3.6 Cyber Security

Question 1

Cyber security

Answer 1

Cyber security consists of the processes, practices and technologies designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorised access.

Question 2

Threats to cyber security

Answer 2

• Social engineering techniques
• Malicious code
• Weak and default passwords
• Misconfigured access rights
• Removable media
• Unpatched and/or outdated software

Question 3

Social engineering techniques

Answer 3

The art of manipulating people to give up confidential information.

Question 4

4 types of social engineering techniques

Answer 4

• Blagging
• Phishing
• Pharming
• Shouldering

Question 5

Blagging

Answer 5

Inventing a scenario to convince people to divulge confidential information.

Question 6

Phishing

Answer 6

Sending a message (usually email) that pretends to be from a legitimate source. The message normally contains a link that the victim is encouraged to follow. Can be made to appear very realistic.

Question 7

Pharming

Answer 7

Redirecting users to a fake website by either:
• Changing the hosts file on the client computer or
• Changing compromising (poisoning) the DNS server

Question 8

Shouldering

Answer 8

Shouldering is looking at someone’s information over their shoulder.

Question 9

Malicious code

Answer 9

• Wants to harm your computer or systems.
• Wants to steal confidential information.
• Wants to take control of your system and hold you to ransom.
• Is used as a “weapon” to cause damage

How?
• It might be an email with a link you are asked to click on

Question 10

Malware

Answer 10

Malicious code is also referred to as Malware and refers to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software.

You need to know about:
• Computer virus
• Trojans
• Spyware
• Adware

Question 11

Computer virus

Answer 11

• Its installed without your knowledge, with the purpose of doing harm.
• A virus is a program which infect other programs or data files.
• It is commonly replicated to send onto someone else and It is easily spread if a user innocently sends an infected filed to someone else.
• It is commonly found in email attachments with macros.

Question 12

Trojans

Answer 12

This is a program which misleads the user into thinking it’s another piece of software which, when run, executes another program.

Question 13

Spyware

Answer 13

A program which records data such as usernames and passwords on a host system and forwards the information to a third party.

Question 14

Adware

Answer 14

Code embedded or attached to program files which will persistently show adverts.

Question 15

Weak and default passwords

Answer 15

Weak:
• 8 characters is considered too weak
• Upper, lower case, numbers, special characters
• Not dictionary words - use initials of a phrase known to you
• Don’t use previous passwords

Default:
• Manufacturers often use the same UN and PW for their hardware eg “admin” and 0000
• Many users do not change the default password

What hardware might this apply too?
• This may become more prevalent as we use more “internet of things” devices

Question 16

Misconfigured access right

Answer 16

There are four main levels of access rights to data!
• Read-only a user can read data
• Create a user can create new data
• Write a user can make changes to data
• Delete a user can delete data

Misconfigured access rights can cause legislation breaches

What is GDPR? (General data protection regulation)
Data should be kept secure - appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

Question 17

Removable media

Answer 17

• Any storage medium that can be removed can be lost or stolen.
• If the data is stolen then personal or confidential information could be given away.
• For an organisation storing data about people, this could be in breach of the Data Protection Act.
• Or the media could contain infected files and malware.

Question 18

Unpatched and/or outdated software

Answer 18

• Software can be very complex and can contain security flaws that hackers can take advantage of.
• When a hacker discovers a security flaw in software, they can often use it to gain unauthorised access to a computer system.
• They may also share information about the security flaw with other hackers, or ask for payment for the information.
• Software manufacturers can issue patches to patch up the loophole
• However, this replies upon users installing the updates.
• Some software becomes outdated and the manufacturer will no longer provide patches.
• Many computers are not set up automatically to instal software updates.

Question 19

Penetration testing

Answer 19

Penetration testing is the practice of deliberately trying to find security holes in your own systems.
The goal of penetration testing is to:
• Identify the targets of potential attacks
• Identify possible entry points
• Attempt to break in
• Report back the findings

Question 20

White-box and black-box penetration testing?

Answer 20

Way to highlight weaknesses in defence:
• White-box penetration testing:
Simulate a malicious insider
• Black-box penetration testing:
Stimulate an external hack or cyber warfare

Question 21

Methods to detect and prevent cyber security threats?

Answer 21

• Biometrics
• Password systems
• CAPTCHA
• Email confirmation of users identity
• Automatic software update

Question 22

Authentication

Answer 22

Checking that the user is allowed to access content. Some applications use a pin pattern instead of a username and password.

Question 23

Biometric authentication

Answer 23

Voice, fingerprint, face or iris recognition can be used to identify individuals.

Question 24

How to set a secure password?

Answer 24

• Minimum of eight characters.
• Mixture of numbers, lowercase and uppercase characters.
• Do not include your name or personal details.

Question 25

CAPTCHA

Answer 25

‘Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans apart’
• It prevents spambots from signing up to an Internet Service.
• It uses it for search queries if there has been an excessive number of queries from one IP address.
• The user is required to decipher and type in the text shown in a strolled way unreadable by a computer.
• Sometimes the CAPTCHA can be difficult for a human to decipher.

Question 26

Registering a username and password

Answer 26

• When a user signs up for a service, they may be asked to enter a username and password.
• They are also asked to enter their email address.
• If, later on, they forget their password, a reminder can be sent to this email address.

Question 27

E-mail confirmation

Answer 27

• Usually, the supplier sends a confirmation email address to the address you supplied.
• This may ask you to enter a verification code included with the email.
• Your registration will not be complete until you reply, with the verification code.
• This ensures that you have the correct email address.

Question 28

Automatic software updates

Answer 28

• Many large companies such as Microsoft automatically update your software whenever they make a change to it.
• This could happen on a daily or weekly basis.
• The provider of your anti-virus software may remind you to update your protection if for any reason the automatic update failed.