Exam 4: Chapter 4- Information Security Flashcards
the degree of protection against criminal activity, danger, damage, or loss.
security
all of the processes and policies designed to protect an organization’s information and information systems (IS) from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.
information security
any danger to which a system may be exposed.
Threat (to an information resource)
the harm, loss, or damage that can result if a threat compromises that resource.
Exposure (of an information resource)
the possibility that a threat will harm that resource.
Vulnerability (of an information resource)
What are the 5 key factors contributing to the increasing vulnerability of organizational information resources?
- Today’s interconnected, interdependent, wirelessly networked business environment.
- Smaller, faster, cheaper computers and storage devices
- Decreasing skills necessary to be a computer hacker
- International organized crime taking over cybercrime
- Lack of management support
any network within your organization
trusted network
any network external to your organization.
untrusted network
________ _________ enable employees to compute, communicate, and access the Internet anywhere and at any time.
wireless technologies
__________ is an inherently unsecure broadcast communications medium.
wireless
users with limited skills can download and use to attack any information system that is connected to the Internet.
scripts
illegal activities conducted over computer networks, particularly the Internet.
cybercrime
T or F: cybercrimes are typically nonviolent; however, they are quite lucrative. Losses from computer crimes can average hundreds of thousands of dollars. Computer crimes can be committed from anywhere in the world at any time, effectively providing an international safe haven for cybercriminals.
True
What are the 2 major categories of threats?
Unintentional and deliberate threats
acts performed without malicious intent that nevertheless represent a serious threat to information security. A major category of this is human error.
unintentional threats
the higher the level of employee, the (smaller/greater) the threat he or she poses to information security
greater
Employees in two areas of the organization pose especially significant threats to information security:
Why are these two significant threats?
- human resources and information systems
- H.R. employees generally have access to sensitive personal information about all employees.
- IS employees not only have access to sensitive organizational data, but they also frequently control the means to create, store, transmit, and modify those data.
What are 3 other relevant employees in regard to information security?
- Contract labor (such as temporary hires)
- Consultants
- Janitors and guards
an attack in which the perpetrator uses social skills to trick or manipulate legitimate employees into providing confidential company information such as passwords.
social engineering
What are 2 social engineering techniques?
Tailgating and shoulder surfing
a technique designed to allow the perpetrator to enter restricted areas that are controlled with locks or card entry. The perpetrator follows closely behind a legitimate employee and, when the employee gains entry, the attacker asks him or her to “hold the door.”
tailgating
occurs when a perpetrator watches an employee’s computer screen over the employee’s shoulder. This technique is particularly successful in public areas such as in airports and on commuter trains and airplanes.
shoulder surfing
What are 10 common types of deliberate attacks?
- Espionage or trespass
- Information extortion
- Sabotage or vandalism
- Theft of equipment/information
- Identity theft
- Compromises to intellectual property
- Software attacks
- Alien software
- SCADA attacks
- Cyberterrorism and cyberwarfare
occurs when an unauthorized individual attempts to gain illegal access to organizational information
espionage or trespass
occurs when an attacker either threatens to steal, or actually steals, information from a company. The perpetrator demands payment for not stealing the information, for returning stolen information, or for agreeing not to disclose the information
information extortion
An increasingly serious type of information extortion is _________.
ransomware
blocks access to a computer system or encrypts an organization’s data until the organization pays a sum of money. Victims are told to pay the ransom, usually in Bitcoin. Attackers typically use the anonymizing Tor network.
ransomware
Most commonly, ransomware attacks use _____ ______ and _______ attacks. These emails are carefully tailored to look as convincing as possible.
sphear phishing; whaling
Some ransomware developers distribute ransomware to any hacker who wants to use it. This process is called
ransomware-as-a-service
Rather than threatening to delete encrypted data, some cybercriminals are beginning to threaten to release it to the public, a strategy known as
doxxing
What are the 5 things to do to protect against ransomware?
- all organizations must provide education and training
- Organizations must install the latest versions of software and apply patches immediately.
- Organizations must back up crucial data and information often
- Organizations should employ anti-ransomware software.
- Organizations should utilize the No More Ransom initiative
deliberate acts that involve defacing an organization’s website, potentially damaging the organization’s image and causing its customers to lose faith.
sabotage or vandalism
T or F: not all attacks on organizations involve sophisticated software.
true
a form of theft that involves rummaging through commercial or residential trash to find discarded information
dumpster diving
the deliberate assumption of another person’s identity, usually to gain access to his or her financial information or to frame him or her for a crime.
identity theft
T or F: Recovering from identity theft is costly, time consuming, and burdensome.
true
the property created by individuals or corporations that is protected under trade secret, patent, and copyright laws.
intellectual property
an intellectual work, such as a business plan, that is a company secret and is not based on public information. (ex: formula for Coca Cola)
trade secret
an official document that grants the holder exclusive rights on an invention or a process for a specified period of time.
patent
a statutory grant that provides the creators or owners of intellectual property with ownership of the property, also for a designated period.
copyright
Current U.S. laws award patents for ____ years and copyright protection for the life of the creator plus ____ years. Owners are entitled to collect fees from anyone who wants to copy their creations.
20; 70