Category

Topics in computer security

Summary
Computer security, cyber security, digital security or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attacks by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, theft of, or damage to hardware, software, or data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. The field is significant due to the expanded reliance on computer systems, the Internet, and wireless network standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Also, due to the growth of smart devices, including smartphones, televisions, and the various devices that constitute the Internet of things (IoT). Cybersecurity is one of the most significant challenges of the contemporary world, due to both the complexity of information systems and the societies they support. Security is of especially high importance for systems that govern large-scale systems with far-reaching physical effects, such as power distribution, elections, and finance. Since the Internet's arrival and with the digital transformation initiated in recent years, the notion of cybersecurity has become a familiar subject in both our professional and personal lives. Cybersecurity and cyber threats have been consistently present for the last 60 years of technological change. In the 1970s and 1980s, computer security was mainly limited to academia until the conception of the Internet, where, with increased connectivity, computer viruses and network intrusions began to take off. After the spread of viruses in the 1990s, the 2000s marked the institutionalization of cyber threats and cybersecurity. The April 1967 session organized by Willis Ware at the Spring Joint Computer Conference, and the later publication of the Ware Report, were foundational moments in the history of the field of computer security. Ware's work straddled the intersection of material, cultural, political, and social concerns. A 1977 NIST publication introduced the CIA triad of confidentiality, integrity, and availability as a clear and simple way to describe key security goals.
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Related categories (16)
Information security
Information security, sometimes shortened to InfoSec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data or the unlawful use, disclosure, disruption, deletion, corruption, modification, inspection, recording, or devaluation of information. It also involves actions intended to reduce the adverse impacts of such incidents.
Privacy
Privacy (UK, US) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of appropriate use and protection of information. Privacy may also take the form of bodily integrity. There have been many different conceptions of privacy throughout history. Most cultures recognize the right of an individual to withhold aspects of their personal lives from public record.
Topics in computer architecture
In computer science, computer architecture is a description of the structure of a computer system made from component parts. It can sometimes be a high-level description that ignores details of the implementation. At a more detailed level, the description may include the instruction set architecture design, microarchitecture design, logic design, and implementation. The first documented computer architecture was in the correspondence between Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, describing the analytical engine.
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Related concepts (6)
Sandbox (computer security)
In computer security, a sandbox is a security mechanism for separating running programs, usually in an effort to mitigate system failures and/or software vulnerabilities from spreading. The isolation metaphor is taken from the idea of children who do not play well together, so each is given their own sandbox to play in alone. It is often used to execute untested or untrusted programs or code, possibly from unverified or untrusted third parties, suppliers, users or websites, without risking harm to the host machine or operating system.
Stuxnet
Stuxnet is a malicious computer worm first uncovered in 2010 and thought to have been in development since at least 2005. Stuxnet targets supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and is believed to be responsible for causing substantial damage to the nuclear program of Iran. Although neither country has openly admitted responsibility, the worm is widely understood to be a cyberweapon built jointly by the United States and Israel in a collaborative effort known as Operation Olympic Games.
Security through obscurity
Security through obscurity (or security by obscurity) is the reliance on secrecy as the main method of providing security to a system or component, specifically in security engineering, whether on design or implementation. An early opponent of security through obscurity was the locksmith Alfred Charles Hobbs, who in 1851 demonstrated to the public how state-of-the-art locks could be picked. In response to concerns that exposing security flaws in the design of locks could make them more vulnerable to criminals, he said: "Rogues are very keen in their profession, and know already much more than we can teach them.
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Related lectures (6)
Malware: BotnetsCOM-301: Computer security and privacy
Explores botnets, networks of compromised hosts controlled by a single entity, and defense strategies against them, highlighting the impact of malicious software.
Information Security BasicsMOOC: Humanitarian Action in the Digital Age
Covers information security basics, cyber attacks myths, and civil society opportunities.
Cybersecurity Ecosystem: Non-Profit Impact
Explores data breaches in non-profits, incident response plans, legal requirements, cybersecurity strategies, and challenges faced by organizations.
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Related publications (4)

Safeguarding the IoT From Malware Epidemics: A Percolation Theory Approach

Ainur Zhaikhan

The upcoming Internet of Things (IoT) is foreseen to encompass massive numbers of connected devices, smart objects, and cyber-physical systems. Due to the large scale and massive deployment of devices, it is deemed infeasible to safeguard 100% of the devic ...
IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC2021

Malware in the SGX supply chain: Be careful when signing enclaves!

Rafael Pereira Pires, Pascal Felber

Malware attacks are a significant part of the new software security threats detected each year. Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) are a set of hardware instructions introduced by Intel in their recent lines of processors that are intended to provide a ...
2020

ISPs and Ad Networks Against Botnet Ad Fraud

Jean-Pierre Hubaux, Maxime Raya, Nevena Vratonjic

Botnets are a serious threat on the Internet and require huge resources to be thwarted. ISPs are in the best position to fight botnets and there are a number of recently proposed initiatives that focus on how ISPs should detect and remediate bots. However, ...
Springer-Verlag New York, Ms Ingrid Cunningham, 175 Fifth Ave, New York, Ny 10010 Usa2010
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