LifeLock by Norton was an American software company active from 2005 to 2017, and was best known for its eponymous LifeLock identity theft prevention software, now sold by Gen Digital after the latter acquired LifeLock in 2017. LifeLock's system monitors for identity theft, the use of personal information, and credit score changes.
104-541: LifeLock was acquired by computer security company Symantec in 2017 for $ 2.3 billion. After Symantec sold its enterprise division to Broadcom , the company was renamed from Symantec to NortonLifeLock in November 2019, and Gen Digital Inc. in 2022. In the same year, the company began to offer versions of its Norton 360 subscription service with LifeLock included. LifeLock was co-founded in 2005 by Robert J. Maynard and Todd Davis . Maynard began his career by founding
208-421: A balance between productivity, cost, effectiveness of the countermeasure, and the value of the informational asset being protected. Furthermore, these processes have limitations as security breaches are generally rare and emerge in a specific context which may not be easily duplicated. Thus, any process and countermeasure should itself be evaluated for vulnerabilities. It is not possible to identify all risks, nor
312-587: A big impact on information security in organizations. Cultural concepts can help different segments of the organization work effectively or work against effectiveness toward information security within an organization. Information security culture is the "...totality of patterns of behavior in an organization that contributes to the protection of information of all kinds." Andersson and Reimers (2014) found that employees often do not see themselves as part of their organization's information security effort and often take actions that impede organizational changes. Indeed,
416-483: A business's customers or finances or new product line fall into the hands of a competitor or hacker , a business and its customers could suffer widespread, irreparable financial loss, as well as damage to the company's reputation. From a business perspective, information security must be balanced against cost; the Gordon-Loeb Model provides a mathematical economic approach for addressing this concern. For
520-420: A claim of identity. When John Doe goes into a bank to make a withdrawal, he tells the bank teller he is John Doe, a claim of identity. The bank teller asks to see a photo ID, so he hands the teller his driver's license . The bank teller checks the license to make sure it has John Doe printed on it and compares the photograph on the license against the person claiming to be John Doe. If the photo and name match
624-403: A claim of who they are. However, their claim may or may not be true. Before John Doe can be granted access to protected information it will be necessary to verify that the person claiming to be John Doe really is John Doe. Typically the claim is in the form of a username. By entering that username you are claiming "I am the person the username belongs to". Authentication is the act of verifying
728-476: A colleague, which, when listened to by an attacker, could be exploited. Data transmitted across an "open network" allows an attacker to exploit a vulnerability and intercept it via various methods. Unlike malware , direct-access attacks, or other forms of cyber attacks, eavesdropping attacks are unlikely to negatively affect the performance of networks or devices, making them difficult to notice. In fact, "the attacker does not need to have any ongoing connection to
832-412: A consequence make a Cold boot attack possible, to hardware implementation faults that allow for access or guessing of other values that normally should be inaccessible. In Side-channel attack scenarios, the attacker would gather such information about a system or network to guess its internal state and as a result access the information which is assumed by the victim to be secure. The target information in
936-445: A feature of modern computers that allows certain devices, such as external hard drives, graphics cards, or network cards, to access the computer's memory directly." Eavesdropping is the act of surreptitiously listening to a private computer conversation (communication), usually between hosts on a network. It typically occurs when a user connects to a network where traffic is not secured or encrypted and sends sensitive business data to
1040-502: A flood of incoming messages to the target system, essentially forcing it to shut down. In the realm of information security, availability can often be viewed as one of the most important parts of a successful information security program. Ultimately end-users need to be able to perform job functions; by ensuring availability an organization is able to perform to the standards that an organization's stakeholders expect. This can involve topics such as proxy configurations, outside web access,
1144-480: A malicious code inside a particular HTML or web page. HTML files can carry payloads concealed as benign, inert data in order to defeat content filters . These payloads can be reconstructed on the other side of the filter. When a target user opens the HTML, the malicious code is activated; the web browser then "decodes" the script, which then unleashes the malware onto the target's device. Employee behavior can have
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#17327940892711248-439: A new class of multi-vector, polymorphic cyber threats combine several types of attacks and change form to avoid cybersecurity controls as they spread. Multi-vector polymorphic attacks, as the name describes, are both multi-vectored and polymorphic. Firstly, they are a singular attack that involves multiple methods of attack. In this sense, they are “multi-vectored (i.e. the attack can use multiple means of propagation such as via
1352-505: A payment in exchange for returning the information or property back to its owner, as with ransomware . One of the most functional precautions against these attacks is to conduct periodical user awareness. Governments , military , corporations , financial institutions , hospitals , non-profit organisations, and private businesses amass a great deal of confidential information about their employees, customers, products, research, and financial status. Should confidential information about
1456-502: A separate machine filtering network traffic. Firewalls are common amongst machines that are permanently connected to the Internet. Some organizations are turning to big data platforms, such as Apache Hadoop , to extend data accessibility and machine learning to detect advanced persistent threats . Information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It
1560-540: A series D funding round raised $ 40 million for the company. In March 2013, LifeLock raised $ 100 million in new equity funding from Bessemer Ventures Partners, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Symantec Corporation, and River Street Management. The funds were used towards the acquisition of ID Analytics, an identity theft risk prediction technology. LifeLock announced plans to take its identity theft protection business public and filed for an IPO worth up to $ 175 million on August 28, 2012. The company
1664-601: A side channel can be challenging to detect due to its low amplitude when combined with other signals Social engineering , in the context of computer security, aims to convince a user to disclose secrets such as passwords, card numbers, etc. or grant physical access by, for example, impersonating a senior executive, bank, a contractor, or a customer. This generally involves exploiting people's trust, and relying on their cognitive biases . A common scam involves emails sent to accounting and finance department personnel, impersonating their CEO and urgently requesting some action. One of
1768-705: A standard computer user may be able to exploit a vulnerability in the system to gain access to restricted data; or even become root and have full unrestricted access to a system. The severity of attacks can range from attacks simply sending an unsolicited email to a ransomware attack on large amounts of data. Privilege escalation usually starts with social engineering techniques, often phishing . Privilege escalation can be separated into two strategies, horizontal and vertical privilege escalation: Any computational system affects its environment in some form. This effect it has on its environment can range from electromagnetic radiation, to residual effect on RAM cells which as
1872-419: A tool for security professionals to examine security from a systems perspective, creating an environment where security can be managed holistically, allowing actual risks to be addressed. The type of information security classification labels selected and used will depend on the nature of the organization, with examples being: All employees in the organization, as well as business partners, must be trained on
1976-490: A way of filtering network data between a host or a network and another network, such as the Internet . They can be implemented as software running on the machine, hooking into the network stack (or, in the case of most UNIX -based operating systems such as Linux , built into the operating system kernel ) to provide real-time filtering and blocking. Another implementation is a so-called physical firewall , which consists of
2080-618: A wide variety of laws and regulations that affect how data is accessed, processed, stored, transferred, and destroyed. While paper-based business operations are still prevalent, requiring their own set of information security practices, enterprise digital initiatives are increasingly being emphasized, with information assurance now typically being dealt with by information technology (IT) security specialists. These specialists apply information security to technology (most often some form of computer system). IT security specialists are almost always found in any major enterprise/establishment due to
2184-447: A wrong password enough consecutive times to cause the victim's account to be locked, or they may overload the capabilities of a machine or network and block all users at once. While a network attack from a single IP address can be blocked by adding a new firewall rule, many forms of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are possible, where the attack comes from a large number of points. In this case, defending against these attacks
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#17327940892712288-453: Is available, the analysis may use quantitative analysis. Research has shown that the most vulnerable point in most information systems is the human user, operator, designer, or other human. The ISO/IEC 27002:2005 Code of practice for information security management recommends the following be examined during a risk assessment: In broad terms, the risk management process consists of: For any given risk, management can choose to accept
2392-432: Is it possible to eliminate all risk. The remaining risk is called "residual risk". A risk assessment is carried out by a team of people who have knowledge of specific areas of the business. Membership of the team may vary over time as different parts of the business are assessed. The assessment may use a subjective qualitative analysis based on informed opinion, or where reliable dollar figures and historical information
2496-471: Is much more difficult. Such attacks can originate from the zombie computers of a botnet or from a range of other possible techniques, including distributed reflective denial-of-service (DRDoS), where innocent systems are fooled into sending traffic to the victim. With such attacks, the amplification factor makes the attack easier for the attacker because they have to use little bandwidth themselves. To understand why attackers may carry out these attacks, see
2600-518: Is not a perfect subset of information security , therefore does not completely align into the security convergence schema. A vulnerability refers to a flaw in the structure, execution, functioning, or internal oversight of a computer or system that compromises its security. Most of the vulnerabilities that have been discovered are documented in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database. An exploitable vulnerability
2704-439: Is one for which at least one working attack or exploit exists. Actors maliciously seeking vulnerabilities are known as threats . Vulnerabilities can be researched, reverse-engineered, hunted, or exploited using automated tools or customized scripts. Various people or parties are vulnerable to cyber attacks; however, different groups are likely to experience different types of attacks more than others. In April 2023,
2808-546: Is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data or the unlawful use, disclosure , disruption, deletion, corruption, modification, inspection, recording, or devaluation of information. It also involves actions intended to reduce the adverse impacts of such incidents. Protected information may take any form, e.g., electronic or physical, tangible (e.g., paperwork ), or intangible (e.g., knowledge ). Information security's primary focus
2912-504: Is protected by standard security measures, these may be bypassed by booting another operating system or tool from a CD-ROM or other bootable media. Disk encryption and the Trusted Platform Module standard are designed to prevent these attacks. Direct service attackers are related in concept to direct memory attacks which allow an attacker to gain direct access to a computer's memory. The attacks "take advantage of
3016-425: Is spear-phishing which leverages personal or organization-specific details to make the attacker appear like a trusted source. Spear-phishing attacks target specific individuals, rather than the broad net cast by phishing attempts. Privilege escalation describes a situation where an attacker with some level of restricted access is able to, without authorization, elevate their privileges or access level. For example,
3120-401: Is sufficient to address rapidly changing technology and business requirements, with recommendations to consider expanding on the intersections between availability and confidentiality, as well as the relationship between security and privacy. Other principles such as "accountability" have sometimes been proposed; it has been pointed out that issues such as non-repudiation do not fit well within
3224-436: Is the attempt to act as someone else usually to obtain that person's personal information or to take advantage of their access to vital information through social engineering . Sabotage usually consists of the destruction of an organization's website in an attempt to cause loss of confidence on the part of its customers. Information extortion consists of theft of a company's property or information as an attempt to receive
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3328-626: Is the balanced protection of data confidentiality , integrity , and availability (also known as the 'CIA' triad) while maintaining a focus on efficient policy implementation, all without hampering organization productivity . This is largely achieved through a structured risk management process. To standardize this discipline, academics and professionals collaborate to offer guidance, policies, and industry standards on passwords , antivirus software , firewalls , encryption software , legal liability , security awareness and training, and so forth. This standardization may be further driven by
3432-476: The ARPANET project was formulated by Larry Roberts , which would later evolve into what is known as the internet . In 1973, important elements of ARPANET security were found by internet pioneer Robert Metcalfe to have many flaws such as the: "vulnerability of password structure and formats; lack of safety procedures for dial-up connections ; and nonexistent user identification and authorizations", aside from
3536-611: The Caesar cipher c. 50 B.C., which was created in order to prevent his secret messages from being read should a message fall into the wrong hands. However, for the most part protection was achieved through the application of procedural handling controls. Sensitive information was marked up to indicate that it should be protected and transported by trusted persons, guarded and stored in a secure environment or strong box. As postal services expanded, governments created official organizations to intercept, decipher, read, and reseal letters (e.g.,
3640-699: The Cold War to complete more sophisticated tasks, in a communication process easier than mailing magnetic tapes back and forth by computer centers. As such, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), of the United States Department of Defense , started researching the feasibility of a networked system of communication to trade information within the United States Armed Forces . In 1968,
3744-467: The First World War , multi-tier classification systems were used to communicate information to and from various fronts, which encouraged greater use of code making and breaking sections in diplomatic and military headquarters. Encoding became more sophisticated between the wars as machines were employed to scramble and unscramble information. The establishment of computer security inaugurated
3848-531: The Internet Service Provider (ISP) Internet America in the late 1990s. Former LifeLock CEO Davis worked for Dell before founding Marketing Champions, an advertising and marketing firm. Maynard resigned from LifeLock in June 2007 after claims that he was a victim of identity theft came under scrutiny. Davis publicly posted his Social Security number as part of a 2007 ad campaign to promote
3952-594: The NIST 's Engineering Principles for Information Technology Security proposed 33 principles. In 1998, Donn Parker proposed an alternative model for the classic "CIA" triad that he called the six atomic elements of information . The elements are confidentiality , possession , integrity , authenticity , availability , and utility . The merits of the Parkerian Hexad are a subject of debate amongst security professionals. In 2011, The Open Group published
4056-582: The NIST Cybersecurity Framework . Information security threats come in many different forms. Some of the most common threats today are software attacks, theft of intellectual property, theft of identity, theft of equipment or information, sabotage, and information extortion. Viruses , worms , phishing attacks , and Trojan horses are a few common examples of software attacks. The theft of intellectual property has also been an extensive issue for many businesses. Identity theft
4160-653: The United Kingdom Department for Science, Innovation & Technology released a report on cyber attacks over the last 12 months. They surveyed 2,263 UK businesses, 1,174 UK registered charities, and 554 education institutions. The research found that "32% of businesses and 24% of charities overall recall any breaches or attacks from the last 12 months." These figures were much higher for "medium businesses (59%), large businesses (69%), and high-income charities with £500,000 or more in annual income (56%)." Yet, although medium or large businesses are more often
4264-421: The "CIA" triad to be provided effectively. In addition to the classic CIA triad of security goals, some organisations may want to include security goals like authenticity, accountability, non-repudiation, and reliability. In law, non-repudiation implies one's intention to fulfill their obligations to a contract. It also implies that one party of a transaction cannot deny having received a transaction, nor can
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4368-436: The "practice of designing computer systems to achieve security goals." These goals have overlap with the principles of "security by design" explored above, including to "make initial compromise of the system difficult," and to "limit the impact of any compromise." In practice, the role of a security architect would be to ensure the structure of a system reinforces the security of the system, and that new changes are safe and meet
4472-407: The 'attacker motivation' section. A direct-access attack is when an unauthorized user (an attacker) gains physical access to a computer, most likely to directly copy data from it or steal information. Attackers may also compromise security by making operating system modifications, installing software worms , keyloggers , covert listening devices or using wireless microphones. Even when the system
4576-672: The FTC found LifeLock to be in contempt of the 2010 agreement, charging that they "failed to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program", and "falsely advertised that it protected consumers' sensitive data". The FTC obtained a $ 100 million monetary penalty against LifeLock to settle the contempt charge. Of that fine, $ 68 million was held for class-action refunds to LifeLock customers. In December 2022, LifeLock servers suffered an attack using credential stuffing, and over 6,000 user accounts had their details disclosed, including names, addresses and phone number. The method of attack
4680-651: The U.K.'s Secret Office, founded in 1653 ). In the mid-nineteenth century more complex classification systems were developed to allow governments to manage their information according to the degree of sensitivity. For example, the British Government codified this, to some extent, with the publication of the Official Secrets Act in 1889. Section 1 of the law concerned espionage and unlawful disclosures of information, while Section 2 dealt with breaches of official trust. A public interest defense
4784-524: The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2020, which examined 3,950 security breaches, discovered 30% of cybersecurity incidents involved internal actors within a company. Research shows information security culture needs to be improved continuously. In "Information Security Culture from Analysis to Change", authors commented, "It's a never-ending process, a cycle of evaluation and change or maintenance." To manage
4888-561: The Web, email and applications." However, they are also multi-staged, meaning that “they can infiltrate networks and move laterally inside the network.” The attacks can be polymorphic, meaning that the cyberattacks used such as viruses, worms or trojans “constantly change (“morph”) making it nearly impossible to detect them using signature-based defences.” Phishing is the attempt of acquiring sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details directly from users by deceiving
4992-469: The ability to access shared drives and the ability to send emails. Executives oftentimes do not understand the technical side of information security and look at availability as an easy fix, but this often requires collaboration from many different organizational teams, such as network operations, development operations, incident response, and policy/change management. A successful information security team involves many different key roles to mesh and align for
5096-403: The asset). A vulnerability is a weakness that could be used to endanger or cause harm to an informational asset. A threat is anything (man-made or act of nature ) that has the potential to cause harm. The likelihood that a threat will use a vulnerability to cause harm creates a risk. When a threat does use a vulnerability to inflict harm, it has an impact. In the context of information security,
5200-512: The best form of encryption possible for wireless networks is best practice, as well as using HTTPS instead of an unencrypted HTTP . Programs such as Carnivore and NarusInSight have been used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and NSA to eavesdrop on the systems of internet service providers . Even machines that operate as a closed system (i.e., with no contact with the outside world) can be eavesdropped upon by monitoring
5304-645: The claim that the signature necessarily proves authenticity and integrity. As such, the sender may repudiate the message (because authenticity and integrity are pre-requisites for non-repudiation). In 1992 and revised in 2002, the OECD 's Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks proposed the nine generally accepted principles: awareness , responsibility, response, ethics, democracy, risk assessment, security design and implementation, security management, and reassessment. Building upon those, in 2004
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#17327940892715408-516: The classification schema and understand the required security controls and handling procedures for each classification. The classification of a particular information asset that has been assigned should be reviewed periodically to ensure the classification is still appropriate for the information and to ensure the security controls required by the classification are in place and are followed in their right procedures. Access to protected information must be restricted to people who are authorized to access
5512-639: The common goals of ensuring the security and reliability of information systems . The "CIA triad" of c onfidentiality, i ntegrity, and a vailability is at the heart of information security. The concept was introduced in the Anderson Report in 1972 and later repeated in The Protection of Information in Computer Systems . The abbreviation was coined by Steve Lipner around 1986. Debate continues about whether or not this triad
5616-443: The company as president. In December 2013, LifeLock acquired Lemon Wallet , a digital wallet platform, for $ 42.6 million. In 2015, the FTC obtained a $ 100 million monetary penalty against LifeLock with $ 68 million held for class-action refunds to customers in relation to false advertising and failed service delivery allegations. In January 2016, the company announced that Hilary Schneider would replace Todd Davis as CEO. LifeLock
5720-405: The company's identity theft protection services. However, Davis was a victim of 13 cases of identity theft between 2007 and 2008. Regarding the campaign, Davis said, "We were trying to make the point that ... all it takes is one data breach. The point of that campaign was to take proactive steps to protect your identity." In December 2008, LifeLock entered into an agreement with TransUnion , one of
5824-653: The company, resigned in June 2007 following a controversial story published in Phoenix New Times about his past. The story involved bankruptcy , FTC investigation, and identity theft . LifeLock was fined $ 12 million by the Federal Trade Commission in March 2010 for deceptive advertising. The FTC called the company's prior marketing claims misleading to consumers by claiming to be a 100% guarantee against all forms of identity theft. In 2015,
5928-410: The control mechanisms need to be. The foundation on which access control mechanisms are built start with identification and authentication . Access control is generally considered in three steps: identification, authentication , and authorization . Identification is an assertion of who someone is or what something is. If a person makes the statement "Hello, my name is John Doe " they are making
6032-460: The core, surrounded by people, network security, host-based security, and application security layers. The strategy emphasizes that security involves not just technology, but also people and processes working together, with real-time monitoring and response being crucial components. An important aspect of information security and risk management is recognizing the value of information and defining appropriate procedures and protection requirements for
6136-639: The different classification labels, define the criteria for information to be assigned a particular label, and list the required security controls for each classification. Some factors that influence which classification information should be assigned include how much value that information has to the organization, how old the information is and whether or not the information has become obsolete. Laws and other regulatory requirements are also important considerations when classifying information. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and its Business Model for Information Security also serves as
6240-421: The disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. The significance of the field stems from the expanded reliance on computer systems , the Internet , and wireless network standards . Its importance is further amplified by the growth of smart devices , including smartphones , televisions , and the various devices that constitute the Internet of things (IoT). Cybersecurity has emerged as one of
6344-591: The early 1980s enabled different types of computers to communicate. These computers quickly became interconnected through the internet . The rapid growth and widespread use of electronic data processing and electronic business conducted through the internet, along with numerous occurrences of international terrorism , fueled the need for better methods of protecting the computers and the information they store, process, and transmit. The academic disciplines of computer security and information assurance emerged along with numerous professional organizations, all sharing
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#17327940892716448-416: The entire computer." Backdoors can be very hard to detect and are usually discovered by someone who has access to the application source code or intimate knowledge of the operating system of the computer. Denial-of-service attacks (DoS) are designed to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Attackers can deny service to individual victims, such as by deliberately entering
6552-468: The faint electromagnetic transmissions generated by the hardware. TEMPEST is a specification by the NSA referring to these attacks. Malicious software ( malware ) is any software code or computer program "intentionally written to harm a computer system or its users." Once present on a computer, it can leak sensitive details such as personal information, business information and passwords, can give control of
6656-457: The following sections: Security by design, or alternately secure by design, means that the software has been designed from the ground up to be secure. In this case, security is considered a main feature. The UK government's National Cyber Security Centre separates secure cyber design principles into five sections: These design principles of security by design can include some of the following techniques: Security architecture can be defined as
6760-626: The history of information security. The need for such appeared during World War II . The volume of information shared by the Allied countries during the Second World War necessitated formal alignment of classification systems and procedural controls. An arcane range of markings evolved to indicate who could handle documents (usually officers rather than enlisted troops) and where they should be stored as increasingly complex safes and storage facilities were developed. The Enigma Machine , which
6864-502: The impact is a loss of availability, integrity, and confidentiality, and possibly other losses (lost income, loss of life, loss of real property). The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) Review Manual 2006 defines risk management as "the process of identifying vulnerabilities and threats to the information resources used by an organization in achieving business objectives, and deciding what countermeasures , if any, to take in reducing risk to an acceptable level, based on
6968-558: The incorrect individuals. In IT security, data integrity means maintaining and assuring the accuracy and completeness of data over its entire lifecycle. This means that data cannot be modified in an unauthorized or undetected manner. This is not the same thing as referential integrity in databases , although it can be viewed as a special case of consistency as understood in the classic ACID model of transaction processing . Information security systems typically incorporate controls to ensure their own integrity, in particular protecting
7072-415: The individual, information security has a significant effect on privacy , which is viewed very differently in various cultures . Since the early days of communication, diplomats and military commanders understood that it was necessary to provide some mechanism to protect the confidentiality of correspondence and to have some means of detecting tampering . Julius Caesar is credited with the invention of
7176-500: The information must be available when it is needed. This means the computing systems used to store and process the information, the security controls used to protect it, and the communication channels used to access it must be functioning correctly. High availability systems aim to remain available at all times, preventing service disruptions due to power outages, hardware failures, and system upgrades. Ensuring availability also involves preventing denial-of-service attacks , such as
7280-619: The information of a user or organization. This environment includes users themselves, networks, devices, all software, processes, information in storage or transit, applications, services, and systems that can be connected directly or indirectly to networks. The principal objective is to reduce the risks, including preventing or mitigating attacks. These published materials consist of tools, policies, security concepts, security safeguards, guidelines, risk management approaches, actions, training, best practices, assurance and technologies. Common information security standards include ISO/IEC 27001 and
7384-490: The information security culture, five steps should be taken: pre-evaluation, strategic planning, operative planning, implementation, and post-evaluation. In computer security, a countermeasure is an action, device, procedure or technique that reduces a threat, a vulnerability, or an attack by eliminating or preventing it, by minimizing the harm it can cause, or by discovering and reporting it so that corrective action can be taken. Some common countermeasures are listed in
7488-402: The information security management standard O-ISM3 . This standard proposed an operational definition of the key concepts of security, with elements called "security objectives", related to access control (9), availability (3), data quality (1), compliance, and technical (4). Risk is the likelihood that something bad will happen that causes harm to an informational asset (or the loss of
7592-403: The information. Not all information is equal and so not all information requires the same degree of protection. This requires information to be assigned a security classification . The first step in information classification is to identify a member of senior management as the owner of the particular information to be classified. Next, develop a classification policy. The policy should describe
7696-402: The information. The computer programs, and in many cases the computers that process the information, must also be authorized. This requires that mechanisms be in place to control the access to protected information. The sophistication of the access control mechanisms should be in parity with the value of the information being protected; the more sensitive or valuable the information the stronger
7800-702: The kernel or core functions against both deliberate and accidental threats. Multi-purpose and multi-user computer systems aim to compartmentalize the data and processing such that no user or process can adversely impact another: the controls may not succeed however, as we see in incidents such as malware infections, hacks, data theft, fraud, and privacy breaches. More broadly, integrity is an information security principle that involves human/social, process, and commercial integrity, as well as data integrity. As such it touches on aspects such as credibility, consistency, truthfulness, completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and assurance. For any information system to serve its purpose,
7904-409: The lack of controls and safeguards to keep data safe from unauthorized access. Hackers had effortless access to ARPANET, as phone numbers were known by the public. Due to these problems, coupled with the constant violation of computer security, as well as the exponential increase in the number of hosts and users of the system, "network security" was often alluded to as "network insecurity". The end of
8008-449: The life-threatening risk of spoofing in the healthcare industry. Tampering describes a malicious modification or alteration of data. It is an intentional but unauthorized act resulting in the modification of a system, components of systems, its intended behavior, or data. So-called Evil Maid attacks and security services planting of surveillance capability into routers are examples. HTML smuggling allows an attacker to "smuggle"
8112-527: The main techniques of social engineering are phishing attacks. In early 2016, the FBI reported that such business email compromise (BEC) scams had cost US businesses more than $ 2 billion in about two years. In May 2016, the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team was the victim of this type of cyber scam with a perpetrator impersonating the team's president Peter Feigin , resulting in the handover of all
8216-424: The message, and nobody else could have altered it in transit ( data integrity ). The alleged sender could in return demonstrate that the digital signature algorithm is vulnerable or flawed, or allege or prove that his signing key has been compromised. The fault for these violations may or may not lie with the sender, and such assertions may or may not relieve the sender of liability, but the assertion would invalidate
8320-556: The most significant new challenges facing the contemporary world, due to both the complexity of information systems and the societies they support. Security is particularly crucial for systems that govern large-scale systems with far-reaching physical effects, such as power distribution , elections , and finance . Although many aspects of computer security involve digital security, such as electronic passwords and encryption , physical security measures such as metal locks are still used to prevent unauthorized tampering. IT security
8424-748: The nature and value of the data within larger businesses. They are responsible for keeping all of the technology within the company secure from malicious attacks that often attempt to acquire critical private information or gain control of the internal systems. There are many specialist roles in Information Security including securing networks and allied infrastructure , securing applications and databases , security testing , information systems auditing , business continuity planning , electronic record discovery, and digital forensics . Information security standards are techniques generally outlined in published materials that attempt to protect
8528-473: The nature of backdoors, they are of greater concern to companies and databases as opposed to individuals. Backdoors may be added by an authorized party to allow some legitimate access or by an attacker for malicious reasons. Criminals often use malware to install backdoors, giving them remote administrative access to a system. Once they have access, cybercriminals can "modify files, steal personal information, install unwanted software, and even take control of
8632-560: The openness of the Internet. These strategies mostly include phishing , ransomware , water holing and scanning. To secure a computer system, it is important to understand the attacks that can be made against it, and these threats can typically be classified into one of the following categories: A backdoor in a computer system, a cryptosystem , or an algorithm is any secret method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls. These weaknesses may exist for many reasons, including original design or poor configuration. Due to
8736-777: The organization. ISO/IEC 27002 offers a guideline for organizational information security standards. Defense in depth is a fundamental security philosophy that relies on overlapping security systems designed to maintain protection even if individual components fail. Rather than depending on a single security measure, it combines multiple layers of security controls both in the cloud and at network endpoints. This approach includes combinations like firewalls with intrusion-detection systems, email filtering services with desktop anti-virus, and cloud-based security alongside traditional network defenses. The concept can be implemented through three distinct layers of administrative, logical, and physical controls, or visualized as an onion model with data at
8840-415: The other party deny having sent a transaction. It is important to note that while technology such as cryptographic systems can assist in non-repudiation efforts, the concept is at its core a legal concept transcending the realm of technology. It is not, for instance, sufficient to show that the message matches a digital signature signed with the sender's private key, and thus only the sender could have sent
8944-428: The real website. Preying on a victim's trust, phishing can be classified as a form of social engineering . Attackers can use creative ways to gain access to real accounts. A common scam is for attackers to send fake electronic invoices to individuals showing that they recently purchased music, apps, or others, and instructing them to click on a link if the purchases were not authorized. A more strategic type of phishing
9048-476: The right foundation to systematically address business, IT and security concerns in an organization. A state of computer security is the conceptual ideal, attained by the use of three processes: threat prevention, detection, and response. These processes are based on various policies and system components, which include the following: Today, computer security consists mainly of preventive measures, like firewalls or an exit procedure . A firewall can be defined as
9152-477: The risk based upon the relative low value of the asset, the relative low frequency of occurrence, and the relative low impact on the business. Or, leadership may choose to mitigate the risk by selecting and implementing appropriate control measures to reduce the risk. In some cases, the risk can be transferred to another business by buying insurance or outsourcing to another business. The reality of some risks may be disputed. In such cases leadership may choose to deny
9256-488: The risk. Selecting and implementing proper security controls will initially help an organization bring down risk to acceptable levels. Control selection should follow and should be based on the risk assessment. Controls can vary in nature, but fundamentally they are ways of protecting the confidentiality, integrity or availability of information. ISO/IEC 27001 has defined controls in different areas. Organizations can implement additional controls according to requirement of
9360-432: The security requirements of the organization. Similarly, Techopedia defines security architecture as "a unified security design that addresses the necessities and potential risks involved in a certain scenario or environment. It also specifies when and where to apply security controls. The design process is generally reproducible." The key attributes of security architecture are: Practicing security architecture provides
9464-448: The software at all. The attacker can insert the software onto a compromised device, perhaps by direct insertion or perhaps by a virus or other malware, and then come back some time later to retrieve any data that is found or trigger the software to send the data at some determined time." Using a virtual private network (VPN), which encrypts data between two points, is one of the most common forms of protection against eavesdropping. Using
9568-677: The system to the attacker, and can corrupt or delete data permanently. Another type of malware is ransomware , which is when "malware installs itself onto a victim's machine, encrypts their files, and then turns around and demands a ransom (usually in Bitcoin ) to return that data to the user." Types of malware include some of the following: Man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM) involve a malicious attacker trying to intercept, surveil or modify communications between two parties by spoofing one or both party's identities and injecting themselves in-between. Types of MITM attacks include: Surfacing in 2017,
9672-428: The team's employees' 2015 W-2 tax forms. Spoofing is an act of pretending to be a valid entity through the falsification of data (such as an IP address or username), in order to gain access to information or resources that one is otherwise unauthorized to obtain. Spoofing is closely related to phishing . There are several types of spoofing, including: In 2018, the cybersecurity firm Trellix published research on
9776-513: The three core concepts. In information security, confidentiality "is the property, that information is not made available or disclosed to unauthorized individuals, entities, or processes." While similar to "privacy," the two words are not interchangeable. Rather, confidentiality is a component of privacy that implements to protect our data from unauthorized viewers. Examples of confidentiality of electronic data being compromised include laptop theft, password theft, or sensitive emails being sent to
9880-553: The three main credit bureaus, to automate the process of alerting customers of potential unauthorized access via their credit reports. As part of a 2009 settlement with Experian related to false fraud alerts allegations, LifeLock set up a service that does not rely on fraud alerts. In March 2012, LifeLock acquired ID Analytics, which operates independently as a wholly owned subsidiary Following LifeLock's initial public offering (IPO) announcement in August 2012, Hilary Schneider joined
9984-430: The twentieth century and the early years of the twenty-first century saw rapid advancements in telecommunications , computing hardware and software , and data encryption . The availability of smaller, more powerful, and less expensive computing equipment made electronic data processing within the reach of small business and home users. The establishment of Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP) in
10088-427: The users. Phishing is typically carried out by email spoofing , instant messaging , text message , or on a phone call. They often direct users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. The fake website often asks for personal information, such as login details and passwords. This information can then be used to gain access to the individual's real account on
10192-439: The value of the information resource to the organization." There are two things in this definition that may need some clarification. First, the process of risk management is an ongoing, iterative process . It must be repeated indefinitely. The business environment is constantly changing and new threats and vulnerabilities emerge every day. Second, the choice of countermeasures ( controls ) used to manage risks must strike
10296-616: The victims, since larger companies have generally improved their security over the last decade, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) have also become increasingly vulnerable as they often "do not have advanced tools to defend the business." SMBs are most likely to be affected by malware, ransomware, phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks , and Denial-of Service (DoS) Attacks. Normal internet users are most likely to be affected by untargeted cyberattacks. These are where attackers indiscriminately target as many devices, services, or users as possible. They do this using techniques that take advantage of
10400-572: Was acquired by Symantec for $ 2.3 billion on February 9, 2017. The company subsequently began to offer its Norton subscription services with LifeLock included. The company started with $ 2 million in seed funding with another $ 5 million in its Series A funding in 2006 from Bessemer Ventures. LifeLock raised $ 6 million in its series B funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in April 2007. The following January, its Series C Funding raised $ 25 million, led by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. In August 2009,
10504-516: Was employed by the Germans to encrypt the data of warfare and was successfully decrypted by Alan Turing , can be regarded as a striking example of creating and using secured information. Procedures evolved to ensure documents were destroyed properly, and it was the failure to follow these procedures which led to some of the greatest intelligence coups of the war (e.g., the capture of U-570 ). Various mainframe computers were connected online during
10608-537: Was listed on the New York Stock Exchange starting October 3, 2012, trading under the symbol LOCK. LifeLock filed a form with the Securities and Exchange Commission to voluntarily deregister its common stock in 2017 after its acquisition by Symantec for $ 2.3 billion. Following Symantec's name change in November 2019, Symantec's stock symbol became NLOK. Robert J. Maynard, Jr. , a co-founder of
10712-556: Was soon added to defend disclosures in the interest of the state. A similar law was passed in India in 1889, The Indian Official Secrets Act, which was associated with the British colonial era and used to crack down on newspapers that opposed the Raj's policies. A newer version was passed in 1923 that extended to all matters of confidential or secret information for governance. By the time of
10816-588: Was to use credentials from previous unrelated breaches. This resulted in a large number of failed login attempts on 16 December 2022. Notification of the breach was sent in January 2023. Computer security Computer security (also cybersecurity , digital security , or information technology (IT) security ) is the protection of computer software , systems and networks from threats that can lead to unauthorized information disclosure, theft or damage to hardware , software , or data , as well as from
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