Cyber Security Technician - Job Role, Salary Details

In today’s digital era, the role of a Cyber Security Technician has become crucial for safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining the integrity of various digital platforms. As cyber threats continue to evolve, the demand for skilled professionals in this field is on the rise. This comprehensive guide delves into the job role, responsibilities, required skills, and salary details of a Cyber Security Technician, providing you with all the information you need to understand this vital career path.

What Does a Cyber Security Technician Do?

A Cyber Security Technician is responsible for protecting an organization's computer systems and networks from cyber-attacks. Their duties involve monitoring, detecting, and responding to security incidents, implementing security measures, and ensuring compliance with security policies. Here’s a closer look at their core responsibilities:

1. Monitoring and Surveillance

Cyber Security Technicians continuously monitor network traffic for suspicious activities and potential threats. They use various tools and software to analyze data and identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cybercriminals.

2. Incident Response

In the event of a security breach, Cyber Security Technicians are on the front lines, responding swiftly to mitigate damage. They investigate the incident, determine its scope, and implement measures to prevent future occurrences.

3. Implementing Security Measures

These professionals are tasked with installing and maintaining security systems, such as firewalls, antivirus programs, and intrusion detection systems. They also regularly update these systems to protect against new threats.

4. Compliance and Risk Management

Ensuring that the organization adheres to industry standards and regulatory requirements is another key responsibility. Cyber Security Technicians conduct risk assessments and audits to ensure compliance and reduce potential risks.

Key Skills and Qualifications

To excel as a Cyber Security Technician, one must possess a combination of technical and soft skills. Here are some essential qualifications and competencies:

Technical Skills

• Knowledge of Security Tools: Proficiency in using security software and tools like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and antivirus programs.
• Understanding of Network Protocols: Familiarity with TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, and other network protocols is crucial for identifying and mitigating threats.
• Programming Skills: Knowledge of programming languages such as Python, C++, and Java can be beneficial for developing custom security solutions.

Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills

• Attention to Detail: Cyber Security Technicians must have a keen eye for detail to identify anomalies and potential security threats.
• Critical Thinking: The ability to analyze complex data and make informed decisions is essential for effective incident response and risk management.

Communication and Teamwork

• Communication Skills: Clear and concise communication is vital for documenting incidents, reporting findings, and collaborating with other team members.
• Team Collaboration: Working effectively with colleagues in IT and other departments ensures a cohesive approach to security management.

Educational Requirements

Most Cyber Security Technicians hold at least a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, information technology, or a related field. Additionally, professional certifications can enhance job prospects and demonstrate expertise. Some of the most recognized certifications include:

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• CompTIA Security+

Salary Details

The salary of a Cyber Security Technician varies based on factors such as experience, education, location, and the specific industry. However, it generally offers a competitive pay scale due to the high demand for skilled professionals. Here’s an overview of the salary range:

Entry-Level Positions

Entry-level Cyber Security Technicians can expect to earn an average annual salary ranging from $50,000 to $70,000. These positions typically require less than two years of experience and are suitable for recent graduates and individuals new to the field.

Mid-Level Positions

With a few years of experience, Cyber Security Technicians can advance to mid-level positions, earning between $70,000 and $90,000 annually. At this level, technicians are expected to handle more complex tasks and may take on supervisory roles.

Senior-Level Positions

Experienced professionals in senior-level positions can command salaries of $90,000 to $120,000 or more per year. These roles often involve strategic planning, overseeing security operations, and leading a team of technicians.

Industry-Specific Salaries

The industry in which a Cyber Security Technician works can also impact their salary. For example:

• Finance and Banking: Cyber Security Technicians in the financial sector often earn higher salaries due to the critical nature of protecting sensitive financial data.
• Healthcare: With the increasing digitization of medical records, the demand for cybersecurity in healthcare has surged, offering competitive salaries.
• Government and Defense: Positions in government agencies and defense organizations typically offer lucrative pay and additional benefits.

Career Growth and Advancement Opportunities

The field of cybersecurity offers numerous opportunities for career growth and advancement. Cyber Security Technicians can progress to higher roles such as:

• Cyber Security Analyst: Focusing on analyzing security measures and developing strategies to protect against cyber threats.
• Security Consultant: Providing expert advice on security best practices and helping organizations develop robust security frameworks.
• Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): Leading the overall security strategy of an organization and ensuring the protection of its digital assets.

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What is Cyber Shield in Cyber Security?

In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber security, the term "Cyber Shield" has emerged as a critical component in protecting organizations against a myriad of cyber threats. As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated, the need for robust defense mechanisms is paramount. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the intricacies of what constitutes a Cyber Shield, its importance, how it operates, and the key benefits it offers to enterprises striving to safeguard their digital assets.

Understanding Cyber Shield

A Cyber Shield can be likened to a fortified barrier designed to protect computer systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, cyber-attacks, and other forms of digital threats. It encompasses a broad range of technologies, processes, and practices aimed at securing information and ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data.

Components of a Cyber Shield

A robust Cyber Shield comprises multiple layers of security measures, including:

1. Firewalls: These are the first line of defense, monitoring and controlling incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.
2. Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): These systems detect and prevent potential threats by monitoring network or system activities for malicious actions or policy violations.
3. Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software: These programs protect against malicious software, including viruses, worms, and ransomware.
4. Encryption: Encrypting data ensures that even if it is intercepted, it cannot be read without the proper decryption key.
5. Access Controls: Implementing strict access controls ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information.
6. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM systems provide real-time analysis of security alerts generated by hardware and software.

The Importance of Cyber Shield

The significance of a Cyber Shield in today’s digital age cannot be overstated. With the increasing dependency on digital infrastructure, the consequences of cyber-attacks can be devastating, ranging from financial losses to reputational damage and legal repercussions. A well-implemented Cyber Shield provides several critical benefits:

Protection Against Data Breaches

Data breaches can have severe implications for businesses, including financial losses, loss of customer trust, and regulatory penalties. A Cyber Shield helps prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data, ensuring that personal and corporate information remains secure.

Safeguarding Intellectual Property

For many organizations, intellectual property (IP) is their most valuable asset. Cyber-attacks targeting IP can lead to the loss of competitive advantage and financial harm. A robust Cyber Shield helps protect these vital assets from theft or compromise.

Ensuring Business Continuity

Cyber-attacks can disrupt business operations, leading to downtime and lost productivity. A Cyber Shield helps ensure that critical systems remain operational, minimizing the impact of attacks and ensuring business continuity.

Compliance with Regulatory Requirements

Various industries are subject to stringent regulatory requirements concerning data protection. Implementing a Cyber Shield helps organizations comply with these regulations, avoiding legal penalties and maintaining their reputation.

How Cyber Shield Works

A Cyber Shield operates through a combination of proactive and reactive measures designed to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats. Here’s a detailed look at how it functions:

Proactive Measures

1. Risk Assessment and Management: Identifying and assessing potential risks to the organization’s digital assets and implementing measures to mitigate them.
2. Vulnerability Management: Regularly scanning systems and networks for vulnerabilities and applying patches to fix them.
3. Security Awareness Training: Educating employees about the importance of cyber security and best practices for avoiding threats.
4. Network Segmentation: Dividing a network into segments to limit the spread of cyber-attacks and contain breaches.

Reactive Measures

1. Incident Response: Establishing a plan to respond to and recover from cyber incidents swiftly.
2. Continuous Monitoring: Using advanced tools to monitor network traffic and system activities for signs of unusual behavior or potential threats.
3. Forensic Analysis: Investigating and analyzing cyber incidents to understand their root cause and prevent future occurrences.

Key Benefits of Implementing a Cyber Shield

Adopting a Cyber Shield provides organizations with several significant benefits, enhancing their overall cyber security posture.

Enhanced Threat Detection and Prevention

With multiple layers of security measures, a Cyber Shield improves the ability to detect and prevent cyber threats before they can cause significant harm. This includes identifying new and emerging threats through continuous monitoring and threat intelligence.

Improved Incident Response and Recovery

A well-designed Cyber Shield ensures that organizations have a robust incident response plan in place. This helps minimize the impact of cyber-attacks by enabling swift recovery and restoring normal operations quickly.

Increased Customer Trust and Confidence

Customers are increasingly concerned about how their data is handled and protected. Implementing a Cyber Shield demonstrates a commitment to data security, enhancing customer trust and confidence in the organization.

Cost Savings

While implementing a Cyber Shield requires an initial investment, it can lead to significant cost savings in the long run by preventing costly data breaches, downtime, and legal penalties.

Future Trends in Cyber Shield Technology

As cyber threats continue to evolve, so too must the technologies and strategies that constitute a Cyber Shield. Some emerging trends in this field include:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning are playing an increasingly important role in cyber security. These technologies can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and detect anomalies that may indicate a cyber threat.

Zero Trust Architecture

Zero Trust is a security model that assumes no one, whether inside or outside the organization, should be trusted by default. This approach requires strict verification for every person and device attempting to access resources on the network.

Quantum Cryptography

With the advent of quantum computing, traditional encryption methods may become obsolete. Quantum cryptography offers a new level of security by leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics to protect data.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain’s decentralized nature makes it inherently secure. This technology is being explored for applications in secure transactions, identity verification, and protecting data integrity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a Cyber Shield is an indispensable part of modern cyber security strategies. It offers comprehensive protection against a wide array of cyber threats, ensuring that organizations can safeguard their digital assets, maintain business continuity, and comply with regulatory requirements. As technology continues to evolve, so too will the components and effectiveness of Cyber Shields, helping organizations stay ahead of cyber adversaries.

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The Future of Cyber Security: Insights from Experienced Technicians

Introduction

In today's digitally interconnected world, cyber security stands as a paramount concern for individuals and organizations alike. With the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, it becomes imperative to stay ahead of the curve and adopt proactive measures to safeguard sensitive information and critical infrastructure. In this article, we delve deep into the future of cyber security, drawing insights from experienced technicians who possess a wealth of knowledge and expertise in combating emerging threats.

Emerging Technologies and Threats

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the realm of cyber security with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies. These advancements empower security systems to adapt and learn from evolving threats in real-time, enhancing their ability to detect and mitigate potential breaches. AI-driven threat intelligence platforms analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and anomalies, enabling organizations to proactively fortify their defenses against sophisticated cyber attacks.

Internet of Things (IoT) Vulnerabilities

The proliferation of interconnected IoT devices introduces a myriad of security vulnerabilities, creating a fertile ground for cyber criminals to exploit. We foresee a future where securing IoT ecosystems becomes paramount, necessitating robust encryption protocols, authentication mechanisms, and stringent access controls. By implementing proactive measures such as device hardening and continuous monitoring, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with IoT-related security breaches.

The Human Element in Cyber Security

Insider Threats

While technological advancements play a pivotal role in bolstering cyber security defenses, we must not overlook the significance of addressing insider threats within organizations. Malicious insiders, whether disgruntled employees or compromised individuals, pose a significant risk to data integrity and confidentiality. We advocate for the implementation of comprehensive employee training programs and strict access controls to mitigate the insider threat landscape effectively.

Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering tactics continue to plague the cyber security landscape, exploiting human psychology to manipulate individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing unauthorized actions. We emphasize the importance of raising awareness among employees regarding common social engineering techniques such as phishing, pretexting, and baiting. By fostering a culture of security awareness and vigilance, organizations can fortify their defenses against these insidious threats.

Regulatory Compliance and Data Privacy

Evolving Regulatory Landscape

With the enactment of stringent data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), we are witnessing a heightened focus on regulatory compliance and data privacy. Organizations must navigate a complex regulatory landscape, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements while safeguarding consumer privacy rights. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in severe financial penalties and reputational damage.

Data Encryption and Privacy-by-Design

In light of growing concerns surrounding data privacy and security, we advocate for the adoption of encryption technologies and privacy-by-design principles. By implementing end-to-end encryption and anonymization techniques, organizations can mitigate the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. Privacy-by-design emphasizes the integration of privacy considerations into the design and development of systems, ensuring that data protection measures are ingrained from the outset.

Conclusion

As we gaze into the future of cyber security, it becomes evident that the landscape will continue to evolve in response to emerging threats and technological advancements. By embracing innovative technologies, fostering a culture of security awareness, and prioritizing regulatory compliance and data privacy, organizations can navigate the complex cyber security landscape with confidence and resilience.

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Why Is Capture the Flag (CTF) Important in Cyber Security?

As a kid, you may have played a game called “capture the flag,” where opposing teams try to sneak into each other’s territory and retrieve a colored flag in order to win. Capture the flag (CTF) exercise in cyber security operates along similar lines. Essentially, it is a cyber security challenge that tests participants’ ability to find security vulnerabilities in a test IT environment. So how do cyber capture the flag games work, and why are they such an effective way of training beginners in IT security?

What Is Capture the Flag (CTF)?

In cyber security, capture the flag (CTF) is a popular competition and training exercise that attempts to thoroughly evaluate participants’ skills and knowledge in various subdomains. The goal of each CTF challenge is to find a hidden file or piece of information (the “flag”) somewhere in the target environment.

CTF has been gaining in popularity in recent years. According to a 2021 study, the number of CTF events worldwide more than doubled from roughly 80 in 2015 to over 200 in 2020 (ENISA, 2021). Although most competitions occur online, some events are also held in person worldwide.

What Are the Types of CTF Challenges?

There are two main types of CTF security competitions: jeopardy and attack-defense. Jeopardy Capture the Flag rules are simple: competitors must solve a series of IT security challenges, often arranged into different skill areas. These challenges may cover topics such as web application security, reverse engineering, digital forensics, cryptography, and steganography. The other main format of CTF is called “attack-defense.” Each participant or team is given their own virtual machine or network to defend; however, these systems each have their own vulnerabilities that other teams can exploit. Participants must find and take advantage of other teams’ vulnerabilities while defending their own system by detecting and patching its weaknesses.

Why Is Capture the Flag (CTF) Crucial in Cyber Security?

Some of the reasons why CTF cyber security exercises are important include:

• Hands-on skill development: CTF is one of the best ways for cyber security professionals to hone their technical skills, applying their theoretical knowledge to solve real-world challenges.
• Risk-free environment: CTF offers real-world experience in cyber security tools and techniques while taking place in a controlled, risk-free environment where participants can experiment without devastating consequences.
• Collaboration and teamwork: CTF usually requires participants to join forces as a team, helping individuals learn to work together to tackle complex, multistep challenges.
• Networking and recruitment: CTF is an ideal way for professionals to connect and learn from each other and showcase their abilities to potential employers.

How Does Learning Capture the Flag Exercise Help Those Starting a Career in Cyber Security?

Capture the flag cyber security exercises are especially helpful for beginners in cyber security, who can partner up with more experienced professionals on a team, getting their feet wet while learning through observation and acquiring valuable skills. Through their participation in CTF exercises, cyber security beginners can be exposed to a wide range of technical concepts and tools.

Jeopardy-style CTF forces participants to apply skills from many cyber security domains, from web security to cryptography, and become more well-rounded IT professionals. Competitors need to think critically to find vulnerabilities, evaluate cyber attack and defense strategies, and develop creative solutions to problems.

Many employers value CTF experience when looking to hire for cyber security roles. Companies often sponsor CTF events, hoping to network with especially promising participants. Cyber security beginners can receive mentorship, guidance, and potential job opportunities at the CTF event.

Lastly, CTF is a fun and engaging way to promote cyber security as a viable career path. The enthusiasm beginners acquire for cyber security at CTF events can carry over into a real-world role as an ethical hacker, penetration tester, or security analyst.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Enhancing Security Across Multi-Cloud Environments Through Least-Privilege Access Posture Maintenance

In today’s era of digital transformation, the adoption of multi-cloud strategies is becoming increasingly prevalent. Organizations often leverage multiple cloud service providers to optimize their operations, enhance scalability, and diversify risks. However, this approach introduces complexities in managing access rights and privileges across varied environments. A centralized identity management system, like single sign-on (SSO) solutions, ensures seamless and consistent user identities across platforms. Simultaneously, automated policy enforcement and regular audits are pivotal in maintaining uniformity in access policies across cloud platforms. It’s also essential to appreciate the nuances of each cloud provider, understanding their specific roles and terminologies to ensure that the principle of least privilege is consistently applied.

As data and applications traverse between cloud platforms, securing inter-cloud communication becomes paramount. By enforcing least privilege access, potential unauthorized data transfers between cloud environments can be curtailed. Moreover, with data distributed across different regions due to multi-cloud strategies, organizations must remain cognizant of regional compliance mandates, tailoring their access policies accordingly. A holistic monitoring solution that offers a unified view of user activities across multiple clouds, coupled with timely alerts for any privilege escalations, reinforces security. Given the evolving nature of multi-cloud landscapes, continuous training and awareness initiatives for staff are indispensable to keep them updated and vigilant against potential threats.

Examples of Least Privilege Access

Least privilege access examples highlight how specific permissions are granted to users. In a retail store, customers can shop and pay, but only cashiers can handle cash and approve payments. Linux users can read and write files but can’t execute them. Similarly, website visitors can access resources but lack the ability to modify or upload content. These instances demonstrate tailored access for different user needs.

Benefits of Least Privilege Access

Restricting authorized access may seem daunting when applying this practice to large-scale networks. However, the advantages of implementing least-privilege access are worth the time and investment.

Here are the main benefits:

Reduced Attack Surfaces

The principle of least privileged access dramatically narrows the attack surface and reduces the scope of the damage. If a hacker gains access to a user account with restricted access, its attack is confined to the resources to which the user account has minimal access. However, if they hijack an administrator account, they could affect all regular and restricted accounts on the network.

The idea is to limit the number of administrator accounts and decrease attack vectors by safeguarding sensitive data and business-critical assets.

Improved System Stability

Least privileged access protects networks from human errors in organizations and improves system and network stability. Standard users don’t get access to databases, programs, and files outside the scope of their roles and responsibilities. This proactively prevents unintentional human errors since people don’t have access to sensitive information and cannot tamper with those resources.

Mitigating SQL Injections & Malware Propagation through Restricted Access Permissions

Restricting access permissions for web applications and programs can effectively thwart SQL injections and eradicate the potential insertion of malicious code into the software. When write permissions are absent, the propagation of malware to other users becomes implausible, and curbing privileges can serve as a deterrent against external breaches. Consequently, the manipulation and unauthorized control of sensitive data are curtailed, while the actions of hackers are effectively hindered in the absence of write privileges.

Improved Productivity

When users are granted limited access and confined to their roles, they perform better at work. This practice boosts enterprise productivity since members don’t have to worry about accidentally accessing additional resources or performing tasks that fall outside the scope of their responsibilities. The principle of least privilege also enhances data classification and serves as an excellent way to keep companies organized in managing their information.

Establishing Least Privilege Access in Cloud Environments

Create a security framework ensuring minimum permissions for users and resources based on their tasks.

Develop a privilege utilization database for a comprehensive view of permissions.

Identify and address dormant dependencies.

Reallocate permissions for inactive accounts and those with unused administrative features.

Handling Hardcoded Secrets:

Hardcoded secrets are not confined to source code; they can also be found in production environments, infrastructure-as-code setups, and logs. It’s essential for organizations to shift from hardcoding credentials, such as API tokens and SSH keys, to establishing a robust framework for their protection. Regularly reviewing vendor documentation is crucial. Additionally, auditors should be well-versed in identifying the locations and methods used for storing embedded passwords and must be equipped with strategies to mitigate associated risks. Leveraging enterprise password management (PAM) tools can be instrumental in pinpointing hardcoded secrets and ensuring regular credential rotation.

Automate privilege remediation:

Automating privilege remediation can aid in eliminating sudden privilege escalations or unforeseen account hijacking. Automating privilege remediation can prevent compliance violations and reduce code leak times, effectively mitigating potential incidents. Since target systems necessitate varying tools and phases of development, every organization’s approach to automating privilege remediation is distinct. This proactive strategy can also safeguard confidential keys and secrets.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Container Orchestration for Enterprises: The First Step to a Successful Digital Transformation

Compliance is the number one concern for enterprises that are switching to container management platforms. According to a Cloud Container Adoption report, 65% of tech will leaders plan to turn to 3rd party vendors to meet their container management requirements. (CapitalOne, 2023) Docker, Google, Kubernetes, CoreOS, and other platforms are examples of container orchestration technologies that are built to overcome the challenges presented by modern containerization solutions.

The DevOps community is experiencing rapid advancements, and enterprises are embracing digital transformation at an unprecedented pace. While containerization technologies are easily deployable, they possess certain limitations that fail to meet enterprise requirements, particularly in terms of scalability and compliance.

Limitations of Containerization Technology

1. Containerization solutions are based on stateless architectures that do not adequately address storage and performance issues during scaling. Legacy architectures struggle to achieve the necessary API integration and direct connectivity for their container ecosystems.
2. Containerization storage lacks scalability and exhibits unpredictable performance, especially in distributed container systems and alternative gateways.
3. Most containers lack essential features like portability, encryption, integration, and migration capabilities, which are vital for smooth enterprise operations
4. Container misconfigurations sometimes go undetected after deployment and many developers fail to address the default settings. Misconfigurations in containers can lead to ports being exposed and insecure, leakage of user credentials, and poor visibility into workloads. There are also other challenges associated with these containers such as networking errors, resource usage issues, and increasing complexity.
5. Unrealistic pricing models and vendor lock-in periods hinder enterprises from opting for flexible pay-as-you-use subscriptions, making containerization solutions a significant investment of time and money.

What is Container Orchestration?

Container orchestration involves automating the scaling, deployment, implementation, networking, scheduling, and management of containers. Containers encompass complete applications that include libraries, code, dependencies, system tools, and infrastructure assets. The primary goal of container orchestration is to enhance the lifecycle management of containers. (Velimirovic, 2021)

While container orchestration has its origins in the 1970s, the technology has evolved significantly, leading to major improvements in container creation, management, and security. Currently, Kubernetes dominates the landscape of popular container orchestration services alongside IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Emerging container orchestration tools include Apache Mesos, PingSafe, and Docker Swarm.

Benefits of Container Orchestration

In complex containerized environments, managing individual components becomes increasingly challenging. Container orchestration helps streamline container lifecycle management in dynamic environments, enables application deployment, and facilitates seamless communication between programs and users or other applications.

The key advantages of utilizing container orchestration tools are:

1. Task automation and improved scalability for Cloud deployments.
2. Reduced operational costs through enhanced resource utilization and fewer workflow defects.
3. Enhanced disaster recovery planning and prevention of data loss.
4. Improved infrastructure stability, increased visibility, comprehensive audit trails, and effective conflict resolution.
5. Faster integration of new technologies, simplified governance, and robust data compliance.
6. Workflow visualizations and process simulations, leading to improved production capabilities.
7. Improved infrastructure security through isolation of malware and limiting unwanted communications with unapproved components.

As organizations manage numerous workloads, the automation of processes and optimization of resource and task management becomes crucial. Whether hosting applications and data on-premises, in the Cloud, or both, container orchestration addresses the challenges posed by traditional containerization, streamlines automation, and prioritizes cybersecurity. Container orchestration serves as a foundational element for successful digital transformation journeys, and there are various tools available to facilitate the process.

Container Use Cases

The following are the most popular use cases of containers in organizations.

• Ensure minimal changes to source code and make it easier to port applications from one environment to the next
• Migrate legacy applications from on-premise environments to the cloud and use the lift-and-shift cloud migration strategy for modernizing application stacks
• Assist engineering teams with the implementation of continuous integration and development practices and apply DevOps culture. This makes producing, developing, deploying, and testing applications a lot faster, productive, and more convenient
• Promotes significant cost savings for organizations by reducing the need for physical hardware and equipment through virtualization. Containers are excellent for multi-cloud environments and can run microservice-based applications in them.

Best Tools for Container Orchestration

It’s important to use a platform that allows developers to efficiently scale, manage, and deploy containers in production environments. Containers have a short lifecycle and have different scheduling requirements. Using the right DevOps tools ensures faster application deliveries, simplified infrastructure automation, and achieves mandatory compliance.

The most popular container orchestration tools used by professionals are:

1. Kubernetes – Kubernetes is the industry standard for container orchestration and an open-source tool used to manage resources and deploy scalable containers effectively. It features high-level architecture, managed services, increased DevOps efficiency, and can deploy workloads in multi-cloud environments with no requirement of vendor lock-in
2. Docker Swarm – Docker Swarm improves production deployments for developers and fits great when it comes to flawless cluster management. It offers an excellent service discovery tool and is simple, lightweight, and intuitive. Those who are new to container orchestration find its automated load balancing feature to be useful and it is extremely easy to use.
3. Rancher – Racher enables container orchestration, distribution, and scheduling for global enterprises. It offers features such as application cataloging, enterprise-grade pre-authentication controls, role-based access controls, etc.
4. Google Cloud Run – Google Cloud Run is a fully managed modern containerization platform that takes applications to production in seconds. It is scalable, supports database migrations, batch data transformation, nightly reports, and runs on the cloud.
5. Google Container Engine – Google Container Engine is a fully automated Kubernetes service that reduces cluster costs and streamlines load node management. Its autopilot mode offers a Serverless Kubernetes experience, and it features access to prebuilt Kubernetes applications and deployment templates. From simplified licensing, portability, consolidated billing, and open-source images, users can deploy applications on third-party clouds and on-premises using it from the Google Cloud Marketplace.

There are other modern container orchestration tools like the Hasicorp Nomad, Mesos, Azure AKS Service, Amazon EC2 Container Service (ECS), and Azure AKS Service. Whether an organization opts for managed container orchestration or self-hosted container orchestration tools will fully depend on their business requirements. (Wilson, 2022)

Best Practices for Container and Kubernetes Security

1. Secure Images: Utilize trusted sources and store containerized applications in a secure private registry to prevent tampering. Employ image signature verification for additional security measures.
2. Never Store Credentials in Code: Use a dedicated secrets manager to securely manage passwords and other sensitive information, avoiding storing them directly in code or configuration files.
3. Enable Real-time Container Monitoring: Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting mechanisms to enhance visibility into each component of the containerized environment. This enables effective threat detection, remediation, and continuous compliance monitoring. Collect resource usage metrics and analyze them to detect issues with container performance, management, and troubleshoot other problems.
4. Use the Principle of Least Privilege Access – The principle of least privilege access will grant minimal access to users to perform given tasks and not exceed their permissions. It prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information and prevents users from exploiting root privileges. Restricting container access can mitigate vulnerabilities at the host-kernel level and eliminate security risks arising during container runtime and execution. Use Role Based Access Control (RBAC).
5. Automate Vulnerability Scanning and Management – Automate vulnerability scanning and management for CI/CD pipelines and mitigate security risks before they occur or have a chance to escalate. It’s a good practice to identify root issues and scan software code to check for security vulnerabilities. Other good practices are image scanning, Static Application Security Testing (SAST), and Software Component Analysis (SCA).
6. Implement Network Security – Define Kubernetes network security policies and controls to limited unwanted traffic to different ports and protocols. Applying network segmentation can limit network access to specific services and prevented unauthorized access to pods by isolating containers. Load balancers should be used to block ingress traffic and the best encryption for ensuring reliable communications between pods is TLS. Users can secure traffic between microservices by implementing a service mesh.
7. Implement Pod Security Policies: Pod Security Policies define and enforce security constraints on the creation and execution of pods within Kubernetes clusters. These policies help prevent the deployment of insecure or misconfigured pods, reducing the potential attack surface. By implementing Pod Security Policies, you can ensure that only trusted and secure pods are running in your environment.

Conclusion

If you find yourself tired of manually scanning containers and nodes to uncover blind spots and are seeking comprehensive automated analytics, look no further than modern containerization solutions. Container management and production solutions these days adopt preventive cybersecurity measures that eliminate cyberattacks by identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. They will help you enhance real-time security, prevent breaches, and take a proactive approach to safeguarding containerized environments.

Container security is a continuous process and as companies shift to cloud-native architecture, the demand for faster application deliveries will keep rising. It is critical to implement the best security practices and safeguard container applications for peak optimum security and peak performance.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Enhancing Network Security: How IDS Systems Can Protect Against Cyber Attacks.

Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are an emerging solution used for protecting data and safeguard enterprises from a variety of cyberattacks. Modern IDS systems have serious privacy issues and trigger a large volume of noise, false positive alerts, and do not do enough to track suspicious activities in networks. The rise of malicious actors, lack of encryption, and sophisticated attack strategies is overwhelming the cybersecurity landscape which means organizations need to upgrade threat detection methods and techniques. Intrusion detection systems have undergone many developments and been around for decades. They serve as a foundation to network security, help monitor network traffic, and can solve security problems that arise due to unaddressed gaps and vulnerabilities. This paper discusses how to enhance network security using IDS, common challenges faced, and what organizations can do to upgrade their IDS.

IDS to Fight Cyber Attacks

Cyberattacks can disrupt the security of today’s networks and jeopardize the safety, integrity, and reputation of organizations. There is a heightened need for enterprises to safeguard their network security and implement tools and techniques to protect their assets. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are used for surveillance purposes and can secure networks by monitoring traffic for illicit traffic and malicious behaviors.

Network-based monitoring analyzes specific segments, devices, and application activities to detect and identify suspicious behaviors. IDS solutions are critical for organizations as they scan infrastructure systems for vulnerabilities, malware, and policy violations. Intrusion detection systems are different from intrusion prevention systems in terms of capabilities, where the former aims to detect and report incidents, with intrusion prevention systems focused on stopping incidents or causing security breaches.

There are many different types of IDS solutions for enterprises and most of them are customized according to business requirements. Automation in intrusion detection can perform audit trails and identify vulnerability exploits against target applications. Enterprises should upgrade their IDS to proactively detect and respond to emerging network security threats.

This blog will discuss challenges associated with modern IDS and what enterprises can do to upgrade their intrusion detection systems.

Challenges Associated with Modern IDS

Enterprises are continually pursuing faster, more accurate, scalable, and reliable detection frameworks for the latest IDS solutions. Modern IDS solutions present various challenges like unbalanced datasets, low detection rates, poor response times, and more false positives. They also suffer from usability issues and the learning curve is steep for enterprises that are not used to implementing these solutions into their business operations. Security practitioners may also face difficulties when configuring and installing IDS for the first time.

IDS systems generate a high volume of alerts which can be a significant burden to internal teams. Organizations simply don’t have the time or resources to inspect every alert. This means suspicious activity may sometimes slip through the radar.

Common challenges associated with modern IDS systems are:

• Fragmentation – Attackers split payloads by splitting them into multiple packets and staying under the detection radar. Packets sent from one fragment can overwrite data from previous packets, and there are cases where packets are sent in the incorrect order to confuse the IDS system (Jelen, 2023). The IDS solution times out when there are lapses between transmitting data packets or unexpected disruptions.
• Low-Bandwidth Threats – When an attack is spread out across multiple sources and occurs over a long period, it can generate benign traffic and noise, which bear similarities to that of online scanners. False positives and false negatives occur as a result, and there are instances of alert fatigue happening as well, which opens the door to more dangerous threats(Jelen, 2023).
• Obscurity – It manipulates IDS protocols at different ports and evades intrusion detection by confusing the target host (Jelen, 2023).

Top Tips to Upgrade IDS

Upgrading an organization’s IDS begins by taking into account many considerations and making the necessary arrangements. It’s important to factor in an organization’s risk tolerance level when investing in new security measures and ensure minimal exposure to emerging risks. When legacy IDS moves to the Cloud, there is a massive increase in network traffic and network security monitoring tools are expected.

For enterprises that are switching to public and private cloud providers, legacy IDS may not support the latest deployment models. A security information and event management (SIEM) system can help organizations gather information from multiple sources, including intrusion detection solutions, firewall logs, and web applications. Analysis of firewall data can detect unwanted configuration changes, prevent unauthorized access to data, and ensure adherence to the latest compliance standards like DSS, SOX, GLBA, and HIPAA.

In the last few years, Machine Learning and AI have greatly expanded the scope of intrusion detection and prevention, and experts are evaluating the latest IDS techniques to assess the state of organizational security.

AI-Based Detection and Next-Gen Firewalls

AI-based detection is popular for its pattern-recognition techniques and intelligent threat analysis. It can crosscheck intrusion signatures with a signature database that contains older signatures and inspects it to find sequences, commands, and actions in networks which may identify as malware. (Khraisat, 2019)

Increasing the precision of Intrusion Detection Solutions (IDS) is important as threat patterns become increasingly complex. The most common type of IDS deployed to maximize security is the NIDS which is based on ruleset and protocol violation techniques. There are new approaches to identifying network attack events and machine learning techniques can assist with zero-day attack prevention and false-positive reduction in large-scale enterprises, thus preventing attacks in the early stages. (Regino Criado, 2022)

Next-generation firewalls (NGFW) can deep filter threats and enable micro segmentation in networks for effective intrusion prevention. They usually come as standalone products and most next-gen firewalls are integrated with virtual machines and cloud services. NGFW solutions can feature built-in IDS and IPS and have the ability to receive real-time threat intelligence from external sources. Enterprises can add new security features to them as needed, apply security policies on an application-level, and enjoy quick integrations with existing infrastructure assets. An alternative to using NGFW solutions is using Unified Threat Management (UTM) platforms which serve as a universal gateway and combine multiple security solutions.

Best Practices for Intrusion Detection

A good practice is to use multiple layers of intrusion detection technologies to prevent malicious actors from hijacking systems. There are 4 main intrusion detection approaches employed for this: wireless, network behaviour analytics, host-based detection, and network-based attack detection. Hybrid and ensemble intrusion detection models can provide reduced false positive rates and higher accuracy in anomalous threat detection. Machine learning algorithms and feature selection are popular computing methodologies used to improve the performance of intrusion detection systems. Tree-based algorithms can be used as a base classifier, and bagging and boosting are popular ensemble techniques for evaluating various datasets. They also offer excellent classification accuracy and performance when working with selected feature subsets.(Ngoc Tu Pham, 2018)

IDS research recommends the Bayesian and infinite bounded mixture model for the feature classification of members. It is also designed for IoT environment security and can help classify network activities into abnormal and normal classes. A Support Vector Machine (SVM)is a supervised machine learning technique used for making threat predictions and can be used for non-linear feature mapping (Khraisat, 2019). It’s very effective in high-dimensional spaces and can cluster data before the classification process begins.

Virtual patching should be used to protect and remediate vulnerabilities in critical systems. Most organizations adopt a hybrid cloud model for protecting their data across on-premises and cloud environments. AI-based IDS solutions integrate with multiple security products and offer features such as deep packet inspection, URL and on-box SSL inspection, and advanced malware analysis. Having customizable post-scan actions and policies that can be automated can efficiently help protect organizations from various cyber threats as well. (Micro, 2022)

Integrating IDS and IPS Capabilities Under SIEM

Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) are essential for improving network visibility and can help identify potential risks. IPS can detect and block unknown threats in real-time and augment the capabilities of modern IDS solutions. Other advantages include correcting cyclic redundancy check errors, eliminating instances of unwanted network layers, and resolving TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) sequencing issues. SIEM connectivity to IPS and IDS can make significant improvements to enterprise security and enable advanced threat protection. SIEM systems can take data from IPS and IDS to give a comprehensive analysis of an enterprise’s security posture and make accurate vulnerability assessments.

Many businesses are relying on managed security services providers (MSSP) to better manage their SIEM systems and ensure regular updates. Detecting and reacting to threats aren’t enough and intrusions start with simple vulnerabilities like outdated software, open ports, and unrestricted limits to login attempts. Persistent malware intrusions are subtle and don’t trigger alarms and careless practices at work like overusing privileged accounts, visiting unsafe websites, and remaining logged in for long periods of time, can set up organizations for new data breaches. SIEM solutions combined with IPS and IDS can detect such habits, tighten security, and prevented unusual account usage patterns, thus helping enterprises prevent cyberattacks and improve security effectively. (Miller, 2020)

Monitoring north-south traffic in cloud-based infrastructures is increasingly important as applications are deployed over multiple data centers and cloud platforms. Enterprises should use VPN to control the flow of north-south traffic and implement the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol to encrypt data transmitted between clients and servers and secure connections. East-West traffic security monitoring inspects activities that occur laterally within network perimeters and mitigates risk for distributed operations. The best practices for efficient east-west IDS security are – applying network segmentation and performing granular inspection of East-west traffic using policy-based controls. Advanced malware analysis and sandboxing will also prevent zero-day attacks and provide accurate threat detection in the process.

Conclusion

IDS capabilities in attack detection depend on simplifying large datasets and selecting the most influential features to improve its model’s accuracy and performance. Different IDS algorithms can dramatically improve the performance of intrusion detection systems, and it’s clear that ML algorithms like DT, KNN, ANN, BN, and SVM all offer unique characteristics and features that enable IDS optimization and enhancement. When IDS is combined with machine learning and AI, its accuracy in detecting R2L and DoS network-based threats dramatically increases. The speed of the training and testing process is another significant factor in improving IDS models, along with the appropriate selection of parameters to improve detection accuracy. Enterprises can also adopt the approach of hybrid data optimization based on ML algorithms and use data sampling techniques to isolate outliers. With the proper modeling strategy, IDS performance can be upgraded, uncover hidden threats in real-time, and detect unknown types of anomalous behaviors in networks as well.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Identity and Access Management (IAM) in Cyber Security Roles

Introductions:

Identity Access and Management is abbreviated as IAM. In simple words, it restricts access to sensitive data while allowing employees to view, copy and change content related to their jobs. This information can range from sensitive information to company-specific information.

It refers to the IAM IT security discipline as well as the framework for managing digital identities. It also deprives the provision of identity, which allows access to resources and performing particular activities.

When you exceed your target, IAM ensures that the appropriate resources, such as the database, application, and network, are accessible. Everything is proceeding according to plan.

IAM’s objectives are as follows :

◉ To prevent unauthorized parties from exiting the system, the purpose of this IAM should be to ensure that legitimate parties have adequate access to the right resources at the right time.

◉ It only gives access to a certain group of people, such as contractors, employees, customers, and vendors. You’ll also need the key to verify their identities and provide them access to everything throughout the onboarding process.

◉ To revoke access and begin monitoring activities in order to safeguard the system and data. IAM goals include operational efficiency in regulatory compliance, fraud detection, and lifecycle management, in addition to protection against cyber intrusions.

◉ When it comes to fraud protection, IAM is the best way to reduce fraud losses. Since a crime has been committed, the insider who has abused his access rights has been identified as corrupt. IAM assists in hiding traces to evade discovery. IAM is an automated system that analyses transactions for fraud detection using preset criteria.

◉ It also guarantees that the Company meets various regulatory criteria for the detection and identification of suspicious behavior and money-laundering situations.

Benefits of Using an Identity and Access Management System :

We will learn about the various organizational benefits in this section. These are listed below –

◉ Reduce risk – 

You’ll have more user control, which means you’ll be less vulnerable to internal and external data breaches. When hackers utilize the user credential as a crucial technique to obtain access to the business network and resources, this is critical.

◉ Secure access – 

When your company grows, you will have additional employees, customers, contractors, partners, etc. Your company’s risk will increase at the same time, and you will have higher efficiency and production overall. IAM allows you to expand your business without compromising on security at the moment.

◉ Meeting Compliance – 

A good IAM system can help a company meet its compliance requirements as well as meet the rapidly expanding data protection regulations.

◉ Minimize Help Desk Requests – 

IAM looks into the user’s needs and then resets the password and the help desk will help them automate the same. Getting the authentication requires the user to verify their identity without bothering the system administrator as they need to focus on other things in the business, which gives more profit to the business.

Another advantage of the IAM framework is that it can provide businesses with an advantage over their competitors. Without jeopardizing security standards, IAM technology can give users outside the organization access to the data they need to perform their tasks.

Implementation Guide for IAM :

1. Consider your company’s size and type – 

IAM is important for company authentication and handles identity to allow users to exercise their rights from a remote location. It also aids in calculating the surroundings when multiple devices are used. IAM is highly successful for all types of organizations, large, small, and medium. Additional options are available for larger organizations, and you can choose the tool that streamlines user access.

2. Create a strategy for IAM integration – 

This is a well-known story with risks, and it has been implemented with IAM and moved to the cloud. Employees must use tools that are permitted by the company, sometimes called shadow IT. IAM will devote time and resources to developing a comprehensive identity management strategy.

3. Find the best IAM solution for you – 

There are a few key components of IAM that you may use to keep your business from collapsing, which are listed below :

◉ Access management products control a user’s identification while also enabling a few tools such as the network, web resources, cloud, and so on.

◉ Multi-factor and risk authentication method helps in verification of the identity of an individual.

◉ Where passwords fail, password tokens provide additional security.

As a business owner, you must learn about all of the IAM tools available to protect your company’s identity and access management.

The rise in prominence of IAM :

In today’s environment, measuring organizational maturity against the basics of IAM is one of the most important parts of cybersecurity for organizations. It will provide you with an overview of the current security situation of your company when it comes to digital assets and infrastructure.

Here are some key ideas – 

◉ Identity data management – 

This includes a review of the organization’s identification and data management processes as well as the technologies, networks, and systems used to handle the data.

◉ Access management – 

Instead of relying on a single password login, stronger authentication techniques are being used, such as multifactor authentication, union, and passport management.

◉ Access governance – 

Is required system access properly regulated? It is important to make sure everything is in working order. For this, security administrators must ensure that policies exist that allow IAM functions to be implemented, evaluated, and audited, as well as the appropriateness of the policies.

◉ Identity management – 

Is it possible to regulate access to critical systems? It is important to double-check that everything is in working order. For this purpose, security administrators should ensure that policies exist that allow IAM functions to be implemented, evaluated, and audited, as well as the appropriateness of the policies.

◉ Data security and analysis – 

Is required system access properly regulated? It is important to make sure everything is in working order. For this, security administrators must ensure that policies exist that allow IAM functions to be implemented, evaluated, and audited, as well as the appropriateness of the policies.

Existing Cyber Security Protocols and IAM :

When correctly implemented, IAM may improve cybersecurity among employees and third-party providers. It’s capable of more than just restricting or allowing access to systems and data. Here are several examples:

◉ Access to data subsets is restricted – 

Depending on their employment, some workers may be given limited access to data and systems. It enables employees to perform their responsibilities while protecting data that is privileged or outside the scope of their employment.

◉ Access is restricted to viewing only –

Some job descriptions simply need employees to see data rather than copy or change it. This reduces the chances of internal security breaches.

◉ Platform access must be limited to –

Users can only use platforms that have been approved for them. This disables access to the operating system, but not to those in the development or testing phases.

◉ Prevent the transmission of data –

Employees can modify, delete and generate new data, but they cannot transfer data that is already in the system. It prevents any security breach by preventing it from being shared with third parties.

The cybersecurity of any company depends on its identity management structure. It adds another degree of security to systems and equipment used by suppliers, customers, workers, and third-party partners. On the other hand, the framework should be compatible with any other security systems that may already exist.

IAM policies :

Identity management covers five policies that must be addressed for the framework to be successful.

◉ The method through which the system recognizes employees/individuals.

◉ The method for identifying and assigning responsibilities to personnel.

◉ Employees and their responsibilities should be able to be added, removed, and updated via the system.

◉ Allow certain levels of access to be provided to groups or individuals.

◉ Keep sensitive data safe and the system safe from hacking.

When properly implemented, these five rules will provide employees with the necessary data, while also ensuring that organizations comply with all privacy laws. However, implementing IAM standards is not always straightforward.

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

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Difference between Cyber Security and Information Security

The terms Cyber Security and Information Security are often used interchangeably. As they both are responsible for the security and protecting the computer system from threats and information breaches and often Cybersecurity and information security are so closely linked that they may seem synonymous and unfortunately, they are used synonymously. If we talk about data security it’s all about securing the data from malicious users and threats. Now another question is what is the difference between Data and Information? So one important point is that “not every data can be information” data can be informed if it is interpreted in a context and given meaning. for example “100798” is data and if we know that it’s the date of birth of a person then it is information because it has some meaning. so information means data that has some meaning.

Examples and Inclusion of Cyber Security are as follows:

◉ Network Security

◉ Application Security

◉ Cloud Security

◉ Critical Infrastructure

Examples and inclusion of Information Security are as follows:

◉ Procedural Controls

◉ Access Controls

◉ Technical Controls

◉ Compliance Controls

Parameters	CYBER SECURITY	INFORMATION SECURITY
Basic Definition	It is the practice of protecting the data from outside the resource on the internet.	It is all about protecting information from unauthorized users, access, and data modification or removal in order to provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Protect	It is about the ability to protect the use of cyberspace from cyber attacks.	It deals with the protection of data from any form of threat.
Scope	Cybersecurity to protect anything in the cyber realm.	Information security is for information irrespective of the realm.
Threat	Cybersecurity deals with the danger in cyberspace.	Information security deals with the protection of data from any form of threat.
Attacks	Cybersecurity strikes against Cyber crimes, cyber frauds, and law enforcement.	Information security strikes against unauthorized access, disclosure modification, and disruption.
Professionals	Cyber security professionals deal with the prevention of active threats or Advanced Persistent threats (APT).	Information security professionals are the foundation of data security and security professionals associated with it are responsible for policies, processes, and organizational roles and responsibilities that assure confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Deals with	It deals with threats that may or may not exist in the cyber realm such as protecting your social media account, personal information, etc.	It deals with information Assets and integrity, confidentiality, and availability.
Defense	Acts as first line of defense.	Comes into play when security is breached.

Diagrams are given below to represent the difference between Information Security and Cybersecurity. 

In the above diagram, ICT refers to Information and communications technology (ICT) which is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that defines the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (basically digital communication security).

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

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Network Security and Cyber Security

Network Security: Network Security is the measures taken by any enterprise or organization to secure its computer network and data using both hardware and software systems. This aims at securing the confidentiality and accessibility of the data and network. Every company or organization that handles a large amount of data, has a degree of solutions against many cyber threats. 

Cyber Security: Cyber Security is the measure to protect our system from cyber attacks and malicious attacks. It is basically to advance the security of the system so that we can prevent unauthorized access to our system from the attacker. It protects cyberspace from attacks and damages. Cyberspace can be hampered by inherent vulnerabilities that cannot be removed sometimes.

Difference between Network Security and Cyber Security:

Parameters	Network Security	Cyber Security
Definition	Network security is a feature that protects data as it travels through and across an organization’s network. As a result, it protects firm data from nefarious employees who are not authorized to view specific sensitive information.	Cyber security is a system that protects a company’s device and server data. In other words, it serves as an extra layer of defense against cyber criminals.
Data	It protects the data flowing over the network. Network security ensures to protect the transit data only. It protects anything in the network realm.	It protects the data residing in the devices and servers. Cyber security ensures the protection of entire digital data. It protects anything in the cyber realm.
Hierarchy	It is a subset of cyber security.	It is a subset of information security.
Viruses	It deals with the protection from DOS attacks, viruses, and worms.	It deals with the protection from cyber-attacks and cybercrimes that includes phishing and pre-texting.
Strikes against	Network Security strikes against trojans.	Cyber Security strikes against cyber crimes and cyber frauds.
Security	It secures the data traveling across the network by terminals.	It deals with the protection of the data resting.
Examples	Multi-factor authentication, software updates, and rigorous password regulations are all part of network security.	Secure sensitive data, online authentication, and up-to-date information are all examples of cybersecurity precautions.
Popular job titles	Network Security Engineer and Network Security Architect are two popular job titles.	Cyber Security Architect and Cyber Security Analyst are two popular career titles.
Job role	The job role of a network security professional lies in safeguarding an organization’s IT infrastructure.	A cyber security specialist is an expert in the protection, detection, and recovery of cyber security threats.

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

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Difference between Cryptography and Cyber Security

Cyber Security :

Cybersecurity, as the name suggests, is a process or measures taken by organizations or experts to protect devices, computer networks, or data from malicious activities.  It is considered as one of the remedies to alleviate cyber crime. In simple words, it refers to keeping data secure. It also maintains safe and stable business operations even in face of cyber threats.  

Cryptography : 

Cryptography, as the name suggests, is a process that is mainly used to encrypt and decrypt data or messages that cannot be deciphered by unauthorized access. It deploys the use of scrambled or distorted symbols. It is simply used to provide extra security to ensure that only authorized users can understand the message. In simple words, it refers to the method used to protect sensitive information.  

Difference between Cybersecurity and Cryptography :

Cyber Security	Cryptography
It is a process of keeping networks, devices, programs, data secret and safe from damage or unauthorized access.	It is a process of keeping information secret and safe simply by converting it into unintelligible information and vice-versa.
It is all about managing cyber risks in all aspects such as people, process, technology, etc.	It is all about math functions and can be applied in technical solutions for increasing cybersecurity.
Its main objective is to prevent or mitigate harm or destruction of computer networks, applications, devices, and data.	Its main objective is to keep plain text secret from eaves or droppers who are trying to have access to some information about the plain text.
It is generally used for the protection of internet-connected systems like software, hardware, and data, risk management, disaster planning, access control, policies.	It is generally used for integrity, entity authentication, data origin authentication, non-repudiation, etc.
It protects the system against viruses, worms, unwanted programs, etc., protects the computer from being hacked, reduces computer freezing and crashes, provides privacy to users, etc.	It protects authentication and data across devices, maintains integrity, provides privacy to its best, allows two parties to communicate securely, etc.
It makes cryptography one of its subsets and uses it to design algorithms, ciphers, and security measures that usually codify and keep company and customer data protected.	It is an automated mathematical tool that is used to enhance and improve cybersecurity.
It generally involves the implementation of specific procedures to keep data safe.	It generally mitigates or reduces cyber-crime simply by using elaborate design to encrypt messages.

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

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Emerging Attack Vectors in Cyber Security

In this article we will discuss some emerging attack vectors with their potentially high impact on the security of web application. We will cover Introduction to attack vector, Insecure Direct Object Reference, Relative Path Overwrite, Directory Brute Forcing. Let’s discuss it one by one.

Attack Vectors :

◉ Attack vector is basically a method used by the hacker or security analyst to penetrate in target application for some malicious use or to check the security features of application.

◉ Every ethical hacker has their own and unique attack vector to check the security of target application, this application may become web application or android application but in this article we are mainly focusing on web application.

◉ In this article you can learn some emerging attack vector with their impact. You can use any attack vector on the application if and only if you have legal permission to check their security features. Don’t apply any attack vector on application without permission of application owner it is totally illegal to penetrate in application without legal permission.

Insecure Direct Object Reference :

◉ Insecure Direct Object Reference is commonly known as IDOR, it is basically permission based vulnerability which allows an attacker to modify or access resources belonging to other users of the application. 

◉ Fundamental concept behind the IDOR vulnerability is that an endpoint of application tries to give access for modifying and accessing the user data, data may contain images, address, files and in some cases is main to contain the username and password of user.

◉ Now days IDOR is common and emerging attack vector for web application because, cause IDOR vulnerability is access permission and problem related to permission cannot be fixed automatically or by default because in web application permission varies from user to user. 

◉ For example, on any application normal user and prime user has different access permission, normal user and admin has different permission for modification of data.

◉ Basically this class of vulnerability is everywhere, in fact it is so common that the majority of the web application are affected by this.

Relative Path Overwrite :

◉ Security researcher Gareth Heyes discovered the new attack vector namely as Relative Path Overwrite(RPO). RPO exploits the way of browsers to interpret relative paths during importing CSS files into DOM (document object model) hence this attack also known as Path Relative Style sheet Import (PRSSI).

Relative Path -

<link href="database/xyz.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>

Absolute Path -

<link href="https://example.com /database/xyz.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>

◉ Example –

For example, if the document was loaded at https://example.com /database then the CSS will be loaded from the path https://example.com /database/xyz.css in the case of relative path. If website has URL : https://example.com /index.html and they link the <link href=”resource/rpo.css” rel=”stylesheet” type=” text/CSS”/> given path in html file. 

In this scenario if we visit https://example.com /index.html this URL then website can import its CSS file through given path but if attacker change URL to https://example.com /index.htm/random/payload it’s also work due to the flexible nature of server-side programming languages and web frameworks but this time CSS does not load from the path given in html file. And by adding the payloads at vulnerable end point attacker can control the CSS of web application.

Directory Brute Forcing :

◉ This is very popular and simple attack vector, most of the ethical hacker use this vector to find hidden and sensitive directory on the web application.There are various automated tools are available for testing this attack vector. 

◉ Many times developer forgot to make sensitive files and directory hidden, like files containing database username, password, source code of website, etc. due to this information may leak at particular endpoint and by brute forcing the directories attack may find the hidden data and sensitive information of web application. 

◉ As a developer it is good practice to make all sensitive directories hidden from user. 

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

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