Importance of Information and System Security
Information and system security are extremely important because information and system security helps individuals and organizations alike to protect their most valuable and essential data ranging from financial, cliental, all the way to personal files, emails, and folders, which could end up at risk without the proper protection. Additionally, it greatly reduces the risk of internal and external attacks of information technology systems. Authors Vahid & Lysecky define in their textbook Computing Technology for All, computer security as “the prevention of unauthorized access to one's computer” (2019), therefore it is especially important in large and small organizations because having proper security helps protect sensitive information from instances like data breaches, unauthorized access, and many other disruptions such as system crashes due to the systems vulnerability.
Vulnerability
A vulnerability is a flaw or hole in your software or system that weakens the security of the device’s system. This includes outdated software, misconfigurations, unsecured APIs, application programming interfaces, as well as weakened credentials. According to Abi Tyas Tunggal author of article What is a Vulnerability? Definition + Examples, Vulnerabilities can allow attackers to run code, access a system's memory, install malware, and steal, destroy or modify sensitive data and after exploiting a vulnerability, a cyberattack can run malicious code, install malware, and even steal sensitive data (Tunggal, April 25, 2024). I will now discuss a few types of attacks that can happen due to system and software vulnerability.
Computer Viruses & Password Cracking
Computer viruses are a type of malicious software or malware that spreads between computers causing damage to data and software. This virus aims to intentionally disrupt, cause issues and end with massive data damage and additionally, often causes data leakage. They are meant to spread throughout systems and attach to a host file, which is why they can potentially spread their code from a document or file that they are attached to, usually after a file is opened containing the code attachment. Virus codes can be spread through network drives, file-sharing programs, or even infected email attachments (Fortinet Staff, n.d.). Some virus symptoms include slowed system speed, unwanted pop-up windows or advertisements, programs closing or failing to open on their own, accounts are suddenly logged out of, and files appearing on your system without your permission and lastly a change of system settings or homepage. Although there are more symptoms associated with virus infection, these are the more common ones experienced. Viruses are most spread via the internet through emails, software, software packs, or an infect code, and others can be downloaded straight from an application store. There are several types of viruses that can affect your system, software, and files therefore the need for necessary protection before a virus attack occurs is imminent. Another attack used by hackers to gain access to personal information and accounts is known as password cracking. Password cracking is the illegal process that one uses to decipher passwords using a variety of techniques including phishing for personal information and going through a list of more common passwords used until the desired password is figured out, thus gaining access to personal accounts, and stealing information. Often, these hackers gain access and lock the account up by changing the password to that account. This can be detrimental to a company, being that it is rather difficult to regain access to the account after it has been compromised. Another type of attack hackers use is executed during ping commands. The first is known as ping flood, which is a denial-of-service attack where the attacker overwhelms a targeted device with ongoing request packets. This attack causes the targeted system to be inaccessible to normal traffic. The next ping attack is called the ping of death, which is a form of denial-of-service or (DOS) used to either crash or freeze a computer system. The good news is that these threats can be greatly reduced by having good computer security software.
Recommendation of Protection
Because some computer viruses cause personal information leakage and a system to crash after receiving an attack, it is essential to have protection before this occurs. To protect your system from computer virus attacks, one should purchase and download well-known anti-virus software. According to Cybernews.com, their security experts chose the best antivirus software for the United States. Here are the experts' top three choices, first choice- Total AV having a rating of 4.9/5 stars, Norton 360 coming in second with 4.6/5 stars, and finally, AURA having a rating of 4.4/5 stars (July 2024).
References
Cybernews experts. (July 2024). Best Antivirus Software for the USA. Webpage.
Best Antivirus Software for the USA - July 2024 - Cybernews.com
Fortinet expert. (2024). What are Computer Viruses? Web article.
Geeks for Geeks staff. (April 25, 2024). What is Password Cracking? Web article.
Tunggal, A. (April 25, 2024). What is a Vulnerability? Definition + Examples. UpGuard webpage. What is a Vulnerability? Definition + Examples | UpGuard
Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.
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