CyberAwareness

How to become CyberAware?

• Identify Threats

First understand what are the cyber threats to your infrastructure. This includes both internal and external one. Internal could involve various threats posed by inappropriate use of privilege access or lack of awareness.

• Identify Vulnerabilities

Make a list of all critical systems and servers in your organization. Understand the consequence of cyber threat on these system. Moreover, understand the capabilities and limitations of existing protection measures.

• Assess risk exposure

Determine the likelihood of vulnerabilities that are being exploited by external threats and/or being exposed by inappropriate use.

• Develop protection and detection measures

Reduce the likelihood of vulnerabilities being exploited through protection measures and reduce the potential impact of a vulnerability being exploited.

• Establish contingency plans

Develop a response plan to reduce the impact of threats to your organization.

• Respond to cyber security incidents

Respond to cyber threats that are realized using response plan. Also, assess the impact of the effectiveness of the response plan and re-assess threats and vulnerabilities

Top Cyber Threats

A Cybercriminal's Path To Your Data

5 CEO Fraud Awareness Warning Signs

How to Block Mobile Attacks

How Multinationals Exploit Your Data

Security Experts vs non-Expert

Cybersecurity - Social Engineering Awareness

Social Engineering is a form of attack whereby a user is tricked by an adversary in giving sensitive information. For example you are on a plane and you decided to use your laptop. You open it and then enter your credentials. In most of the time you don't notice who is sitting around you and thinking of no-one is looking at you you enter your password. However, a person sitting behind you might be looking at what you've typed in. This is a form of social engineering attack known as Shoulder Surfing. There are many other similar forms of attack where you are unknowingly giving your information.

Be careful of what you do and always stay alert. Here are the tips regarding how you can safeguard yourself from Social Engineering Attack.

Cybersecurity - Passive vs Active Cyber Defense

Cybersecurity Trends

Cybersecurity Reference Model

Cyber Attack Quick Response

Security Awareness Roadmap

What is CyberSecurity

Cyber Awareneess

Common Terms in CyberSecurity

Baiting Attack

In this attack, the attacker leaves a malware infected CD-ROM or USB flash drive in a location sure to be found (elevator, parking lot, sidewalk), gives it a legitimate looking and curiosity-piquing label, and simply waits for the victim to use the device.

Password Security

Attacker could you varieties of tools and technique to find your passwords. Some tools are freely available and could be very powerful. Therefore, users should be very careful when it comes to securing your passwords. Let's look at how passwords are cracked and how we can secure ourself from attack.

How passwords are cracked

1. Interception
Passwords can be intercepted as they are transmitted over a network.

2. Manual Guessing
Personal information, such as name and date of birth can be used to guess common passwords.

3. Social Engineering
Attackers use social engineering techniques to trick people into revealing passwords.

4. Brute Force Attack

Guessing of millions and billions of passwords until the correct one is found. Bad thing is ... this can be automated

5. Stealing Passwords

Many have the habit of storing the passwords either in sticky notes or in a device. Such insecurely stored passwords can be stolen.

6. Shoulder Surfing

This is a process of looking/observing when someone is typing a password.

7. Key Logger

Malicious software could be installed in your device which will store the password you type.

How to remain secure

1. Blacklist the most common passwords
2. Don't store passwords in plaintext. If you need to write it somewhere... write with some forms of encoding. Like say your passwords is AbrakaDabra. write it something like !Abraka0%0Dabra#$#. You should however remember what sorts of special character you are using and which is used for encoding.
3. Use password generator for various applications.
4. Do not use same passwords in multiple websites.
5. Do not use default vendor credentials
6. Use account lockout or monitoring tools to prevent brute force attack.

Why Job Rotation

Job rotation is to serve two functions.
1. To facilitate knowledge redundancy,
2. To reduce account misuse. It is so because rotating personnel reduces the risk of fraud, data theft, data modification, data sabotage, and misuse of information.

How to Safeguard from Human Threat

It is a well know fact that humans are considered the weakest link in security. It is, therefore, very important to consider humans when planning on implementing security solutions in an organization. You may have employed physical and/or logical controls to secure your assets but regardless of what you apply humans can find a way to avoid them, disable them, or subvert or circumvent them.

Various security structures that you can implement to protect from human threats are as follows

• Following secure hiring practices. This practice include detailed job description and using this as a guide for hiring process. Correctly evaluate candidate for the position.
• Maintaining roles segregation. This practice includes separation of duties, job responsibilities and job rotation.
• Establishing policies, standards and guidelines. Set standards, provide guideline and formulate policies for every step. From hiring to termination. Like termination procedure could include disabling access, returning company property, an exit interview etc.
• Implementing risk management. Risk management is a process of reducing risks to an acceptable level. It identifies, evaluates, prevents/reduces risk to the organization.
• Implementing awareness training, and management planning. Remember that user's behavior must change for your security solutions to work. So, aware them, train them and educate them.