...Preventing Security Breaches There have been many large security breaches in the past few years, including such huge corporations as JP Morgan, Home Depot and Target. According to a report published by Ponemon Institute in September of 2014, almost half of all U.S. companies experienced a security breach of some kind in the past year. On top of that, an Identity Theft Resource Center report found more security attacks in the U.S. in 2014 than in any previous year. What can be done to prevent the release of potentially sensitive information? There are several precautions that can make a big difference when it comes to security breaches. Three of the most important are keeping software up-to-date, securing your network and properly training your employees. Keep Software Up-to-date Earlier this year, thousands of Oregonians who used state websites to pay child support, file unemployment claims and renew their vehicle registration were left vulnerable to attackers who could intercept Social Security numbers and other sensitive information. This vulnerability was due to the use of outdated encryption protocols on the state of Oregon’s websites. One of the easiest ways to avoid security breaches is simply to keep all software and systems up-to-date. Using outdated encryption, last year’s virus protection software or an operating system from 1998 is a recipe for disaster. Secure Your Network During late 2014, the State Department revealed that hackers had breached its unclassified...
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...Preventing Security Breaches BIS 221 November 18, 2014 My group discussed what it is that businesses can do to help prevent security breaches inside their companies. We consulted with an article at “Business News Daily” and decided that the two most important things that a company can do to prevent these security breaches is to do proper training and to have physical security measures present. Throughout my history of working with technology and big data, I have found that proper training and onsite security is more effective than any other forms of security. By having physical security measures present in the form of screen shields, security workers, and blocked passageways with gates and security doors, you will eliminate a large amount of the piggybacking and other physical security breaches, which are still some of the prime ways that prowlers gain information. The next way is to provide proper training for your employees to follow the security guidelines and assist with the physical security measures taken. With proper training, employees know how to lock their computers, protect their files, and protect sensitive information. By following the rules in training, they will help to eliminate an even larger amount of security breaches. Too many employees do not know how easy it is to protect their information and how much they can assist with the protection of a company’s data and databases. These two factors are the largest participants in information security in my...
Words: 354 - Pages: 2
...Preventing Security Breaches: Collaborative Summary Shemeika Montgomery BIS/221 October 23, 2014 Dr. Tracey Ragin Preventing security breaches is a very difficult task to prevent in today’s world. There are many information technologists that do their best on a daily basis to prevent data leakage. There are very skilled criminal individuals in the world that can breach any kind of security. It is best to keep all businesses safe to protect yourselves and to protect the customers as well as employees. Computer systems can be affected by viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and other types of malicious software causing them to perform ineffectively and maliciously. It is very true that if a skilled data thief wants your information badly, the chances are they will get it. So it is in everyone’s best interest that everything is done to stay secure. By coming up with strong passwords and changing them frequently is a good start. Be sure to never use the password more than once. It’s best to set up a two - factor authentication which sends a secret code to your phone verifying your identity. Securing your browser will help keep your information secure as well. Be sure to test your browser’s configuration for weakness. Another awesome thing to do is to stop transmission of data that is not encrypted and instruct encryption of all data. Educating and training employees will also help the business. Establishing a written policy about data security to inform employees about what types of information...
Words: 392 - Pages: 2
...Security Breaches Technology is at everyone's fingertips now in the 21st century. This means not only is it easier for every individual to have access to almost anything, but this also means that in an instance you can be hacked. Birthdates, social security numbers, addresses, and even credit cards can all be taken in an instance. This can not only happen to you, but it can happen to large companies as well. Summary of Major Hacks in 2015 There were several major hacks in the year 2015 that caught attention in the United States. One of the big ones was in our own government. Numerous breaches at the U.S. government’s Office of Personnel Management led to theft of data on 22 million current and former federal employees that included the fingerprints of about 5 million (Green, 2015). The IRS was also hacked and over 300,000 taxpayers records were compromised....
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...“The healthcare industry will see even bigger breaches of data and patient privacy in 2014, an Experian report says” (www.experian.com), according to this report “The healthcare industry, by far, will be the most susceptible to publicly disclosed and widely scrutinized data breaches in 2014”. A data breach is an incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data has potentially been viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Data breaches may involve personal health information (PHI), personally identifiable information (PII), trade secrets or intellectual property. A data breach is an incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data has potentially been viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Data breaches may involve personal health information (PHI), personally identifiable information (PII), trade secrets or intellectual property. According to laws in 40 states, when a data security breach occurs, notification must be made to the affected individuals. Depending on the size and scope of the breach, notification can be handled in a variety of ways, including by mail, telephone, email or through the news media. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protect patients' privacy and simplify the administrative processes. Information security considerations are involved throughout the guidelines and play a significant role in complying with the Privacy Rule. The purpose of this rule is to...
Words: 1280 - Pages: 6
...Preventing Security Breaches: Collaborative Summary BIS/221 05/25/2015 Preventing Security Breaches: Collaborative Summary When it comes to protecting the consumer’s information it not only includes the information contained on your personal bank/retailer card but also the information that you are required to enter on such self-service retail platforms such as KIOSK. According to the article, KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK), offers licensing options for deplorers to secure their self-service retail platforms with Intel Security's McAfee Integrity Control technology before shipment and installation. Looks as if McAfee has taken their security software that is distributed to the average home CPU user and have expanded upon it to create and offer the consumer protection through their McAfee Integrity Control software, which provides extensive protection for retail devices, including self-service transactional kiosks. There are so many different security software application/companies out there available but there is only one offered which is Intel McAfee. I actually find it comforting as a consumer that McAfee is the software of choice especially with the companies 30 year plus history and dependability. I believe McAfee is the security software of choice for these types of self-service retail platforms because as stated in the article it is globally used and supported by a majority of platforms in the retail world. When it...
Words: 535 - Pages: 3
...yourself to class with the following information (Your name, major, and your response regarding work ethics): Cyber-attacks on American companies have become increasingly more common. Companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Apple, have voluntarily gone public with their security troubles. Alternatively, a number of companies have continued to deny cyber-attacks, despite reports stating otherwise; including, Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola, Baker-Hughes, and others. The U.S. government has encouraged transparency on cyber-attacks as part of a wider effort to protect American intellectual property. Advocates of disclosing breaches claim it will set a precedent for other companies to get more active in fighting cyber-attacks. The majority of company lawyers advise not to disclose, pointing to potential shareholder lawsuits, embarrassment and fear of inciting future attacks. Health and insurance companies must disclose breaches of patient information, and publicly traded companies must when an incident effects company earnings. What policy should companies adopt when dealing with a cyber-security breach? Should all security breaches be made public? Is it ever ethical for companies to withhold security breaches from those whose information may have been compromised? Why or why not? In a minimum of 150 words, respond to the questions posed above and submit via a post. Feel free to comment on your peer's posts. Hi, my name is Alex Crenshaw and my major is computer programming...
Words: 375 - Pages: 2
...A Case Study of the Trend in Cyber Security Breaches as Reported by US Federal Agencies Joash Muganda American Public University System ISSC640 – Prof. Belkacem Kraimeche November 12, 2014 Abstract The cases of cybersecurity breaches reported by federal agencies have sharply increased in recent years due to a combination of factors. This study seeks to examine the current trends in cybersecurity breaches documented and reported by federal agencies, analyze the various factors responsible for this trend and their impacts, as well use currently available data to predict a future trend. A Case Study of the Trend in Cyber Security Breaches as Reported by US Federal Agencies The number cybersecurity breaches reported by federal agencies has been on the increase owing to the variety of factors. According to a report by U.S Government Accountability Office, GAO (2014), federal agencies have reported increasing number of cybersecurity breaches that have put sensitive information at risk, with potentially serious impacts on federal and military operations. GAO (2014) further stated that the increase in this number is due to the fact that obtaining hacking tools has become easier, there is dramatic increase in reporting security incidents, and steady advances in the sophistication and effectiveness of attack technologies. The table below shows the number of cybersecurity breaches since 2006 to 2012 as reported by GAO (2014). Number of Incidents | 5503 | 11911 |...
Words: 987 - Pages: 4
...STUDENT NUMBER: 066275 CLOUD COMPUTING SECURITY TERM PAPER TWO Living with Increasing Attacks on Cloud Computing Platforms Cloud Computing is an on demand, flexible and cost friendly delivery platform that has provided IT consumers and organizations services such as networks, storage, servers and applications over the Internet. Its importance is increasing as a large number of industrial and technological communities are rapidly adopting it. The benefits such as low cost and convenience of cloud computing services have significantly changed our day to days activities, however, there are numerous security issues facing cloud computing making it difficult to maintain data security and privacy, support data and service availability and demonstrate compliance. These issue also make cloud vulnerable to exploitation by attackers. The three cloud services models used today are Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).Iaas provides the most dynamic functionality since it is based as the underlying layer in cloud. It widens the resilience for users to design a practical environment that includes virtual machines running with different operating systems. This may pose as a vulnerability since an attacker could lease these virtual machines, analyze their configurations, find their vulnerabilities, and attack other customers’ virtual machines within the same cloud. Brute force and Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks could...
Words: 1310 - Pages: 6
...management. What does risk management do for us and how does it address future security breaches and more importantly how does it reduce the risks. Risk management is a decision which determines which types of vulnerabilities the company can be susceptible to, what kind of impact different vulnerabilities have, and lastly an action plan to control the impact of how many assets get affected. It also involves identifying what kind of vulnerabilities there are and where they are within the company. The risk is high in our establishment due to us housing credit card information and personal data. A risk assessment to determine what is within our environment should be completed as it will give us a broader idea of what to expect if a system gets compromised. A documented process involving senior staff and management should be considered moving forward. A risk management policy as well as a dedicated team designed for risk management should also be implemented. Following this general infrastructure will help in organizing what assets we have and who would handle the assets in the case of a breach or protocol. Strong risk management documentation will help hold the procedure in place during different threats. Once the company’s acceptable level of risk has been determined, we can then develop a risk management policy. The policy should be mapped to the organizational security policy, this will help reinforce the security policy as well. Managing...
Words: 511 - Pages: 3
...than society as a whole (Austin & Boxerman, 2008). Discuss the impacts of breach to Healthcare Information systems, especially the financial and privacy impacts. Some of the most devastating security breaches can occur during employee termination when steps are not taken to remove access to resources in a timely manner. HIPAA guidelines specify that when employees are terminated, that certain steps, at a minimum, must be followed. These include changing locks, removal from access lists, removal of user account, and confiscation of keys, tokens and other access cards. Though these steps may seem to be common sense, some organizations may not have documented procedures to follow when an employee is terminated. Additionally, the responsibility for carrying out the termination procedures must be clearly assigned and documented (SANS Institute, 2001). Security Training In order for a security program to work well, the employees must be educated insecurity practices such as password protection, monitoring login failures and other basic practices. A well-educated workforce can become an extension of the security group of any organization through simple awareness. The HIPAA regulations require a Security Awareness training program that includes: awareness training for all personnel, security reminders to the workforce, virus...
Words: 1211 - Pages: 5
...Define user documentation Written or other visual information about an application system, how it works, and how to use it. (17) . User documentation refers to the documentation for a product or service provided to the end users. The user documentation is designed to assist end users to use the product or service. This is often referred to as user assistance. The user documentation is a part of the overall product delivered to the customer. The sections of a user manual often include: * A cover page * A title page and copyright page * A preface, containing details of related documents and information on how to navigate the user guide * A contents page * A guide on how to use at least the main functions of the system * A troubleshooting section detailing possible errors or problems that may occur, along with how to fix them * A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) * Where to find further help, and contact details * A glossary and, for larger documents, an index realized the importance of documentation many years ago when I joined an organization to head its IT function. The previous IT head had left the organization a couple of months ago. The managing director called me over and voiced his expectation. He told me that all ground work had been done for ordering new set of servers and application packages and that I should act upon it soon. I promised to take a look at the situation and revert with plans. However, when I sat in my department...
Words: 2026 - Pages: 9
...efficient; however, the greater the benefit the greater the risk of attacks. Businesses are losing billions of dollars annually because of these attacks especially when there is no preventive measures in place (Balga, Iftode, & Chen, 2008). Without preventive measures, attackers forge Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses, which causes the victims of the attack to attack other victims. The source of the attack remains unidentifiable. Another type of attack is through user accounts. Networks use authentication information, such as user ID and passwords as a security measure; however, if an attacker learns the authentication material of his or her victim, the attacker can enter a network under false pretenses or as an innocent person to perpetuate a crime. This can happen to gain access to administrative rights on a network (Balga, Iftode, & Chen, 2008). 90% of organizations discover these breaches in security including...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...Data Security 8-3 Final Paper Frank O’Hanlon Southern New Hampshire University Communication Human Resource departments in all companies have been evolving for many years. Their core function used to be strictly administrative and relay information to operations and sales departments. The scope in today’s working environment for HR has become as important as sales and operations. Not only does HR help increase revenue through strategic planning, but also has the responsibility to protect the company’s many threats from a poor company image and possible law suits. Technology has become a very positive element for efficiency and multitasking and has also created new threats such as identity theft, computer viruses, unethical behavior, and data security breaches. Human Resource has the responsibility to set company standards and enforce policies to protect the company, employees, and customers. As technology advances, so does the element to manipulate data and records. A plan to set company policy in regards to incoming, sent, and deleted emails should be set. Communication to all employees should be the first step to inform them of the company’s intent to enforce data protection. Training and development should be available and scheduled for all employees. These training sessions should be evaluated for value and areas for improvement. Training sessions should include explanations of the dangers and risks of how company can be impacted. Once employees understand...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...For this essay, I will go over if the government done enough to detect and deter the crime of identity theft. I will also go over how technology made identity theft easier to commit. Also for this essay, I will also go over how will emerging technologies changed the role of the cybercrime investigator. Sources used: http://www.cardhub.com/edu/identity-theft/http://securitycourse.blogspot.com/2010/11/identity-theft-and-increase-in.htmlhttp://www.pcworld.com/article/2453400/the-biggest-data-breaches-of-2014-so-far.htmland http://securitycourse.blogspot.com/2010/11/identity-theft-and-increase-in.html The Fight Against Identity Theft Over the years people look at identity theft and say, “Oh it won’t happen to me. I don’t have a lot of money for people to want.” The thing is identity theft can happen to any with a Social Security Number, medical insurance, and any information useful to cyber criminals. Identity theft can occur when someone gains unauthorized access to someone’s personally identifying information. According to The Federal Trade Commission, there is about nine million Americans experience some form of identity theft. That number may be subjected to fluctuate because it can be consider both crime fighting tactics and methods that criminals use to steal identities over time but the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network received over...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
