Task A
The world is advancing in the field of information technology. To expedite the material progress in almost every field further, opposing forces like miscreants, negligence, and overloading of data are hampering the smoothness and handiness of the technology.
Some of the major threats that LLP Company might be facing while considering the given scenario could be:
Security threats to the server and network traffic:
- Botnets: It is one of the most common of all the infected viruses, usually spread the virus through spam emails(“Botnet malware: What it is and how to fight it,” n.d.)
- Malware: It is also quite a common virus used to hang and crash the entire computer system.
- Ransomware: This particular phenomenon of the cyber threat came into the limelight in May 2017, when almost 25 percent of world computer systems were locked, including major security, and corporate organizations, and the ones in control of the locking virus asked for ransom to unlock the data from the respective users.
- Spam: Spam is one of the most common methods of sending personal data out and collecting it from unsuspecting people.
- Spyware: This virus is considered one of the most untenable ones. It comes in the form of a free download, installs automatically, and dispatches your personal information to the dispatcher’s originator.
Security threats to the workstations or company data:
- A virus can infect through portable devices.
- Sharing media or other infected files.
- Lack of timely maintenance of operating server.
- Negligence in updating systems.
- Unnecessary modems and Wi-Fi sharing
Security threats to the website:
- Insufficient Security apprentices,
- Unencrypted data,
- Outdated and unchecked Security Software,
- Social re-engineering,
- Inadequate Configuration.
Case study: 1
A ransomware cyber-attack, known as the WannaCry assault, took place in May 2017, which was a global cyber-invasion by the ransomware crypto worm. It affected those systems that were running Windows versions below 7 and 8.1 by hacking and locking data and demanding ransom money in Bitcoins. Over 200,000 computers, in around 150 countries were affected. The baltic country of Estonia was estimated to be the most badly hit by the attack, which halted major financial and government web services for days and disrupted almost the entire communication structure of internal liaison (Ottis, 2008).
Case study: 2
An online server of one of the biggest oil companies of the world Saudi Aramco was hacked by a malware attack for over ten days in August 2012, which affected around 30,000 workstations inside the facility of the oil giant. An innumerable amount of corporate data was declassified. Unlike other such incidents, the responsibility for the hacking attack was owned by one Saudi terror group called Cutting Sword of Justice.
Pre-emptive security measures to avoid your server getting infected by cyber threats.
The number of cyber-attacks is increasing, and so is the sophistication of the attacks. However, several new anticipatory remedies can still help LLP Company unfold and identify such attacks. The company could take the following measures to secure its data and presence in the industry:
- Malware should be detected before it strikes,
- Built-in virtual firewalls in servers and modems would protect operations substantially,
- There should be some organized Virus Intelligence Sharing,
- Encrypt data,
- Protect the hardware of the server,
LLP Company must take the following pre-emptive security measures to secure its workstations and company data from getting infected by cyber threats.
- Establish strong passwords and keep changing them in routine,
- Install some good anti-virus, and put some strong firewall,
- Update and refresh the entire set of programs on a daily basis,
- Encrypt your data,
- Install Spam filtering software(Lim et al., 2010).
LLP Company must take pre-emptive security measures to avoid your website getting infected by cyber threats.
- Surf smart,
- Use a hardware-based firewall,
- Don’t keep auto-run enabled,
- Install anti-spyware protection software,
- Scan the hard drive of your system on a daily basis
After being hacked and suffering on almost every level, LLP Company must invent and invest in protective software and reconnaissance applications that could prevent it from any future cyber invasion.
References
Botnet malware: What it is and how to fight it. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2018, from https://www.welivesecurity.com/2014/10/22/botnet-malware-fight/
Lim, I. H., Hong, S., Choi, M. S., Lee, S. J., Kim, T. W., Lee, S. W., & Ha, B. N. (2010). Security protocols against cyber attacks in the distribution automation system. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 25(1), 448–455.
Ottis, R. (2008). Analysis of the 2007 cyber attacks against Estonia from the information warfare perspective. In Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Information Warfare (p. 163).
