malicious script activates the background to hijack the user’s cookies. Always double-check the links and attachments you receive.

Differences Between IOCs and IOAs

IOCs are responsive measures.	IOA are proactive measures.
IOCs are used after an attack occurs.	IOAs are used in real time when an event occurs.
IOCs detect security events.	IOAs detect the intent of the attacker.
IOCs help IT professionals and security teams to identify the intrusion of the attacker.	IOAs are used to back up the data gathered by the IOCs.

Why Is Cyber Threat Intelligence Important?

There are tons of advanced and sophisticated cyber threats trying to outsmart the security system of vulnerable organizations. Cyber threat intelligence will provide an overview of your attacker, allowing you to work at mitigating the threats and forestall future attacks proactively. In the context of cyber intelligence analysis, IOCs play a defining role in determining the characteristics, motives, and tactics behind an impending attack. The IT security team can zero-in on the specific data set out of the large chunks of data on the ground. This data condensation lessens the security team’s burden as they don’t need to deal with a massive chunk of data.

According to security experts, even though not all cyberattacks are related to each other, most of them are just a variant of one or the other. During threat analysis on a compromised system, threat hunters and analysts look for suspicious URLs and IP addresses to bypass network security.

Threat intelligence helps analyze these IOCs and provides a detailed picture of how to safeguard your system against these kinds of threats in the future.

How Do You Use Cyber Threat Intelligence?

Your organizations can take advantage of cyber threat intelligence to accomplish the following:

Predict: The best threat intelligence programs handled by experienced and skilled professionals can help organizations to mitigate any cyber threats in the future.

Prevent: Businesses mostly rely on threat intelligence reports to predict any impending attacks and stop them in the first place. These cyberthreat programs can utilize malware and virus signatures to detect and prevent virus attacks.

Detect: Threat intelligence cybersecurity programs help organizations detect attacks in the future and detect any current anomalies or vulnerabilities.

Respond: With all the data on hand, including the motive, tactics, and threat actors involved in the impending attacks, you can plan your next move easily. Threat intelligence reports help organizations to respond to attacks in the best way possible by enhancing their security posture.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Is Blockchain a Linked List?

A blockchain is a collection of transaction blocks that is finite, organized, and back-linked. If you want to learn about Blockchain thoroughly, you must first understand linked lists. A linked list is a set of linear data structures linked together by links. Each link in the blockchain is connected to its corresponding link.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES)

If this sounds confusing to you, don’t worry. This article will break down the similarities and differences between blockchains and linked lists so you get a clear understanding of both.

What Is a Linked List?

A linked list is a set of linear data structures linked together by links. Each link in the linked list is connected to its corresponding link. Every node stores data called an element. In a linked list, each node has at least two parts:

1. The first part contains Data.

2. The second part contains a Pointer to the next node.

A linked list does not store the elements at contiguous memory. A pointer represents the first node of the linked list, and the first node is called a Head. The value of the head is NULL if the linked list is empty. Linked plans can increase in size, and inserting and deleting elements from them is simple since we need to adjust the pointers of the previous and next elements to insert or remove an element.

Linked lists are generally used to create file systems and hash tables.

What Is a Blockchain?

A blockchain is a network of peer-to-peer nodes that stores transactional records, also known as blocks; in many databases, it is referred to as chains.

This type of storage is generally called a digital ledger. Any transaction in this ledger is found with the owners’ digital signature, verifying the transaction and protecting it from tampering. As a result, the data in the digital ledger is highly stable.

Data is organized in a blockchain by dividing it into subsets known as blocks. The notes on the linked list are similar to blocks. There are several elements in each block, and they are divided into a block header and its transactions. The transactions in a block account for most of the data. The block header includes important information about each block, such as the timestamp and the block height.

A digital ledger is like a Google spreadsheet that is exchanged between multiple devices in a network. It stores transactional records based on the actual purchase. The main advantage here is that everyone can view the data, but nobody can manipulate it.

A block consists of a header and transactions. A Merkle tree is used to generate a 256-bit summary of all transactions included in the block header.

A transaction is a message to the network that specifies which unspent transaction outputs are being spent and which new UTXOs are being created.

Differences Between Blockchains and Linked Lists

Blockchain	Linked List
In a blockchain, the reference is cryptographically encrypted and tamper-evident.	The Pointer is a linked list that can be frequently changed without disturbing the data integrity.
A hash function is used to define a previous block in the blockchain.	Linked lists use a pointer function to define a previous node.
As a structure, a blockchain is far more complex.	A linked list is a structural way of storing and organizing data.
Blocks are available for storing all data related to transactions. These blocks chain link with their parent hash with the unique hash number.	The complete list in the linked list works as a chain, so it is easy to trace the previous node.
Tampering and data manipulation are almost impossible in a blockchain.	A linked list is a simple list where data manipulations can happen.
A blockchain is a completely functioning autonomous system.	The linked list lacks data validations which ensure the integrity of the linked list.
Deleting data in a blockchain is impossible.	A linked list can delete data.
Rearranging blocks in a blockchain is possible.	Rearranging nodes is not possible in a linked list.

Are Blockchains Related to Linked Lists?

Blockchains can be represented as a singly linked list. While they have a close structure to that of a linked list, they are not a linked list. A linked list is a programming language data structure. In contrast, a blockchain is an incredibly high-end technology. Blockchains have a hash function, whereas linked list have a pointer function. Each block contains a hash of the parent block or previous block and has a unique number, which can be viewed as a pointer to the last block. In a blockchain, each transaction is stored in one Merkle Tree. So yes, blockchains do have several characteristics in common with a linked list data structure.

Final Verdict: Blockchains vs. Linked Lists

To answer the original question this article put forward, no, a blockchain isn’t a linked list. While they do have things in common, such as the data in a blockchain being divided into blocks similar to that of a linked list, they are still separate entities. Every block in a blockchain is connected to the previous block via a cryptographically secure connection. On the other hand, a single linked list is a data structure for storing data in which a pointer connects the nodes. In the case of blockchains, Merkle trees are used to store data in each block. Merkle trees, in turn, use the hash to connect each block. Furthermore, the cost of creating and maintaining a public blockchain is very high.

If you interested to know more about blockchain, check out EC-Council’s Certified Blockchain Professional (CBP) program. It provides in-depth knowledge of blockchain fundamentals, applications of blockchain technology, and advanced blockchain development by the topmost experts in blockchain from around the world.

Source: eccouncil.org

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A CISO’s Guide to Third-Party Risk Management and Why It’s Important?

An organization runs with the help of various small third-party companies, also known as vendors. The organization may, on its need, be outsourcing its work to legal advisors’ agencies, management bodies, private security companies, etc. This would mean the company’s sensitive information would be handed to the vendors to work on. If the third-party experiences data breaches, this would only put your data at risk. As a solution, we see organizations adopting third-party risk management programs to oversee all aspects of secure onboarding of third parties and all forms of risk mitigation associated with the vendor.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES)

An organization using a third-party is quite common as not all organizations have the ability to create their own software. Occasionally, they will also outsource an amount of work to a vendor, should the need arise. Third-party makes it easy for an organization to focus on the vital work and distribute the unnecessary load. This helps increase productivity and efficiency of work for the organization. However, this also entails the risk associated with the third-party vendors. Let us find out more about this in the blog.

What Is Third-Party Risk Management?

Third-party risk management (TPRM) is a term used to refer to the act of scanning, obtaining information, and controlling the risk associated with third-party vendors and service providers. A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), coordinating the third-party risk management program, is responsible for identifying all the vulnerabilities with the vendor, examining the severity of the vulnerability, and mitigating the risk early on to avoid future trouble.

The motive behind implanting third-party vendor risk management is to mitigate any possibility of data breach risk, business disruption, and unethical actions taken by a third-party vendor, which could result in the downfall of business operations. When only 16% of the organizations effectively mitigate third-party vendor risk, there is a need for TPRM.

What Is Third-Party Risk Assessment?

Third-party risk assessment means examining every risk associated with the third-party vendor. The objective is to learn of all the loopholes that the third-party might bring to the organization. If this goes unchecked, there is a high chance that hackers will target third-party vendors to gain access to the organization’s sensitive information. This could mean business disruption and loss of profit. Data breaches could also severely affect the organization’s reputation in the market.

Various risks to look for are operational risk, security risk, business failure, and reputation risk. These risks are identified by the CISO of the organization.

The steps involved in the third-party risk assessment process are:

◉ Recognize and find all the risks that could result through association with the third-party.

◉ Analyze the vendor’s level of access to your network, data, and systems. This would determine the severity of risk with each third-party.

◉ Review service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure the third-party performs within its provided guidelines.

◉ Examine and solve the risk associated with individual vendors to your organization according to the importance of sensitive data each vendor holds.

◉ Constantly monitor for risk and stay up-to-date with the new industry standards of handling risk and the new vulnerability that vendors pose.

Types of Third-Party Risks

It is essential to know the type of risk associated with vendors to the organization. Here are few third-party dangers to be aware of while associating with a vendor.

◉ Reputational Risk: Your reputation depends on the person you associate with. For example, the vendor’s negligence to maintain its reputation could result in an attack toward its associates and the call to boycott its products.

◉ Operational Risk: The risk associated with failed procedure and system could result in business disruption. This presents a high risk in matters of high-profile failure of vendors.

◉ Transactional Risk: Security lapses in the transaction may result in unauthorized access, misuse of data, sharing of sensitive information of the company to the vendors. Hackers could exploit this sensitive information.

◉ Strategic Risk: The risk of a failed business decision by vendors may reflect on the organization’s worth. A wrong decision by the vendor diminishing the company’s worth is fatal.

◉ Legal Risk: Regulation violation by the vendor could cost legal expenses or even lawsuits to the organization.

Why Is TPRM Important?

Third-party risk management (TPRM) is essential to reduce unnecessary risks and costs associated with third-party cyber threats. Third parties present a variety of cybersecurity threats that must be evaluated and mitigated. A wide range of other aspects, such as ethical business practices, corruption, environmental impact, and security procedures, are covered by third-party risk management.

The operations of third parties can directly affect the company’s reputation. Third-party management is more than just monitoring for cybersecurity flaws and offering third-party enforcement advisory services. Third-party risk management also helps make the merging and acquisition of other companies risk-free and ensures smooth execution of the deal.

Third-Party Risk Management Framework

Businesses need to have a well-developed third-party risk management policy covering all levels of risk and all phases of a third-party lifecycle, from initial risk assessment to business continuity. The risk assessment should be part of organizational controls and should include the supply chain and other risk assessments by external parties. Establishing a third-party risk management framework, regardless of its risk profile, is an essential part of internal audit and risk reduction.

As companies become more decentralized, consistent third-party governance structures are becoming more important. In many organizations, particularly those operating in controlled environments, the third-party risk is a topic on board agendas.

Challenges of TPRM

1. Less visibility: Today’s third-party environments are so large and diverse that it’s difficult to define and manage relevant protection, access, enforcement, and resiliency risks.

2. Regulatory responsibility: Companies are under increased pressure to handle third-party threats due to global regulations.

3. Digital expansion: As organizations expand their third-party communities virtually, cybercriminals look for vulnerabilities in these communities.

4. Evaluation: Update third-party arrangements with data protection and confidentiality provisions taken into account.

5. Protection: Link your third parties to the standards of your organization. It should be an essential onboarding element for a new supplier.

6. Investment: Organizations should consider third parties and invest in them by offering management, culture, risk, and information security to third parties.

7. Communication: Being in constant contact with your third parties and proactively resolving their issues would go a long way toward establishing and retaining confidence in these difficult times.

Five Steps to Mitigate Third-Party Risk

We should always ensure a vendor presents minimal risk to the organization. Five steps to ensure third-party risk are adequately mitigated are:

1. The organization should hire an expert, i.e., a CISO, and establish a vendor management program to ensure proper assessment of the risk involved with the third-party in periodic intervals.

2. The next step involves ranking vendors according to the level of risk they pose to the organization. Organizations should conduct an industry-decided examination to assess the level of severity involved with the third-party. Decisions and rules imposed by the third-party vendors should be in line with the organization’s interests.

3. Proper monitoring of third-party tools and apps requires that third-party tools meet the industry standard and there is no risk of business disruption presented to the company. It is crucial to check the third-party vendors and agencies appropriately to mitigate any future business disruption risk.

4. The smallest links that the hacker could exploit should be checked for any faults, i.e., end-point security. There should be proper end-point security products to monitor network usage and mitigate any risk associated with the end-user.

The expert should stay up-to-date and ready to fight any new vulnerability associated with the vendors. Third-party tools providing intelligence about the current vulnerabilities like National Vulnerability Database should be used to stay up-to-date to fight possibilities of risk.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Are Wireless Attacks? How to Investigate Them Successfully?

In today’s business environment, wireless networks play a crucial role in how businesses conduct their daily operations. Using wireless networks, businesses have eased out several processes and have also got rid of the clutter created due to hundreds of wires. That said, wireless technologies are also offering a convenient solution for business needs. They are fast and more practical. But they also set free employees from the mess created by cables and wires.

Read More: 312-96: EC-Council Certified Application Security Engineer (CASE) - Java

However, it is no secret that wireless technology is more vulnerable to intruders and attacks. This article will discuss wireless attacks along with the different types of wireless attacks and how computer forensics programs can be used for investigating wireless attacks.

What Are Wireless Attacks?

With the growing use and adoption of the internet, businesses can conduct their daily operations online and without being tied down to wires and cables. The wireless network is one of the newest technologies being offered by the internet to the digital world. Of course, they are easy to use and facilitates the growth of your business. But they also help in mobilizing your business much more efficiently.

However, on the downside, wireless technology is much more vulnerable to intruders and cyberattacks. Commonly known as wireless attacks, intrusion and penetration in the business network can pose a serious threat to the organization. Wireless attacks aim to steal confidential information being sent over the network. Thus, making it imperative for businesses to ensure the security of their network.

Types of Wireless Attacks

The following are the different types of wireless attacks that computer forensics personnel should know:

1. Rogue Access Point

Rogue Access Point is one of the many different types of wireless attacks. It is also referred to as an unauthorized access point on the network. The rogue access point can be created by a cyberattacker or even by a misinformed employee.

Rogue Access Point can even make the entire business network vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) attack, ARP poisoning, and much more. From the organization’s point of view, you can make use of network access protocols or network access controls to protect your organization from Rouge Access Point wireless attacks.

2. Packet Sniffing

Business networks are designed to accelerate and facilitate the traffic of information. As a result, the information is sent in the form of data packets across wireless and wired networks.

However, because of the wireless network’s nature, these data packets are sent through the air. Thus, making it easier for intruders and attackers to capture them. With the help of free access tools such as Wireshark, attackers can easily read the information inside the data packets. Therefore, if the organization wants to protect their confidential information, they must invest in efficient encrypted solutions.

3. Jamming

Also known as network interference, Jamming aims to disrupt the business network. Because of the wireless nature, avoiding interference is almost impossible. Even a microwave or a pair of Bluetooth headphones can also cause interference on the business network.

Cyberattackers or intruders often combine the jamming technique with other wireless attacks such as evil twinning. Therefore, if you want to protect your organization from such types of wireless attacks, invest in a spectrum analyzer. This will prevent your organization from interference.

4. Evil Twinning

It is one of the most commonly used wireless attack techniques wherein the attackers get a wireless access point and then configures it as the existing network. Therefore, making it difficult to differentiate between the evil access point and the actual access point.

One of the easiest ways to protect your organization from the evil twinning type of wireless attacks is to opt for data encryption. Therefore, even when the intruders create an evil twin, they cannot read the data.

How to Investigate Wireless Attacks Using Digital Forensics/Computer Forensics?

Cloud forensic specialists use different cyber forensic tools such as Wireshark to investigate the different types of wireless attacks on the organizational network. Thus, allowing businesses to conduct their daily operations much more effectively.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How to Handle a Data Breach and Form an Incident Response Plan

Data breaches are far deeper than what appears on the surface. They are not just temporary terrors but can leave a long-lasting impact on the person or the organization. A data breach is the intended exposure of sensitive/confidential data to an untrusted environment by an unauthorized individual or organization for personal gains. In common terms, it can be called a data leak or data spill. The severity depends on the type of information leaked and on the victim.

Data breaches are often used to seek revenge or blackmail a rival for various purposes. The rate of data breaches is increasing rapidly, and it’s now not a matter of if it happens but when it happens. This blog will delve into your first steps towards mitigating a data breach and how to avoid data from being leaked.

What Is a Breach Notification?

The probability of a data breach happening is very high nowadays. A company’s Cyber Insurance team and Risk Management team are essential to address this probability, as they can calculate and determine a breach with an accuracy of 90%. Data breaches are on the rise because most data is now stored on the cloud and digital storage units. The probability of a data breach hitting an organization is inevitable.

Being prepared beforehand and having a response plan ready to reduce the aftermath of a data breach can save the organization from huge financial losses and minimal data loss. The most commonly used attacks in data breaches are phishing, malware attacks, ransomware attacks, and DDOS attacks.

A data breach literature survey conducted in the year 2019 shows that 64% of Americans have not checked if they have been affected by major data breaches. 56% confessed that they wouldn’t know what to do if they were victims of a data breach attack. It is important to notify the victim whose data was affected in a data breach attack and hire lawyers specialized in the field to help the victims with various legal concerns. 48 states in the U.S. have Breach Notification laws which state that the victim whose data was involved in the attack should be notified.

The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)has laws relating to data breaches. Article 34 states that “When the personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the controller shall communicate the personal data breach to the data subject without undue delay.”

Data breach laws differ from country to country and have different stances, and it is always advised to seek legal counsel if your organization is dealing with a data breach.

If the breach has data related to Protected Health Information (PHI), one should evaluate if the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Notification Rule can be applied. The HIPPA Notification Rule details the steps and measures to be taken. A Breach Notification report can be done by summing up all the necessary information about when the breach took place, what kind of data was compromised, if the motives were known, etc.

How to Respond to a Breach

After discovering unauthorized data access (data breach), the first and foremost priority is to incorporate the incident response plan to minimize the damage as much as possible. Analyze what kind of data was breached (specifically which data), when it happened (time frame), whom the data belongs to, etc. The following are the steps to be taken within 48 hours of a data breach:

◉ Try to contain the breach. Time is essential in such crucial situations, and hence it’s important to try to stop the breach as early as possible. The type of the breach and the systems infected are responsible for determining the methods used to contain the breach.

◉ Isolate the systems (source) responsible for the breach. This prevents the malware or virus from spreading.

◉ Freeze all the data transmission and cut off any incoming or outgoing data internally and externally.

◉ Confirm that logging is going on to track all the entries and actions taking place.

◉ Determine the impact of the data breach and work on solutions to reduce the damage.

◉ Communication is key during such incidents. Communicate with the required internal personnel to explain the breach and its course, analyze the situation, and plan a better solution.

◉ Update the response plan and the recovery plan incorporated with better solutions to prevent any kind of attack.

Difference Between Data Breaches and Bug Bounties

A data breach is the compromising of confidential/sensitive data, whereas a bug bounty is a program that helps in the identification of a vulnerability that can prevent data breaches. The differences between the two must be understood to have a clear perspective.

A bug bounty program authorizes the participants to infiltrate the platform to identify vulnerabilities. This is not considered a data breach as the company authorizes it and the program has certain rules to be followed. Anyone found violating the rules of the program will be disqualified and reported to the authorities. A data breach is completely different from a bug bounty program as it is not authorized and is done to damage/acquire data using unethical means.

Forewarned Is Forearmed

Always be prepared for the worst. To avoid a data breach from taking place in the future, it’s important to learn from previous mistakes and regularly learn about the new ways in which a breach can take place. It is important to have the best response team to tackle the situation and reduce risks.

Companies should update their Incident Recovery Plans, patch up vulnerabilities, and be prepared to tackle attackers if a breach occurs. The breach response is the most challenging and difficult task in security testing. Protect your sensitive data against a data breach by incorporating the following:

◉ Train your staff and employees. Educate them about the various ways in which data breaches happen.

◉ Enforce password policy to set up a strong and secure password. Change it monthly, ensuring authenticity and authorization.

◉ Monitor the data being transferred/shared throughout the company. This ensures security and helps in identifying an attack easily.

◉ It is important to limit access to confidential data and ensure only professionals handle it.

◉ Patch vulnerabilities and keep the system updated. Install strong firewalls and antivirus & anti-malware programs.

◉ Include BYOD security policies that require employees to use the organization’s app, thus tracking all the system’s actions.

◉ Encrypt sensitive data and devices which prevent unauthorized access to the data.

◉ A breach recovery plan should be fast and efficient to contain the breach and reduce the damages caused by it.

Data breaches are the most difficult situations to deal with as they cause long-term damage and chaos. It is very important to act sensibly and seek help legally in case one’s data is involved in a data breach. Take the necessary measures and always be prepared for the inevitable.

Get certified as Penetration tester

Organizations should perform penetration testing regularly to prevent data breaches and cyberattacks. Although only a few large-scale organizations carry out penetration testing on a regular basis, all types of businesses can benefit from this assessment. To access data breach one professional needs in your firm is a penetration tester or an ethical hacker.

You can start your cybersecurity training at any stage of your life. But it works better if you start your certification program with knowledge of the basics of hacking and penetration testing. After this, you should take the certification path once you are confident enough to crack the exam.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Is Raid? How Does It Help In a Digital Forensics Investigation?

RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is the technology that is used for enhancing the reliability or performance of data storage. The RAID storage system consists of two or more drives that work in parallel. These drives can be hard discs. However, people also use the technology for Solid States Drives (SSD). This article will discuss RAID in more detail, along with the different RAID levels and how it can help in digital forensic investigations.

What Is RAID?

As discussed previously, RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. It means that RAID is a way for putting together multiple disks logically into a single array. The idea to put multiple disks together is to make them work as one to achieve higher speed and reliability which is generally offered by expensive types of disks. Being said that, the exact type of reliability and speed that you will achieve will be dependent on the type of RAID that you are using. The following are the different levels of RAID.

Popular RAID Levels

1. RAID Level 0 – Striping

In the Level 0 RAID storage system, the data is split up into several different blocks and is then written across every drive in the array. With the use of multiple disks at the same time, it provides users with superior input-output performance. Being said that, RAID Level 0 offers higher performance in both read and write operations. Moreover, it allows for using all storage capacity.

Ideally, RAID Level 0 is used for non-critical data storage which has to be read/written at a high speed. For instance, image retouching and video editing station.

2. RAID Level 1 – Mirroring

In the Level 1 RAID storage system, the data is stored twice by writing it on the data drive as well as on the mirror drive. Therefore, when the drive fails, computer forensics personnel can use either the mirror drive or the data drive to recover data. Being said that, RAID Level 1 provides an excellent read and write speed which is also comparable to the single drive.

Ideally, RAID Level 1 is used for mission-critical data storage. For instance, accounting systems.

3. RAID Level 5

The Level 5 RAID storage system is the most secure and common RAID level. It requires a minimum of 3 drives, but can also work up to 16. Being said that, data blocks are striped across different drives and on one of the drives, the parity checksum of all block data is written. Even when the drive fails, computer forensics personnel can access all the data. Such is the advantage of RAID Level 5.

Being said that, RAID Level 5 is the perfect RAID storage system that combines efficient storage with great performance and security.

4. RAID Level 10

RAID Level 10 is the combination of RAID Level 1 and RAID Level 0. It is a nested RAID storage system that offers the advantages of both RAID Level 1 and Level 0. For instance, it provides higher security by mirroring the data on secondary drives, while stripping across a different set of drives for higher data transfer speed.

Another advantage of RAID Level 10 is that, if something goes wrong, the rebuild time is very fast. This is because the computer forensics personnel only have to copy the data from the surviving mirror to the new drive.

How Can RAID Help In Digital Forensic Investigations?

Because of their ability to store a large volume of data, computer forensics personnel can use RAID disks to gather evidence during their investigation. Through the use of different digital forensics tools, computer forensics investigators can acquire the disk image and then evaluate the data storage.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Why Is Web Security Important for Enterprises?

Nowadays, the web is among the primary channels used by businesses to interact with their customers. However, cybersecurity has become the top focus for both small businesses and big companies worldwide as cyberattacks can be damaging to business in many ways. This is why there should be cybersecurity measures for businesses set in place by experts to help prevent any type of threat. This is where web security for enterprises comes in.

This article will break down everything you need to know about enterprise web security, from what cybersecurity is to web application security best practices.

What Does Cybersecurity Mean for Businesses?

Nowadays, a cybersecurity protection plan is important to operate your business efficiently and to protect your customers’ information. This is because business data is now more vulnerable than it ever was before. Web security is about using the latest technology at your company and about staying ahead of risks and disasters that can affect a business.

Also, businesses can use a layered security model when creating a cybersecurity protection plan. This model usually starts with the internet, and it ends with your employees.

Importance of Web Security for Small Businesses

There is a need to protect any web or cloud that collects private information from the user or it becomes quite easy for attackers to steal it. However, it is quite easy for a potential hacker to spread malware on an unsecured web. Without web security, hackers can even hijack or crash the site.

Some of the information hackers can steal from an unsecured web is customer name, email address, credit card information, and other transaction information.

3 Reasons Why Organizations Need Web Security

Here are some reasons why enterprise web security is important:

1. It denotes trust and competency

As an enterprise, customers and clients will trust you with their credit card information, money, and other data. This is why it is important to set up the right cybersecurity protection plan to avoid a data breach. Furthermore, once customers start to lose trust in your business, you may lose even more revenue.

2. It is important for SEO

Nowadays, search engines can blacklist a web, based on the security of the site. Your search engine rank may be stripped if your site is not secure or it shows malicious intent, which means you will not be found in a regular search result. This will surely affect your digital business model as nobody will want to trust a business with an unsecured site.

3. It prevents customer data exploitation

You can use security companies, hosting companies, extensions, and plugins to protect customer data. However, the best security company are those that frequently ethical hacking on your site to test it. This will then help discover and mitigate any web security vulnerabilities in your system to prevent data loss.

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Business

Here is some web security solution to help mitigate cyber-attacks to your business.

1. Use a firewall

A firewall is known as the first line of defense. It is recommended that all businesses set up a firewall to help shield their data from cybercriminals. Apart from the standard external firewall, you can also install internal firewalls to provide additional protection. Furthermore, employees working from home should install a firewall on their home network as well.

2. Educate all employees

Companies need to ensure that all the employees who are accessing the network are trained on the company’s security policies to prevent cyber attacks. Furthermore, there must be a regular update of a new protocol with the employees as the IT expert updates security policies.

3. Regularly back up all data

A company’s network can get breaches no matter the level of precautions that a company takes. This is why companies should back up all their data to aid business continuity after a network breach. However, you should ensure that the backups are stored in a different location in case of flood or fire.

4. Use multifactor identification

An employee can make a security mistake that can make your network vulnerable and expose your data. However, by using multifactor identification, you can provide an extra layer of protection if this happened.

5. Install anti-malware software

Although the IT experts may have educated all your employees not to open phishing emails, you need to install anti-malware software on all devices and networks to help detect and mitigate malware in a system.

6. Anti-virus/malware updates

Every day, there are new viruses that hackers deploy. This is why businesses need to ensure that they keep their anti-virus and anti-malware software up to date to help fight them. However, if you do not update your anti-virus software, this means it will not be able to detect and protect your system from new viruses infiltrating your system.

Source: eccouncil.org

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New Emerging Job Opportunities in India for Women in Cybersecurity

Diversity in workplaces is a growing need of this era. Every company is in the race to reduce the gender gap ratio and add more women to influential positions. The cybersecurity industry is also striving to do the same. There is a subtle but growing demand to include women in cybersecurity and reduce the gender gap in this male-dominated profession.

We cannot blame this gap on a small number of professionals. The IT industry is one of the biggest in the world and has millions of employees working in different departments. India itself produces 1.5 million engineer graduates each year, on approximate. Of this, less than 30% are women. The number increases slightly if you consider employability. At the same time, the cybersecurity industry in India is growing rapidly and is projected to be worth USD 35 billion by 2025. Increasing diversity and the number of female cybersecurity experts will help the industry grow even more.

This is the right time for women IT professionals, students, and other individuals to consider a career in ethical hacking and other cybersecurity jobs. Many new job opportunities are coming up with a clear scope for gender balance. As a part of this industry, you’ll get a chance to be a trendsetter in the coming future.

The Need for Gender Balance in the Cybersecurity Industry

Several industries depend on technology to run their business. As more and more operations are digitized, the threat from hackers is increasing. Such issues have increased the need for cybersecurity experts, and the number of professionals in this field is too low. A survey suggested that about 53% of organizations have testified to have a shortage of cybersecurity skills. If you combine this requirement with the diversity movement, it is undoubtedly the right time for female cybersecurity experts to take center stage. However, with more ethical hacking jobs for women, it is easy to close the talent gap and improve the industry’s condition.

Besides this, striving for gender balance has always proven beneficial for the companies that have experimented with it. Diverse workspaces mean more perspectives, better growth and learning opportunities, and improve in reputation. If we talk about cybersecurity in India, more businesses are adopting corresponding policies and employing professionals. IT professionals as well as students have shown interest in these job roles and many have started pursuing certification courses to start a professional career. But the sad fact is that the number of women in this profession is still not growing, and workplaces are still struggling to find solutions beyond traditional approaches.

The cybersecurity industry is male-dominated, but the scenario is slowly changing. Tessian interviewed 200 female cybersecurity professionals, out of which 49 percent revealed that Covid-19 had a positive impact on their career. The same survey found that 89 percent of women felt secure in their jobs. Given the gender disproportion, many companies have created new initiatives to attract more women in cybersecurity roles.

Why Women Are Underrepresented in Cybersecurity

The apparent deterrent for women to pursue a career in ethical hacking or any cybersecurity field is the perception that cybersecurity is a job for men. There’s a stereotype that women aren’t suited for these roles. Only 1% of female cybersecurity professionals are in leadership positions. In India, the number of top women in cybersecurity is even lower than this.

These perceptions may deter women from breaking into the field of cybersecurity. However, it is essential to look at the opportunities in this field. While there are several challenges for women in the ethical hacking industry, when you’re fortified with potential solutions, it penetrates and stays in any sector easier.

Future of Cybersecurity Jobs for Women

Several organizations are now fervently looking for women in cybersecurity to diversify their security teams. There are several ethical hacking jobs in India which means that women can consider a career with additional job security. There are women penetration testers as well as ethical hackers, blockchain professionals, etc., in Fortune 500 companies. Women are analysts by nature, and that they make great research scholars as well. It is also a rewarding career with ethical hacker salary in India starting at 3.5 lakhs per year and goes up to 15 lakhs. As a woman in IT industry, this transition will not only get you a better paygrade but will also provide you job security.

Here are some career options for aspiring female cybersecurity experts:

◉ Security Systems Administrator

◉ Information Security Analyst

◉ Lead software engineer

◉ Chief Information Security Officer

◉ Certified Ethical Hacker

◉ Global information security director

◉ Security Architect

◉ Security consultant

◉ IT Security Engineer

◉ Forensic Computer Analyst

◉ IT Security Consultant

Easy Transition to Cybersecurity Job Roles with EC-Council

As the largest certification body for Information Security professionals worldwide, EC-Council has been one of the voices advocating for more women in cybersecurity jobs. There is a clear shortage of ethical hackers in India, and these certification courses provide a chance for professionals from other industries to transition and find better job options. Being one of the topmost names for ethical hacker courses in India, EC-Council makes sure that their certified professionals create a benchmark on the industry.

EC-Council is on a mission to empower women. We pledge to work towards a gender-equal cybersecurity world. We are now offering upto a 25% discount on all courses & certifications to women aspirants. Our dedicated women-oriented programs will encourage new and current women undergraduates and graduates with tuition assistance worth $2500 so that they can come closer to their career goals.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How Network Security Will Help You Protect Your Personal Information Online

Digitization creates a competitive advantage for businesses, but it also exposes them to network security threats. Identity theft has become a rampant problem due to data breach issues. Everyone involved loses when personal information is compromised. Given the amount of data privacy breaches making headlines today, consumers are more concerned about ways to protect personal information online.

More Info: 312-76: EC-Council Disaster Recovery Professional (EDRP v3)

Loss of sensitive data can cause significant damages. Consumers can feel betrayed or even frustrated when they lose personal information. Employees who accidentally caused the breach can lose their jobs or compromise their performance in fear of something unprecedented. The organization itself can lose its reputation and consumer trust and face severe penalties.

This year, video game giant CD Projekt Red became a victim of a cyberattack. This issue halted many of their updates and caused reputation damage.

Network security doesn’t just benefit the organization, but they protect the personal information of clients or consumers who share information with the organization or to the public. Businesses should focus on strategies that protect personal information.

Social Engineering Attack Techniques

Social engineering is the terminology applied for a wide range of vicious behaviors achieved through human interactions. It implements psychological exploitation to dupe unsuspecting victims into sharing personal information online or making cyber mistakes. These attacks are launched in various forms and executed wherever human interactions are possible.

Here are some of the most common forms of social engineering attacks:

Phishing

A phishing scam is the most common form of social engineering assault. It looks like an email sent from a legitimate source with an undertone of urgency. However, once you click the link or the attachment, you could be installing malware or ransomware that will leak your private information online and sell it to other malicious groups.

Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is more focused and intricate. Personal cybersecurity measures often fail to differentiate between this tactic with a genuine email from a reliable source. It involves more effort and takes longer to pull off and is much harder to detect.

Baiting

Just as its name implies, baiting involves applying a misleading promise to arouse the victim’s interest or curiosity.

Pretexting

Pretexting involves retrieving personal information online through successions of expertly constructed lies. Cybercriminals use this scam to gather sensitive information like phone records, social security numbers, bank records, account details, staff vacation dates, etc.

Scareware

Scareware attack tricks victims into thinking that their system is injected with malware. This tactic then prompts them to install malware under the garb of it being antivirus software. This attack is also called fraudware, rogue, pretentious software, or scanner software.

Important Measures to Protect Personal Information

You can protect your personal information with elaborately designed network security practices. It will prevent identity theft, reputational damages, financial loss, and other severe penalties. Personal information includes email addresses, physical addresses, names, social security numbers, phone numbers, card details, medical records, etc.

◉ Organizations that adhere to privacy principles ensure that their organization respects clients’ rights and preferences or consumers whose information they collect. Consumers should have the choice to opt-out of using, managing, or transferring their data to third parties would help. Adequate security measures will protect personal information online from alteration, unauthorized access, loss, and other forms of risks.

◉ Read privacy policies to know how certain websites maintain access, accuracy, security, and control the personal information they access. You must follow online security best practices to ensure that your system can counter threats from hackers.

◉ Don’t share personal information online on platforms that don’t seem authentic. Always analyze the source that is asking for details and where it will be shared.

◉ Use passwords on your device and account. Don’t use the same password over and again. Ensure your passwords are strong and include combinations of numbers, words, and other characters.

◉ Install security software like antivirus, firewall, anti-spyware, etc.

◉ Beware of phishing emails: don’t open attachments, files, or links that you’re not sure are coming from a genuine source.

◉ Before you share personal information over a smartphone or PC connected to a public wireless network, make sure that your personal information is safe.

These measures are only fruitful in a big organization if you have blue team security officers’ expertise at your disposal. These professionals analyze system flaws, data flow, user behavior, and files downloaded by employees to predict a possible attack. As a senior leader of your organization, you can also encourage your IT staff members to undergo network defense training. The latest versions of these certification programs will train these individuals with everything necessary required to counter network security threats.

Source: eccouncil.org

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What Are The Most Important Types Of Cyber Threats?

A cyber threat is a malicious act that seeks to steal data, damage data, and disrupt digital life in general. Being said that, the different types of cyber threats include data breaches, computer malware, and viruses, and Denial of Service attacks among others. Cyber threats also aim to gain unauthorized access to systems and networks to steal, damage, or disrupt intellectual property or other forms of sensitive data. Thus, making it necessary for a business leader to have a basic understanding of the cyber threat.

In this article, we will discuss the cyber threat, different types of cyber threats, and various sources of cyber threats.

What Is Cyber Threat?

The internet has evolved exponentially over the last decade or two. With businesses around the world going digital and putting their resources, information, and sensitive data on the internet, many people are looking to get their hands on it through malicious techniques. This process of getting access to the organizational information and system in an unauthorized manner is referred to as a cyber threat. Being said that, the organization makes use of cyber threat intelligence to deal with and stop such malicious attempts at their networks and systems.

Types of Cyber Threats

The following are the different types of cyber threats that various organizations have to deal with daily using different threat modeling and threat intelligence models.

1. Malware

Malware is malicious software such as ransomware, spyware, worms, and viruses. Such a type of cyber threat is activated when the user clicks on the malicious link sent to them through an email attachment. Therefore, leading to the installation of damaging software on their system. Being said that, once the malware is activated, it can block access to key network components, disrupt system operation and covertly obtain sensitive information among others.

2. Denial of Service

It is a type of cyber threat that floods the network or the computer so that it cannot respond to different requests. Denial of Service is very much similar to Distributed Denial of Service attack. However, in this case, the attack originates from the computer network. Being said that, attackers often use a flood attack for disrupting the handshake process and carries out a Denial of Service attack. However, other techniques might also be used for disrupting the service of the network.

3. Phishing

Phishing is another type of cyber threat which is commonly used by attackers to gain access to confidential information and data. In this technique, attackers make use of fake communication such as email to trick users into the opening and carrying out the instructions inside the email. For instance, providing them with credit card numbers. The overall goal of this type of cyber threat is to steal the sensitive information of the user.

4. Advanced Persistent Threats

This is another type of cyber threat that organizations monitor continuously using threat modeling and threat intelligence. In such types of attacks, unauthorized users gain access to the network or system and remain there without being detected for an extended period.

Sources of Cyber Threats

While identifying a cyber threat, more than the technology used in attack, important is to know who is behind the threat? Though the technology is ever evolving, the sources of cyber threat have remained the same. Someone falling for a clever trick suggests that there is always a human element involved. The real source of cyber threat would be a motive that lies behind every attack.

With the evolving role that the internet is playing in the growth of businesses around the world, cyber threats can originate from a variety of places, people, and contexts. Being said that, the following are the most common sources of cyber threats that one should know about.

1. Individuals who create attack vectors using their tools and techniques

2. Criminal organizations which look like normal corporations but develops attack vectors and executes attacks

3. Terrorists

4. Nation-states

5. Business competitors

6. Organized crime groups

7. Industrial spies

These are some of the most important sources of cyber threats that one should look after and know about.

Source: eccouncil.org

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