Cyber Case Study

Cyber security, also referred to as information technology security, focuses on protecting computers, networks, software programs and data from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction. Post 9/11 and other terrorist attacks, the United States grows its endeavors to repulse cyberattacks, U.S. corporate organizations and the government agencies wind up in strife over how to adjust to new methods of security and privacy. The current state of security measure protocols and privacy policies placed by the US government in cyberspace raises concerns for the 99%. This is due to the recent cyber-attacks on American corporate organization systems and government alike, where their digital information and network infrastructures within the systems were compromised, and personal data was hacked and stolen.

This paper will present a report that will assist with determining the controls required to implement to ensure that data are secure for the Northcentral University. This paper will summarize the security breaches of the Target Store Corporation over the previous year and make recommendations in the form of information technology security best practices to strengthen the University’s infrastructure.

Unfortunately, our situation is not unique. Across the nation schools are routinely subjected to “outside hacking, in-house errors, and even technology gaps at companies they work with”, making many students and employees vulnerable to identity theft (Davis, 2015, p.1). Schools can also be held responsible for paying significant legal fees and damages if private student academic information is breached (Bathon, 2013, p.1).

There are many threats a network faces when the IT department allows students to connect to the network or Internet

Internet security and safety is important more so today than ever before. With the use of new technology in the classroom it is important for

A large amount of PII is stored in platforms utilized by universities and colleges, such as Banner Web. Bricker and Eckler (2016) stated, “Colleges and universities maintain large stores of sensitive data, including financial information and expensive research statistics, making them prime targets for hackers” (para. 2). Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are not aware of the security issues involved when using portable devices or identifying a phishing email. The most common data breaches in higher education are hacking and malware, spear phishing, and portable devices. Although social media is not a type of breach, hackers can plan a data breach by collecting personal

Cyber security is a major concern for every department, business, and citizen of the United States because technology impacts every aspect of our daily lives. The more we use technology the more complacent, we get with the information that is stored within our cyber networks. The more complacent, we get, the more vulnerable we become to cyber-attacks because we fail to update the mechanisms that safeguard our information. Breaches to security networks are detrimental to personal, economic, and national security information. Many countries, like Russia, China, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, now have the abilities and technology to launch cyber-attacks on the United States. In the last five years there have been several attacks on cyber systems to gain access to information maintained by major businesses and the United States Government. Cyber-attacks cause serious harm to the United States’ economy, community, and the safety, so we need to build stronger cyber security mechanisms. Based on my theoretical analysis, I recommend the following:

Prevalent to the current trend now is the dependency of the society on Information technology and communication systems. Every aspect of human life is one way or the other linked and controlled by information technology tools. The importance of information technology cannot be over emphasized as its unavailability could lead to a form of disaster or the other. Pivotal infrastructures like finance, healthcare, education and security are driven by information technology. However, information technology and its benefits are accompanied by vulnerabilities and risks that can be exploited by people with the necessary technical skills. Individuals like ‘Hackers’ and ‘Cyber Terrorist’ can cause disruption to information systems, commit financial fraud and also attack computers and networks. These attacks and disruptions could result to violence against people and properties. In some cases, death, serious injuries and severe economic loss could occur as a result of these attacks.

The increasing volume and sophistication of cyber security threats including targeted data theft, phishing scams and other online vulnerabilities demand that we remain vigilant about securing our systems and information.

Governments, organizations and companies co-operate to secure cyber space. In fact, the prevention of cyber criminal activities is the most critical aspect in the fight against cyber crime. It’s mainly based on the concepts of awareness and information sharing. A proper security posture is the best defence against cyber crime (Paganini, Perluigi, 2014)

Every cybercrime is created by finding a new loophole, this makes the people who work on the defensive systems to improve and evolve their systems constantly.

Information security professional’s job is to deploy the right safeguards, evaluating risks against critical assets and to mitigate those threats and vulnerabilities. Management can ensure their company’s assets, such as data, remain intact by finding the latest technology and implementing the right policies. Risk management focuses on analyzing risk and mitigating actions to reduce that risk. Successful implementation of security safeguards depends on the knowledge and experience of information security staff. This paper addresses the methods and fundamentals on how to systematically conduct risk assessments on the security risks of information systems.

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.

Cyber Security also called computer security and IT security, is the assurance of data from theft or any harm to the gadget, the product and information stored on hardware. It incorporates controlling physical access to the equipment and additionally ensuring against code or data injection or via network access.

Americans are becoming heavily dependent on modern day technology, which produce more vulnerability to cyber-attacks such as security breaches. Cyber security, also known as information technology security, is information security as applied to computers and computer networks. It is designed to protect networks, programs, computers and data from attacks. These attacks can lead to damages or unauthorized access to data. Computer security also includes protection from unplanned events and natural disasters. Cyber security main function is to guard computers, networks, programs and data from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction.