Charles Wright

Oct

2020

Data Security vs Information Privacy

Over the past several years, regulators have made a clear distinction between data security and information privacy. Data security focuses on the system controls that limit the access to data. Information privacy is focused on the data elements that are stored on a system. These data elements are generally defined as personally identifiable information (PII) or may be industry specific such as protected healthcare information (PHI).

Key Definitions:

Identity: The identity is typically the user ID
Authorized Users: These are the users that have been given permission to access files, data, etc.
Authentication: Authentication is the mechanism used by the user to prove they are who they say they are. Authentication is typically a password, but can and should include two factor, or multifactor authentication (2FA/MFA). Ideally, the authentication mechanism should prove non-repudiation, assurance that someone cannot deny the validity of something.
Data Owner: The data owner defines who is permitted access to the data elements, how long data is to be retained, etc.
Data Custodian: The data custodian implements the system (IT) controls that only allow authorized users to access the data

Principle of “Least Privilege”

Least privilege is a basic security concept that limits the amount of information made available to a user. Users should only be provided the minimum amount of access that is needed for them to perform their job function. Data owners define who and how much data is to be provided to the user.

Key Concept:

Highly Privileged Accounts (HPA): HPA are network administrative accounts and should only be used when network support or maintenance is being performed. Any user that has an HPA should also have a regular user ID that should be used to perform their daily tasks. HPA access should be monitored and logged.

Information Privacy is focused on the rights of the individual, while Data Security is focused on protecting data from unauthorized access. At Quanexus, we focus on both, Information Privacy and Data Security. It is important to understand the difference when building a secure network environment.

Quanexus IT Support Services for Dayton and Cincinnati

Request your free network assessment today. There is no hassle, or obligation.

If you would like more information, contact us here or call 937.885.7272.

Oct

2020

Back to Basics DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have been in the news lately. Google released details on Friday of an attack in 2017, that was four times larger than any attack known before that time. A Massachusetts school district had issues with its virtual learning platform and replaced multiple firewalls before they realized they were being targeted by a DDoS attack. Corporations are starting to receive emails threatening DDoS attacks if they don’t pay a ransom. In some cases hackers are also threatening to launch a small attack to show these businesses they are serious, and if the business doesn’t pay, they will increase the size of the attack.

With all of these stories in the news, today on the blog we will explore what a DDoS attack is, and how they are being used to disrupt business websites.

A hacker can gain control of a computer or server through phishing or brute force. Once the hacker has control of the system, they can steal data, access other data on an internal server, corrupt data, or they can do nothing. In some cases hackers gain access to a system in order to use that system later. When the hacker has control of a system and can use it to do harm, we call that system a bot. When the hacker has control of many systems and can use them all at the same time, we call this a botnet.

A DDoS attack occurs when hackers use a botnet to create overwhelming internet traffic aimed at a specific target (company) or website. The desired outcome of a DDoS attack is to overload the target by degrading internet or network performance and possibly causing systems to totally crash. Criminals are now using new tools to amplify botnet signals and target websites with massive data numbers like we have never seen before.

We are seeing an increase in both the frequency and size of these attacks. DDoS attacks have increased 150% since the same time in 2019. Also, the size of an individual attack is on the rise. The size of an attack is measured in amount of data the website is bombarded with along with length of time the attack occurs. The attack on Google in 2017 and a more recent attack on Amazon are in the range of terabits-per-second (Tbps) which is larger than we have seen or knew about before.

Quanexus IT Support Services for Dayton and Cincinnati

Request your free network assessment today. There is no hassle, or obligation.

If you would like more information, contact us here or call 937.885.7272.

Oct

2020

Social Media and IT Security

We are continuing the theme of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and talking about how hackers use social media today.

Think Before You Post
It is easy to get caught up in social media and overshare. Generally it’s a good idea to wait until your trip is finished to post pictures to social media. Posting while you are away from home could alert criminals to an empty house, or alert hackers that you may be on a shared network. Even something as ambiguous as “checking in” to your favorite coffee spot every day could give criminals access to your daily schedule and plans.

Social Media at Work
Many of us use social media in our business lives as well. There is a tendency to share more on these platforms to connect with others in our industry and seek out career opportunities. We’ve covered stories this summer of hackers using LinkedIn to tailor phishing attacks to infiltrate business email and data. It’s important to be conscious of the information you make public on all social media accounts. Hackers were using LinkedIn to connect with new employees and pose as in-house IT services. They were asking for username and password information for the internal business network convincing the user they needed to help them set up new employee services. We saw an increase in this tactic with the increase of new hires who were working remotely.

Passwords and Privacy Settings
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a great opportunity to double check your security settings and update passwords on social media. These services change security settings often so it’s important to understand which of your social media accounts are open to the public and which are private. Many social media platforms offer two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA). If these are an option, they should be turned on and used. October is a good time to update passwords and make sure you are not using the same password on multiple platforms. More importantly, never re-use passwords on social media or other platforms that you also use at work.

Additional Reading

Click here to read our blog post on Password Management

Click here to read out blog post on Multi-Factor Authentication

Click here to access the National Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency tip sheet on Cybersecurity and Social Media

Quanexus IT Support Services for Dayton and Cincinnati

Request your free network assessment today. There is no hassle, or obligation.

If you would like more information, contact us here or call 937.885.7272.

Oct

2020

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Today on the blog we are featuring some great resources from the Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They published a handful of well thought out tip sheets in honor of NCAM. These would be great to share with your employees!

Today we are highlighting, Cybersecurity at Work, Multi-Factor Authentication, and Phishing tip sheets.

You can access all of the tip sheets from CISA Here, and click below for the three listed above.