Binary Code
Computers and other electronic devices store information as Binary Code (which is a series of 1s and 0s that might look like this: 10101001 01101100 11001010).
Network Topology Map
A Network Topology Map is a diagram of a computer network's components, including network access points and connections between its various parts.
Fake Anti-Virus Software
Fake Anti-Virus Software - also known as 'scareware' - is designed to trick you into buying worthless anti-virus protection that you do not need.
Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the ‘telephone book’ of the Web – it translates a website's name into its corresponding numerical IP address on the Internet.
Social Engineering
A Phishing e-mail is an attempt to trick the recipient into giving up information, such as account, credit card or password information.
Data Encryption
Data Encryption is the intentional scrambling of information into unreadable form - until it is later converted back into its original form by the intended recipient.
Botnet, or Compromised Computers
A Botnet is a collection of computers compromised by a malware attack that can be controlled remotely (via the Internet) to attack websites, send out spam emails, etc.
Distributed Denial of Service Attack
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack can use a botnet to force a website, network or other resource to shut down by overloading it with requests for data.
USB Flash Drive
A USB Flash Drive, aka a 'stick drive' or 'thumb drive' is a portable data storage device which connects to a computer's USB port to send and receive data.
Electronic vs. Static Media
Static Media is something like a book, magazine or printed photo, while Electronic or Digital Media (websites, digital photos, etc.) requires power to be viewed.
Administrative Access
A user with Administrative Rights has unrestricted power to create, modify or delete files, folders, settings and programs on a particular computer.
Computer Security Tip of the Week
Scott Aurnou – Information flows into and out of a computer network through numbered ports and hackers use them to break in, too. How can you tell who has access to your network and what can you do to make it safer?
Websites referenced in this video include:
Nmap
If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel.
Computer Security Tip of the Week
Scott Aurnou – If it’s not set up (aka ‘configured’) properly, your wireless network can be exposed to electronic attacks in a number of ways. This can result in some unwelcome surprises, including – but not limited to – an attacker stealing your business, financial and personal data.
Websites referenced in this video include:
Secure Your Wi-Fi Router (it’s What Connects You to the Internet)
RouterPaswords.com
Use Strong Passwords to Protect Your Business from Hackers
If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel.
By Scott Aurnou
Advanced persistent threats (also known as APTs) are deliberately slow-moving electronic attacks used to quietly compromise a computer network without revealing themselves. They often use a variety of attack methods to get unauthorized system access initially and then gradually spread throughout the network. To date, APTs have primarily been used to surreptitiously access intellectual property, sensitive internal business and legal documents and other data.
Unlike many other kinds of cyber attack, APTs tend to target large and/or influential companies and firms because they often have a greater stockpile of intellectual property and other valuable information for hackers to steal and profit from. These include financial institutions, law firms, government agencies and contractors, technology companies and, realistically, any organizations with information of value. For a company or firm with new product designs and/or non-public strategic business information on its network, the risk is enormous. Imagine walking into a high stakes negotiation with an adversary who has already seen all of your firm’s internal documents regarding the situation. And how damaging would it be for a competitor to gain access to your newest designs – with no research and development costs of their own – before they hit the market?
Given the value of the information targeted, APTs are often run by well-funded and highly skilled hacking teams. How do these attacks take place? There are five basic steps to a typical APT attack:
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Computer Security Tip of the Week
Scott Aurnou – Hackers use rainbow tables to easily crack the vast majority of passwords and there’s a good chance at least some of the ones you use are on them. Learn what they are and what you can do to protect yourself here…
If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel (and subscribe if you like).
By Gilad Parann-Nissany
A day doesn’t go by when we don’t hear about sensitive information being exposed or stolen. The culprits could be the government, professional hackers, careless employees with data on mobile devices, or internal employees with unauthorized access to data or unintentional release of data. It seems the wave of data breaches has gained momentum as data has moved from internal servers to the cloud; and access has gone mobile. Though the fact remains that there will be gaps in security, the goal of companies and IT departments should be to make those gaps as small and as difficult to take advantage of as possible.
Encryption has always been viewed as one of the strongest security measures, and its price-performance has become very attractive with the advent of cloud computing. This is because encryption is by far the best way to replace physical walls in the cloud.
Here are our top 5 cloud encryption tips (and we know a thing or two about encryption) to help protect your data:
1. Consider Encryption at rest, in use and in transit.
Data can be exposed when it is at rest in the cloud, on a virtual disk, in a cloud database, or in object storage. Eavesdropping may occur when data is being transmitted, perhaps from a user’s browser to your servers in the cloud, or between your cloud servers. Really nasty hackers may even try to gain access to your “root account” in a cloud server and look at the memory of your server while the data is being used and computation is going on. You should be aware of all these possibilities and choose solutions that address all of these risks.
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