MIS COURSE: CHAPTER 8 SECURING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MIS COURSE: CHAPTER 8 SECURING INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Composed by DUONG TO DUNG, FEB 2019

CONTENT Why are ISs vulnerable to destruction, error, and abuse?
What is the business value of security and control? What are the components of an organizational framework for security and control? What are the most important tools and technologies for safeguarding info. resources?

Why are ISs vulnerable to destruction, error, and abuse?
+ Security: refers to the policies, procedures, and technical measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, theft, or physical damage to IS. + Control: are methods, policies, and organizational procedures that ensure the safety of the org.’s assets, the accuracy and reliability of its records, and operational adherence to management standards.

Contemporary Security Challenges and Vulnerability
The architecture of a Web-based application typically includes a Web client, a server, and corporate ISs linked to DBs. Each of these components presents security challenges and vulnerabilities. Floods, fires, power failures, and other electrical problems can cause disruptions at any point in the network.

+ Tapping: A network TAP is an external monitoring device that mirrors the traffic that is passing between network nodes + Sniffing: Network sniffing involves using sniffer tools that enable real-time monitoring and analysis of data packets flowing over computer networks. ... Basically, it examines traffic on the network and takes snapshot copies of the packet data. Network sniffing is used for ethical as well as unethical purposes. + Vandalism: Cyber-Vandalism accounts to the act of damaging someone's data from the computer that in a way disrupts the victim's business or image due to editing the data into something invasive, embarrassing or absurd

+ Internet Vulnerabilities: most VoIP traffic over the public Internet is not encrypted, so anyone with a network can listen it on conversations. Hackers can intercept conversations or shut down voice service by flooding servers supporting VoIP with bogus (false) traffic. + Wireless Security Challenges: the wireless networks are vulnerable because radio frequency bands are easy to scan. LANs are easily penetrated by outsiders armed with laptops, wireless cards, external antennae, and hacking sw. Hackers use these tools to detect unprotected networks, monitor network traffic, and, in some cases, gain access to the Internet or to corporate networks.

MALICIOUS SOFTWARE: VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES, AND SPYWARE + Malware: malicious software + Computer Virus: rogue sw program that attaches itself to other sw programs or data files in order to be executed, usually w/o user knowledge or permission. (rogue: behaving in ways that are not expected or not normal, often in a way that causes demages) + Worms: independent computer programs that copy themselves from one computer to another computers over a network. Unlike viruses, worms can operate on their own w/o attaching to other computer program files and rely less on human behavior in order to spread from computer to computer.

MALICIOUS SOFTWARE: VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES, AND SPYWARE + Trojan Horses: swp that appears to be benign but then do s.t other than expected. + SQL injection attacks: a major malware thread. Happen to poorly coded websites and take inputs from users + Ransomware: try to extort money from users by taking control of their computers or displaying annoying pop-up messages. + Spyware: spy, keyloggers

Ransomware: WannaCry

HACKERS AND COMPUTER CRIME + Hacker: individual who intends to gain unauthorized access to a computer system. + Cracker: hacker with criminal intent; but may be used interchangeably with hacker. + Cybervandalism: the intentional disruption, defacement, or even destruction of a website or corporate IS. + Spoofing and Sniffing: Spoofing: hackers attempting to hide their true identities, often spoof or misrepresent themselves using fake addresses or masquerading as s.o else. Spoofing may also involve redirecting a web link to an address different from the intended one, with the site masquerading as the intended destination. Sniffing: a type of eavesdropping program the monitor info. travelling over a network.

HACKERS AND COMPUTER CRIME + DoS Attacks (Denial of Service): DDoS: distributed DoS: hackers use numerous computers to inundate and overwhelm the network from numerous launch points. + Computer Crime: any violations of criminal law that involve a knowledge of computer technology for their preparation, investigation, or prosecution. + Identity Theft: an imposer obtains key pieces of personal info. to impersonate s.o else. Phishing: setting up fake websites or sending messages that look like those of legitimate businesses to ask users for confidential personal data. Evil twins: wireless networks that pretend to offer trustworthy wi-fi connections to the Internet.

HACKERS AND COMPUTER CRIME + Pharming: redirects users to a bogus webpage, even when the individual types the correct webpage address into his/her browser. This is possible if pharming perpetrators gain access to the Internet address info. stored by ISP. + Click Fraud: when an individual or a computer program fraudulently clicks on an online ad w/o any intention of learning more about the advertiser or making a purchase. + Global Threats: Cyberterrorism and Cyberwarfare: cyberwarfare is a state-sponsored activity, the use of computer technology to disrupt the activities of a state or organization, especially the deliberate attacking of information systems for strategic or military purposes

INTERNAL THREATS: EMPLOYEES Many employees forget their passwords to access computer systems or allow other coworkers to use them, which compromises the system. Malicious intruders seeking system access sometimes trick employees into revealing their passwords by pretending to be legitimate members of the company in need of information (social engineering). Employees can introduce errors by entering faulty data or by not following proper instructions for processing data and using computer equipment. Information specialists can also create software errors as they design and develop new software or maintain existing programs.

SOFTWARE VULNARABILITY Bugs & Patches The software can fail to perform, perform erratically, or give erroneous results because of undetected bugs. Major quality problems are the bugs or defects caused by incorrect design. The other problem is maintenance of old programs caused by organizational changes, system design flaws, and software complexity. Bugs in even mildly complex programs can be impossible to find in testing, making them hidden bombs. Zero-day Vulnerability: holes in the sw that unknown to its creator.

What is the business value of security and control?
Security refers to the policies, procedures, and technical measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, theft, or physical damage to information systems. Controls consist of all the methods, policies, and organizational procedures that ensure the safety of the organization’s assets; the accuracy and reliability of its account records; and operational adherence to management standards. The business value of security and control: Firms relying on computer systems for their core business functions can lose sales and productivity. Information assets, such as confidential employee records, trade secrets, or business plans, lose much of their value if they are revealed to outsiders or if they expose the firm to legal liability.

LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR E-RECORDS MANAGEMENT Legal actions requiring electronic evidence and computer forensics also require firms to pay more attention to security and electronic records management. Computer forensics is the scientific collection, examination, authentication, preservation, and analysis of data held on or retrieved from computer storage media in such a way that the information can be used as evidence in the court of law. It deals with the following problems: Recovering data from computers while preserving evidential integrity Securely storing and handling recovered electronic data Finding significant information in a large volume of electronic data Presenting the information to a court of law

LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR E-RECORDS MANAGEMENT (p.319) + HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) + Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: requires financial institutions to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer data. + Sarbanes-Oxley Act: to protect investors after the financial scandals at Enron, Worldcom…

What are the components of an organizational framework for security and control?
General controls govern the design, security, and use of computer programs and the security of data files in general throughout the organization’s information technology infrastructure. They apply to all computerized applications and consist of a combination of hardware, software, and manual procedures that create an overall control environment. General controls include software controls, physical hardware controls, computer operations controls, data security controls, controls over implementation of system processes, and administrative controls.

APPLICATION CONTROLS Application controls are specific controls unique to each computerized application. They include both automated and manual procedures that ensure that only authorized data are completely and accurately processed by that application. Application controls can be classified as: Input controls: Check data for accuracy and completeness when they enter the system. There are specific input controls for input authorization, data conversion, data editing, and error handling. Processing controls: Establish that data are complete and accurate during updating. Output controls: Ensure that the results of computer processing are accurate, complete, and properly distributed.

RISK ASSESSMENT A risk assessment determines the level of risk to the firm if a specific activity or process is not properly controlled. Business managers working with information systems specialists can determine the value of information assets, points of vulnerability, the likely frequency of a problem, and the potential for damage. Controls can be adjusted or added to focus on the areas of greatest risk. An organization does not want to over-control areas where risk is low and under-control areas where risk is high.

RISK ASSESSMENT Security risk analysis involves determining what you need to protect, what you need to protect it from, and how to protect it. It is the process of examining all of the firm’s risks, and ranking those risks by level of severity. This process involves making cost-effective decisions on what you want to protect. Two elements of a risk analysis that should be considered are: (1) identifying the assets and (2) identifying the threats. For each asset, the basic goals of security are availability, confidentiality, and integrity. Each threat should be examined with an eye on how the threat could affect these areas. One step in a risk analysis is to identify all the things that need to be protected. Some things are obvious, such as all the various pieces of hardware, but some are overlooked, such as the people who actually use the systems. The essential point is to list all things that could be affected by a security problem.

SECURITY POLICY A security policy consists of statements ranking information risks, identifying acceptable security goals, and identifying the mechanisms for achieving these goals. The security policy drives policies determining acceptable use of the firm’s information resources and which members of the company have access to its information assets. An acceptable use policy (AUP) defines acceptable uses of the firm’s information resources and computing equipment, including desktop and laptop computers, wireless devices, telephones, and the Internet. The policy should clarify company policy regarding privacy, user responsibility, and personal use of company equipment and networks. A good AUP defines unacceptable and acceptable actions for each user and specifies consequences for noncompliance.

DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING
What are the components of an organizational framework for security and control? SECURITY POLICY Identity management consists of business processes and software tools for identifying valid system users and controlling their access to system resources. It includes policies for identifying and authorizing different categories of system users, specifying what systems or portions of systems each user is allowed to access, and the processes and technologies for authenticating users and protecting their identities. DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING

THE ROLE OF AUDITING: IS AUDIT
What are the components of an organizational framework for security and control? THE ROLE OF AUDITING: IS AUDIT Comprehensive and systematic MIS auditing organizations determine the effectiveness of security and controls for their information systems. An MIS audit identifies all of the controls that govern individual information systems and assesses their effectiveness. Control weaknesses and their probability of occurrence will be noted. The results of the audit can be used as guidelines for strengthening controls, if required.

What are the most important tools and technologies for safeguarding info. resources?
IDENTITY MANAGEMENT AND AUTHENTICATION Authentication refers to the ability to know that a person is who he or she claims to be. Some methods are described below: What you know: Passwords known only to the authorized users. What you have: Token is a physical device that is designed to provide the identity of a single user. Smart card is a device that contains a chip formatted with access permission and other data. What you are: Biometrics is based on the measurement of a physical or behavioral trait that makes each individual unique. Two-factor Authentication

FIREWALLS, INSTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEMS, AND ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE + FIREWALLS: is a combination of hardware and software that controls the flow of incoming and outgoing network traffic. Firewalls prevent unauthorized users from accessing internal networks. They protect internal systems by monitoring packets for the wrong source or destination, or by offering a proxy server with no access to the internal documents and systems, or by restricting the types of messages that get through, for example, . Further, many authentication controls have been added for Web pages as part of firewalls.

FIREWALLS, INSTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEMS, AND ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE + INSTRUSION DETECTION SYS.: monitor the most vulnerable points or “hot spots” in a network to detect and deter unauthorized intruders. These systems often also monitor events as they happen to look for security attacks in progress. Sometimes they can be programmed to shut down a particularly sensitive part of a network if it receives unauthorized traffic. + ANTIVIRUS AND ANTISPYWARE SOFTWARE: is designed to check computer systems and drives for the presence of computer viruses and worms and often eliminates the malicious software, whereas antispyware software combats intrusive and harmful spyware programs. Often the software can eliminate the virus from the infected area.

FIREWALLS, INSTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEMS, AND ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE + UNIFIED THREAT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: to help businesses reduce costs and improve manageability, security vendors have combined into a single appliance various security tools, including fire-walls, VPN, intrusion detection sys., and web content filtering and antispam software. These comprehensive security management products are called Unified Threat Management systems.

ENCRYPTION AND PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE + Encryption, the coding and scrambling of messages, is a widely used technology for securing electronic transmissions over the Internet and over Wi-Fi networks. Encryption offers protection by keeping messages or packets hidden from the view of unauthorized readers. Encryption is crucial for ensuring the success of electronic commerce between the organization and its customers and between the organization and its vendors. + SSL & S-HTTP: Secure Sockets Layers is the method for encrypting network traffic on the web. S-HTTP: protocol used for encrypting data flowing over the Internet.

A public key encryption system can be viewed as a series of public and private keys that lock data when they are transmitted and unlock the data when they are received. The sender locates the recipient’s public key in a directory and uses it to encrypt a message. The message is sent in encrypted form over the Internet or a private network. When the encrypted message arrives, the recipient uses his or her private key to decrypt the data and read the message.

ENCRYPTION AND PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE Digital certificates combined with public key encryption provide further protection of electronic transactions by authenticating a user’s identify. Digital certificates are data fields used to establish the identity of the sender and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply. They use a trusted third party known as a certificate authority to validate a user’s identity. Both digital signatures and digital certificates play a role in authentication.

ENSURING SYSTEM AVAILABILITY + Fault-Tolerant Computer System: contains redundant sw, hw, and power supply components that create an environment that provides continuous, uninterrupted service. + Downtime: refers to periods of time in which a system is not operational. + Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): a technology to sort out low-priority online materials while assigning higher priority to business critical files. + Security Outsourcing

SECURITY ISSUES FOR CLOUD COMPUTING AND THE MOBILE DIGITAL PLATFORM + The company should stipulate to the cloud provider how its data are stored and processed in specific jurisdictions according to the privacy rules of those jurisdictions. + The company needs to verify with the cloud provider how its corporate data are segregated from data belonging to other companies and ask for proof that encryption mechanisms are sound. + The company needs to verify how the cloud provider will respond if a disaster strikes. Will the cloud provider be able to completely restore the company’s data and how long will that take? Will the cloud provider submit to external audits and security certifications?

SECURING MOBILE PLATFORM + Have corporate security policy includes mobile devices. Details on how mobile devices should be supported, protected, and used. + Mobile device management tools to authorize all devices in use. Lock down or erase lost/stolen devices. + Data loss prevention technology: where critical data are saved, who is accessing the data, how data are leaving the company, and where the data are going. + Guidelines for remote access of corporate sys.. + Policy should forbid unsecured consumer-based application; or use only company-issued devices.

REVIEW SUMMARY Why are ISs vulnerable to destruction, error, and abuse? What is the business value of security and control? What are the components of an organizational framework for security and control? What are the most important tools and technologies for safeguarding info. resources?

LET’S GO THROUGH THEM TOGETHER! END!
REVIEW QUESTIONS LET’S GO THROUGH THEM TOGETHER! END!

MIS COURSE: CHAPTER 8 SECURING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

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MIS COURSE: CHAPTER 8 SECURING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

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