What is Information Securitys primary mission?

Introduction Primary mission of information security is to ensure systems and contents stay the same If no threats, could focus on improving systems, resulting in vast improvements in ease of use and usefulness Attacks on information systems are a daily occurrence Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 2

Business Needs First Information security performs four important functions for an organization Protects ability to function Enables safe operation of applications implemented on its IT systems Protects data the organization collects and uses Safeguards technology assets in use th Edition Principles of Information Security, 4 3

Threats Threat: an object, person, or other entity that represents a constant danger to an asset Management must be informed of the different threats facing the organization By examining each threat category, management effectively protects information through policy, education, training, and technology controls Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 4

5 Table 2 -1 Threats to Information Security

Compromises to Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP): “ownership of ideas and control over the tangible or virtual representation of those ideas” The most common IP breaches involve software piracy Two watchdog organizations investigate software abuse: Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) Business Software Alliance (BSA) Enforcement of copyright law has been attempted with technical security mechanisms Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 6

Deliberate Software Attacks Malicious software (malware) designed to damage, destroy, or deny service to target systems Includes viruses, worms, Trojan horses, logic bombs, back doors, polymorphic threats, virus and worm hoaxes Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 7

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Deviations in Quality of Service Includes situations where products or services are not delivered as expected Information system depends on many interdependent support systems Internet service, communications, and power irregularities dramatically affect availability of information and systems Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 9

Espionage or Trespass Access of protected information by unauthorized individuals Competitive intelligence (legal) vs. industrial espionage (illegal) Shoulder surfing can occur anywhere a person accesses confidential information Controls let trespassers know they are encroaching on organization’s cyberspace Hackers use skill, guile, or fraud to bypass controls protecting others’ information Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 10

Deliberate Acts of Trespass (continued) Expert hacker Unskilled hacker Cracker Phreaker Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 11

Forces of Nature Forces of nature among the most dangerous threats Disrupt not only individual lives, but also storage, transmission, and use of information Organizations must implement controls to limit damage and prepare contingency plans for continued operations Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 12

Acts of Human Error or Failure Includes acts performed without malicious intent Causes include: Inexperience Improper training Incorrect assumptions Employees are among the greatest threats to an organization’s data Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 13

Figure 2 -1 – Acts of Human Error or Failure Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 14

Deliberate Acts of Information Extortion Attacker steals information from computer system and demands compensation for its return or nondisclosure Commonly done in credit card number theft Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 15

Missing, Inadequate, or Incomplete In policy or planning, can make organizations vulnerable to loss, damage, or disclosure of information assets With controls, can make an organization more likely to suffer losses when other threats lead to attacks th Edition Principles of Information Security, 4 16

Deliberate Acts of Sabotage or Vandalism Attacks on the face of an organization—its Web site Threats can range from petty vandalism to organized sabotage Web site defacing can erode consumer confidence, dropping sales and organization’s net worth Threat of hacktivist or cyberactivist operations rising Cyberterrorism: much more sinister form of hacking Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 17

Figure 2 -5 - Cyber Activists Wanted Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 18

Deliberate Acts of Theft Illegal taking of another’s physical, electronic, or intellectual property Physical theft is controlled relatively easily Electronic theft is more complex problem; evidence of crime not readily apparent Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 19

Technical Hardware Failures or Errors Occur when manufacturer distributes equipment containing flaws to users Can cause system to perform outside of expected parameters, resulting in unreliable or poor service Some errors are terminal; some are intermittent Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 20

Technical Software Failures or Errors Purchased software that contains unrevealed faults Combinations of certain software and hardware can reveal new software bugs Entire Web sites dedicated to documenting bugs Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 21

Technological Obsolescence Antiquated/outdated infrastructure can lead to unreliable, untrustworthy systems Proper managerial planning should prevent technology obsolescence; IT plays large role Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 22

Attacks Act or action that exploits vulnerability (i. e. , an identified weakness) in controlled system Accomplished by threat agent that damages or steals organization’s information Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 23

Attacks (continued) Malicious code: includes execution of viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and active Web scripts with intent to destroy or steal information Hoaxes: transmission of a virus hoax with a real virus attached; more devious form of attack Back door: gaining access to system or network using known or previously unknown/newly discovered access mechanism Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 24

Table 2 -2 - Attack Replication Vectors New Table Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 25

Attacks (continued) Password crack: attempting to reverse calculate a password Brute force: trying every possible combination of options of a password Dictionary: selects specific accounts to attack and uses commonly used passwords (i. e. , the dictionary) to guide guesses Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 26

Attacks (continued) Denial-of-service (Do. S): attacker sends large number of connection or information requests to a target Target system cannot handle successfully along with other, legitimate service requests May result in system crash or inability to perform ordinary functions Distributed denial-of-service (DDo. S): coordinated stream of requests is launched against target from many locations simultaneously Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 27

Attacks (continued) Spoofing: technique used to gain unauthorized access; intruder assumes a trusted IP address Man-in-the-middle: attacker monitors network packets, modifies them, and inserts them back into network Spam: unsolicited commercial e-mail; more a nuisance than an attack, though is emerging as a vector for some attacks Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 28

Figure 2 -12 IP Spoofing 29

Figure 2 -13 Man-in-the-Middle Attack 30

Attacks (continued) Mail bombing: also a Do. S; attacker routes large quantities of e-mail to target Sniffers: program or device that monitors data traveling over network; can be used both for legitimate purposes and for stealing information from a network Social engineering: using social skills to convince people to reveal access credentials or other valuable information to attacker Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 31

Attacks (continued) “People are the weakest link. You can have the best technology; firewalls, intrusion-detection systems, biometric devices. . . and somebody can call an unsuspecting employee. That's all she wrote, baby. They got everything. ” — Kevin Mitnick Phishing: an attempt to gain personal/financial information from individual, usually by posing as legitimate entity Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 32

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Attacks (continued) Pharming: redirection of legitimate Web traffic (e. g. , browser requests) to illegitimate site for the purpose of obtaining private information Timing attack: relatively new; works by exploring contents of a Web browser’s cache to create malicious cookie Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 34

Secure Software Development Many information security issues discussed here are caused by software elements of system Development of software and systems is often accomplished using methodology such as Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Many organizations recognize need for security objectives in SDLC and have included procedures to create more secure software This software development approach known as Software Assurance (SA) Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 35

Software Assurance and the SA Common Body of Knowledge National effort underway to create common body of knowledge focused on secure software development US Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security supported Software Assurance Initiative, which resulted in publication of Secure Software Assurance (Sw. A) Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) Sw. A CBK serves as a strongly recommended guide to developing more secure applications Principles of Information Security, 4 th Edition 36

Software Development Security Problems Problem areas in software development: Buffer overruns Command injection Cross-site scripting Failure to handle errors Failure to protect network traffic Failure to store and protect data securely Failure to use cryptographically strong random numbers Format string problems Neglecting change control Improper file access th Principles of Information Security, 4 Edition 37

Software Development Security Problems (continued) Problem areas in software development (continued): Improper use of SSL Information leakage Integer bugs (overflows/underflows) Race conditions SQL injection Trusting network address resolution Unauthenticated key exchange Use of magic URLs and hidden forms Use of weak password-based systems Poor usability th Principles of Information Security, 4 Edition 38

What is information security's primary mission?

What does information security department do?

What are the 3 components of information security?

What are 4 types of information security?