Analysis Of Network Concepts For A Small Accounting Firm

A direct cyberattack in 2014 to JPMorgan Chase caused a compromised of accounts effecting a total of 76 million households and seven million small businesses. We are clearly, in times when consumer confidence in the digital operations of corporate America is on shaky ground. In directly, banking is taking the brunt of the fallout but major stores also have breaches which of course are directly related to their financial data. Store like, Target, Home Depot and a number of other retailers have experienced major data breaches. 40 million cardholders and 70 million others were compromised at Target alone in 2013 and an attack at Home Depot in September, 2013 affected 56 million cardholders.

Modern organizations that utilize technology must now use their resources to protect themselves from malicious cybercrime activities. A “hacker” could illegally intrude into an organizations information network and use accounting software to mine information and steal assets at a relatively low risk of being caught.

When businesses provide computers for public use, several challenges are presented. In addition to allowing the general public this service, and ultimately growing their market share, a business must define the line between appropriate use and securing the network.

This paper explores seven references that report the results from research conducted on-line regarding the 2013 Target breach. According to the website “Timeline of Target 's Data Breach And Aftermath: How Cybertheft Snowballed For The Giant Retailer” (2015), the breach occurred November and December 2013 in which customers who shopped at Target locations credit and debit cards were breached and their personal information was exposed. Upon their investigation, it was determined their point of sale system was hacked. “Wikipedia” states point of sale system which is used by third party vendors has cash registers as well as barcodes which stores customer’s information. The website “What is Packet Sniffer” (2016), Packet Sniffing may have been a way the attacked happened. “RAM Scraping Attack” website indicates what RAM means and how this type of attack happens. “What is a Firewall in Networking and How They Protect Your Computers” (2014), “What is Endpoint Security? Data Protection 101” and “Why SSL? The Purpose of using SSL Certificates” websites each provide ways to reduce and/or prevent future attacks.

This paper explores seven references that report the results from research conducted on-line regarding the 2013 Target breach. According to the website “Timeline of Target 's Data Breach And Aftermath: How Cybertheft Snowballed For The Giant Retailer” (2015), the breach occurred November and December 2013 in which customers who shopped at Target locations credit and debit cards were breached and their personal information was exposed. Upon their investigation, it was determined their point of sale system was hacked. “Wikipedia” states point of sale system which is used by third party vendors has cash registers as well as barcodes which stores customer’s information. The website “What is Packet Sniffer” (2016), Packet Sniffing may have been a way the attacked happened. “RAM Scraping Attack” website indicates what RAM means and how this type of attack happens. “What is a Firewall in Networking and How They Protect Your Computers” (2014), “What is Endpoint Security? Data Protection 101” and “Why SSL? The Purpose of using SSL Certificates” websites each provide ways to reduce and/or prevent future attacks.

Two weaknesses were found in regards to the company 's network security. First weakness is a hardware weakness; and another is IDS which not having a Network-based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in use. The recommended solutions are to show an AAA server for user authentication and authorization to company resources, and deploy a combination Host and Network-based IDS for overall monitoring of the company 's enterprise.

Michael’s Store, Inc. is an arts & crafts Retail chain. It has more than 1040 stores located in 49 US states & Canada. The company also owns and operates the Aaron brother’s retail chain, which happens to have an additional 115 stores across the Country. Michael’s store Inc. had a Security breach, which took place between May 8, 2013 and January 27, 2014. About 2.6 million cards or about 7 percent of payment cards used at its stores during the period were affected. Alarmingly, its subsidiary Aaron brothers also had been breached between June 26, 2013 and February 27, 2014. It was reported that Aaron brothers had 400,000 cards impacted. The duration of the treacherous attack in total was 8 months (Schwartz, 2014). In this report, security breach of Michael’s store Inc. is analyzed. The topics covered are how the breach occurred, what did the authorities do to educate the customers & how in future such attacks can be avoided.

The risk of financial sector in the United States of America has become increasingly more apparent and more diverse to the United States over the last few decades partially because of the advanced computer and cyber based accounting networks that the Nation has shifted to. The security of our financial systems is absolutely critical including being one of the primary concerns and directly

The Target data breach remains one of the most notable breaches in history, it was the first time a CEO of a major corporation was fired due to a security event. The breach received an enormous amount of attention, it caused corporations and individuals to change the way they think about information security and data protection. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013 hackers gained access to 40 million customer credit cards and personal data of 70 million Target customers. The intruders slipped in by using stolen credentials and from there gained access to vulnerable servers on Targets network to launch their attack and steal sensitive customer data from the POS cash registers. All this occurred without a response from Targets security operations center, even though security systems notified them of suspicious activity. The data was then sold on the black market for an estimated $53 million dollars. However, the cost to Target, creditors, and banks exceeded half of a billion dollars. This report will review how the infiltration occurred, what allowed the breach to occur including Targets response, and finally who was impacted by the security event.

Some network security concerns that should be addressed is the physical component while damage can be inflicted on the network from remote terminal, an attacker with physical access is a much greater concern. The Global Accounting network system should be placed in a secure room where only essential personnel have access. Network devices such as the modem and router should be password protected

Computer networks allow for employees within an organization to share files and exchange ideas more efficiently. Also, computer networks make it easier to back up all the company’s data on an offsite server. Computer networking supports business operations and contributes immensely to globalization. Therefore, organizations invest heavily in computer networks ensuring they work efficiently. This paper discusses ten points to consider when evaluating a computer network. These evaluation points explore the network’s: security, data rate, network upgrade tolerance, device interfacing, internet connections, application performance, network services, wireless connectivity, and its cost.

In creating a network to support 200 employees in a retail business across five stores in the Midwest, several key design criterion need to be considered in addition to specific security strategies for remote telecommuting, office-based and traveling employees. The intent of this paper is to define the hardware, software, networks and people involved in the design and use of the system, in addition to defining the data captured and information products including reports produced. A description of the files and databases that need to be accessed and secured throughout the system are also provided. The foundation of any successful data security strategy is the development of a framework which takes into account the goals, objectives and initiatives of the enterprise (Lin, Varadharajan, 2010).

Almost all kind of large and small organizations might face increasing number of attacks into their network or intellectual property. This may lead to data disclosure, data destruction, and damage of organization’s reputation. There are numerous threats in the cyber space which might be capable of stealing, destroying or making use of out sensitive data for financial and non-financial gains. As the amount of computer, mobile and internet users increases, so does the number of exploiters.

Financial institutions continues to be challenged by the inherent risks that are associated to the loss of customer data through the compromise of security controls. As Information Security continues to grow, the lack of effective security controls such as authentication continues to one of the key components leading to data breaches across all industries.

Security is one of the major challenges that is being faced by the world today, as seen by continuous revelations about breaches and incidents. On this note of insecurity and unpredictability, banking industry is keen to redefine its approach to security thereby making an attempt to balance three critical factors i.e. cost, innovation and risk. On parallel grounds, the domain of internal security is undergoing drastic changes that mandates banking institutions to embrace new set of skills and practices. Fraud can be categorized as a business risk – it is like a sword of Damocles over a bank’s future. This must change for the good. The rapid pace with which the technology is changing, like the recent explosion of cellular customers, is often entailed by necessary evils. An unstoppable tsunami is engulfing banks with their employees and clients carrying their private electronic gadgets to work. Similarly, applicants for BYOD has surged and simultaneously it accelerates the rate of security threats, both ethically and technologically. Online banking proves to be the antithesis of all the innovations of security professionals due to their identifiable features such as their mobility, richness in data and susceptibility to theft.