Student Publications


Author: FESTUS OLUBUKUNMI AJIBUWA
Title:
Data Security
Area: School of Science and Engineering
 
Country :
Bogota, Colombia
Profile: Coordinador de Sistemas, Premium Copiers
Program:
Licenciatura en Telecomunicaciones
Available for Download: Yes


Sharing knowledge is a vital component in the growth and advancement of our society in a sustainable and responsible way. Through Open Access, AIU and other leading institutions through out the world are tearing down the barriers to access and use research literature. Our organization is interested in the dissemination of advances in scientific research fundamental to the proper operation of a modern society, in terms of community awareness, empowerment, health and wellness, sustainable development, economic advancement, and optimal functioning of health, education and other vital services. AIU’s mission and vision is consistent with the vision expressed in the Budapest Open Access Initiative and Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. Do you have something you would like to share, or just a question or comment? We would be happy to hear from you, please use the Request Info link below.

For more information on the AIU's Open Access Initiative, click here.

 


 
 
 
Introduction

Security according to Collins English Dictionary is "the state of being secure. Precautions taken to
ensure against theft, espionage, etc;" Data security is very important, data that contain personal
information has to be protected under the data protection act, and data that could be useful for
commercial competitors has to be safeguarded from theft.

The Higher National Computing (page 226) declares that data security as an essential aspect of
computing especially with database system to ensure privacy of sensitive and personal information.
Data security is also paramount in complying with legislation that protects users and third parties of
data.

A number of organizational security breaches can occur; some of these are amplified by the use of a
database because of the integrated approach to data storage and retrieval. Some of these breaches and
security issues include:


Virus

Unauthorized access (hacking)

Industrial and/or individual sabotage

Accidents by users (incompetence)

According to Terence Driscoll and Bob Dolden "Security in information management terms means the
protection of data from accident or deliberate threats which might cause unauthorized modification,
disclosure or destruction of data, and the protection of information system from the degradation or non
availability of services."

Security refers to technical issues related to the computer system, psychological and behavioral factors
in the organization and its employees, and protection against the unpredictable occurrences of the
natural world.

Kelvin Townsend (editor, Information Security Bulletin) mentioned on page 10 of the IMIS IT
Security journal that people frequently asked him "What is the best security system to install?" And
his answer is "The best security system is the one that allows you to fulfill your security policy." He
further said that "A formal security policy is the key to a secure system."

And in his analysis of some of the threats and risks to data, he mentioned the following:
Loss of access to your company data
Unproductive workforce
Viral infection
Theft of company secrets
Inadvertent law breaking

Security can be divided into a number of aspects:

(a) Prevention
(b) Detection

2
 

(c) Deterrence
(d) Recovery procedures
(e) Correction procedures
(f) Threat avoidance.


Crimes and instructions on automated information systems

Computer crime encompasses any unauthorized use of a computer system including software piracy or
theft of system resources for personal use including computer processing time and network access
time. It is also a crime to take any action intended to alter data programs or to damage or destroy data,
software, or equipment. All these crimes are committed through intrusion, the forced and unauthorized
entry into a system.

Computer crime through intrusion can occur in one of two ways, which is either by hackers break into
a system to destroy the data or the network, or software viruses inserted into a system to destroy
programs and data.


Software Piracy
Piracy is the act of making of illegal copies of copyright information, and software piracy is the
making of illegal copies of software. This is one of the most serious issues in IT today because it is so
widespread that it is responsible for an enormous loss of revenue to software originators.


Protections against Software Piracy

Software Copyright Protection: This is the legal protection of original works against unauthorized use,
including duplication, provided the owner visibly displays a notice on the product. This method has
been used for many yeas for the protection of books, magazines, music and other commercial original
works, but today it also applies to computer software, database etc.

Copyright Protection: This is a software protection scheme that defeats attempts to copy a program or
makes the copied software unreliable.


Software Site Licensing: This is an agreement under which a software purchaser pays a fee to the
manufacturer to make a specified number of copies of a particular program.

Hackers

Hackers are people that attack/gain access into a system/networks illegally to see what is there and
mostly to destroy data for their profits, to be malicious or just because it is there. Hackers usually gain
access to a system through a network, but sometimes they physically enter a computer or network
facility.

Business people should always keep their intellectual property from the eyes of their competitors or
hackers, because much of the data is very difficult and expensive to generate. Therefore if care is not

3
 

taken loss or damages can put the individual out of business because networks are attack by morons.
Consider what will happen when an enemy/hacker gains access to your network.

Network Security Measures Against Hackers
There are various ways and methods of protecting networks from dangers or hackers, and it is always
very wise for not to rely on a single protection method and deploy them in layers designed so that an
attacker has to defeat multiple defense mechanisms to perform a successful attack.
Below are some security measures that should be adhered to by all users of a network system:
Physical Access Control is the most basic level of security, but it is frequently forgotten. The most
trivial way of stealing data or disrupting IT operations is to physically take or destroy pieces of
equipment. Instead of spending more effort and resources securing your data against threats coming
from the network, make sure to control physical access to critical servers and network infrastructure.

This involves the employing of security guards to monitor and guard the IT room/office so that
nobody will have the direct access of stealing or damaging data or equipment and theft will not take
place. Therefore the workplace should have tight security measure to prevent un-authorized people
from invading the place. A padlock may be your most effective network security investment.
User authentication mechanisms are designed to uniquely identify users, assign their corresponding
access rights to information, and track their activities. Workers should know that the security of the
organization must not be compromised. User's ID and passwords are the primary means of
safeguarding organizational assets.
Authentication is usually performed by challenging the user to provide access keys (passwords,
biometric information, tokens, ID cards, etc) and checking their access privileges against a
RADIUS, LDAP or SLDAP database.
Data Encryption is the process of encoding data through a series of mathematical functions to
prevent unauthorized parties from viewing or modifying it. It has the objective to protect the
confidentiality and integrity of the information, even when the encrypted data is in transit over
unsecured media such as the Internet.
Data encryption works so that only the recipient can decode the data using the decoding algorithm
that is not necessarily secret and an encryption key that is secret.
Network Packet Filtering is performed at network level and can be performed at routers and
gateways by analyzing headers of IP packets and allowing or denying forwarding based on source or
destination address, protocol type, TCP port number, packet length, etc. This is useful to prevent
access even before there is an attempt to authenticate or look at system data.
Firewalls are devices that perform packet filtering but look beyond the Internet Protocol headers and
also analyze the packet payload for patterns to deny/allow user.

4
 

The use of Passwords on data or the entire computer system can act as a protection from unauthorized
people. A password has to be keyed in to gain access to the data or computer system and this is made
up of characters, numbers, or in an alphanumeric form and the password is issued only to people
authorized to use the system and this should be changed frequently to keep the data secure.
It is not advisable to use the name of the company or the owner's name or his/her family name as a
password because many people might know this and others might try this to gain access to the data.

Restricted Access (privileges) to different data areas can be set up so that only authorized users can
gain access to certain data. In this case all the users may be able to access the company's files, but
access to certain data will be restricted to certain members, and this is done through the use of
additional passwords or by setting up the system so that only certain terminals can gain access to
certain data.

Back Ups: This is the act of duplicating files so that incase of any accident such as loss of original file,
there will be copies/duplicates of the original, and if possible this duplicate will not be kept in the
computer system alone or at workplaces but there should be more secured places to keep it.


Computer Viruses

A virus is defined as a small computer program that is capable of copying itself from one computer to
another, thus emulating a biological virus that infects new hosts. Viruses are almost always written
with malicious intent, and may inflict damage ranging from temporarily corrupting the screen display
or slowing down the computer operation, through deleting certain files, up to erasing the entire hard
disk content.

In certain cases intrusions occurs by way of software. According to Wikipedia, "A computer virus is a
hidden program that alters, without the user's knowledge the way the computer operates or modifies
the data and programs stored on the computer." It is said to be a virus because it reproduces itself,
passing from one computer to another, or it can also enter a computer when a file to which it attaches
itself is being transferred to a remote computer through a communication network and an infected disk
or diskette will continue to spread the virus each time it is used. Other viruses take control of the
operating system and stop it from functioning.

The most dangerous viruses do not act immediately after infection but often lie dormant for a long
period until it is triggered by some event; such as reaching a particular date (Friday the 13th is popular)
or running a certain program.

Writing a virus is technically demanding, so they are always written for the most popular brands of
computer, where there exists a reasonable chance that they will replicate. Historically they have been
mainly confined to IBM � compatibles Personal Computers and the Apple Macintosh.

The first virus was probably the 1987 Lehigh virus, followed by the more widely infectious stoned,
Jerusalem and Cascade viruses, all of which infected PCs running MS-DOS. These early viruses
disseminated themselves via a floppy disk, copying themselves into the Boot Sector of the hard disk of
any computer that was booted from that floppy. Their spread was exacerbated by the people taking
floppy disks to work to play games, and exchanging pirated software on floppies. Once software
became too big for floppies, this class of virus almost died out, as they can not infect the read-only

5
 

Compact Disk � Read Only Memory (CD-ROM). Now almost all viruses are disseminated via the
Internet, either by the down-loading of files that they have infected, or hidden in an attachment to an
Email.

There are three main categories of virus:
(a) File viruses
(b) Script or Macro viruses
(c) Boot Sector viruses.
Protections against viruses

Scanning: This is a method by which virus-checking programs such as Norton Anti-virus searches
disks and memory for known
viruses.

Interception: This is a virus checking program that monitors processing, seeking to spot virus program
in action.

Digital signature encryption: These are published programs that are encoded with mathematical key,
making it difficult for virus to attack data or programs.

Health hazards & safety precautions associated with computer workplaces

Having a proper workplace and ensuring that workers enjoy the benefits a good and accident-free
workplace is a good motivation for employees. It is very clear that a healthy and happy worker is more
productive to any business. The key to designing a proper workplace for the knowledge worker is
flexibility.

Computer operators/users are also covered by the health and safety act1974. Therefore to comply with
this act, employers are required to make sure that their places of work are safe environments. Issues
related to the use of computers include the regular checking of all electrical equipment to make sure
that it is safe to use.

It is also the duty of employees to undertake safe working practices and they are required to:

Report any hazards relating to computers immediately and this could include trailing computer
leads, loose wiring etc.
Avoid lifting heavy equipments unless the individual is trained to do so.
Take breaks at regular intervals.
Maintain good posture when sitting at terminals.


Other related issues include:

The computer hardware

The Visual Display Unit (VDU): This should be located directly in front of the individual using it at
his/her arms length with the top at forehand level and also outside windows should be to the side of the

6
 

VDU to reduce glare. The VDU should be high resolution with anti-glare screens and it should be free
from smudges or dust build-up. It should also allow tilt/swivel adjustment.

Eyestrain

Constant use of the VDU can affect the user's eyes to avoid eyestrains for the users; the following rules
should be adhered to:


Staffs have the right to free eye tests before they start to work on a VDU screens and if possible
they can also have a test after using the system.

Screens should be free from flickering.

Screens should not be placed where they reflect light.

The user should be able to change the angle of the VDU.

Lightning should be bright so that there is not too great a contrast between the screen and
background light.

Users should be able to adjust the screen brightness and contrast.

Keyboard

The keyboard should be located such that the upper arm and forearms are at right angle (90o), lie flat or
an angle of about 10 degrees and it should be ergonomically design to accommodate better the
movement of the fingers, hands and arms.
The keys should be concave shaped to avoid finger pains. The keyboard should not be attach� to the
VDU so that the operator can adjust it to any height and angle.

Posture

Sitting at terminals for lengthy periods of time can lead to back, neck and arm injuries, and to help
prevent such injuries:


Chairs should be designed to swivel and move best if they have castors and should be adjustable
for the individual user in the angle of the chair back and the height of the seat.

Operators should have break frequently, because this for the change of posture.

Chairs should possess armrests with height adjustment, lumbar support adjustment for lower
back, and five �leg pedestal on casters.

Arms should bend down from the shoulders and into angles at the elbow.

Feet should be flat on the floor, with hips and knees bent at right angles.

The desk:
A wraparound workspace should be used to keep the PC, important office file and materials within
about 18 inches of chair. Adjustable tray for keyboard and mouse and the tray should have height and
swivel adjustments.

The room

Freedom of movement should be available for the operators; therefore there should be enough free space
that will permit freedom of movement and ample legroom. The working room should be spacious for all
the materials and the workers.

7
 


Warnings

Warning signs should be written and be provided in the workplace for customers and employees to see
as a cautionary measure when walking around the place. An example is when the workplace has
slippery floor, it should be clearly written mostly at the entrance so that anyone entering the place will
be aware of the slippery floor and avoid rushing to prevent accidents.

No smoking signs should also be provided at the workplace, because it is not a good practice to smoke at
workplaces. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the employer to make it known to both customers and
employees that smoking is prohibited at the workplace.

"No Smoking"






Cabling & Wiring

During wiring, all wires should be protected using plastic insulators, and cables should not be scattered
all over the workplace. This is to prevent accidents from electric current. Un-protected wires can cause
electric chocks/electrocution and this should be properly taken care of in any workplace to avoid such
dangers and accidents.

External security

For the external network security, this is highly required for a WAN (Wide Area Network) by
setting up a firewall (e.g. De-militarized zone) is software that acts by
a.
Control access to your network from the outside
b.
Defines which part of the internal system can be seen from outside and also act in
reverse � it can control any outside services visible from one machine.

Firewalls block incoming hacker attacks by using NAT (Network Address Translation) to hide much of
the detail in network traffic so it looks like it comes from one machine.
The software can be set to prevent the screen traffic from:

a.
A pre-defined set of address
b.
A predefined set of users
c.
Traffic that contains certain type of data

These help protect the network from receiving unwanted or un-requested data packets, allow
access to certain part of the system to users and lock other, even staff members can be provided
with limited access and further more, firewall can be used as an anti-virus protection. Firewall
also provides supports for encryption.

Internal security

8
 


Firewall plays a dual role as far as network security is concerned. It can serve as an internal as
well as external security � it can control any part of the system that can be accessed from outside
as well as within the organization. But must be operating systems support NTFS (Network File
Server) which controls who has access to certain files within the organization. Logical securities
such as passwords are needed to access files.
Health & Safety
Avoid costly accidents, minimize your liability and potential hazards, and meet published safety
requirements by using comprehensive health and safety standards.
The promotion of Health & Safety at work must be a mutual objective for staff at all levels. We
all have a duty to take proper precautions and care in our work not only to safeguard ourselves
but also colleagues, visitors and contractors etc. within our offices.
It is considered essential in the interest of all employees, that they should observe and maintain
the safety standards as laid down in this Policy.
Management and staff will be required to co-operate to maintain the health & safety at work of
the workforce by observation of agreed practices and procedures for improved standards of
protection for all persons using the company's premises.
Health & Safety must be regarded as a mutual objective for management and employees at all
levels. Therefore management will:
Provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions in accordance with the Health
& Safety at Work etc. all subsequent and relevant statutory requirements.
Carry out suitable risk assessments of all premises and tasks carried out within them (to
include the risks from fire, noise, manual handling, and exposure to chemicals &
substances etc).
Provide and maintain safe means of access and egress from all premises and locations.
Provide safety training, information and instruction as required for all employees, visitors
and customers etc, as appropriate.
Provide all necessary safety devices, protective equipment and supervise their use.
Maintain a constant and continuing interest in all aspects of safety, in particular by
introducing and monitoring safety procedures, and involving employees or their
representatives wherever possible.
Staffs have a duty to co-operate fully in the operation of this Policy by:
Working safely and efficiently, complying with any instruction, information & training in
accordance with all company procedures and statutory obligations.
Immediately reporting incidents (including accidents, near misses that have resulted in, or
may lead to injury).
Assisting with the investigation of accidents and aiding the introduction of measures to prevent a
recurrence.

9
 

Conclusion

Having looked into various threats that lead to loss of access to corporate and individual data and
some current solutions, I will like to conclude that computer experts need to sit down or go back
to the Boardroom and analyze what is needed to protect, and how much can realistically be spent
on that protection. The results should be a formal security policy that seeks to minimize the
dangers from electronic threats, behavioral threats and acts of God.

It will inevitably be a compromise between the ideal and the minimum; but it must at least be
achievable. It will define what users can and cannot do with their computers, and what outsiders
should and should not be allowed to access. But it will also include behavioral rules for staff, to
prevent accidents and social engineering. And it will also include general principles of good
practice; such as back-up procedures and the use of uninterruptible power supplies. It is then we
can turn to the hardware and software security solutions and ask the question: "what is the best
system or systems to implement in order to meet these security objectives?"

References

IMIS Journal (1998). IT Security � Formulating a policy.

Terence Driscoll and Bob Dolden (1997). Computer Studies and Information Technology.
Macmillan education Ltd: London and Oxford.

Wikipedia

WWW.Google.com

10
 

 
 
dd
Home | Spanish | Portugese | Chinese | French | Online Courses | Available Courses | View Course Demo | Career Center | Available Positions | Ask Career Coach | The Job Interview | Writing Resume | Accreditation | Areas of Study | Bachelor Degree Programs | Masters Degree Programs | Doctoral Degree Programs | Course and Curriculum | Human Rights | Online Library | Links Exchange | 54 Million Records | Press Room | New Look | Representations | Student Publications | Share with Us | Alumni | Graduates | Sponsors | General Information | Mission & Vision | School of Business and Economics | School of Science and Engineering | School of Social and Human Studies | Download Center | Admission Requirements | Tuition | Apply Online | Faculty & Staff | Distance Learning Overview | Student Testimonials | Frequently Asked Questions | Distance Learning Request Information | Register for Program | Admission Application Form

Copyright ® 1979 - 2006, 2007 Atlantic International University . All rights reserved.
Google