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Encyclopedia > Computer insecurity

Many current computer systems have only limited security precautions in place. This computer insecurity article describes the current battlefield of computer security exploits and defenses. Please see the computer security article for an alternative approach, based on security engineering principles. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... An exploit is a common term in the computer security community to refer to a piece of software that takes advantage of a bug, glitch or vulnerability, leading to privilege escalation or denial of service on a computer system. ... This article describes how security can be achieved through design and engineering. ... Security engineering is the field of engineering dealing with the security and integrity of real-world systems. ...

Contents

Security and systems design

Most current real-world computer security efforts focus on external threats, and generally treat the computer system itself as a trusted system. Some knowledgeable observers consider this to be a disastrous mistake, and point out that this distinction is the cause of much of the insecurity of current computer systems - once an attacker has subverted one part of a system without fine-grained security, he or she usually has access to most or all of the features of that system. [citation needed] Because computer systems can be very complex, and cannot be guaranteed to be free of defects, this security stance tends to produce insecure systems. In security engineering, a trusted system is a system that you have no choice but to trust. ... A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from behaving as intended (e. ... In security engineering, your security stance is your default position on security matters. ...


The 'trusted systems' approach has been predominant in the design of many Microsoft software products, due to the long-standing Microsoft policy of emphasizing functionality and 'ease of use' over security. [citation needed] Since Microsoft products currently dominate the desktop and home computing markets, this has led to unfortunate effects. However, the problems described here derive from the security stance taken by software and hardware vendors generally, rather than the failing of a single vendor. Microsoft is not out of line in this respect, just far more prominent with respect to its consumer marketshare. Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... Microsoft Word with all features activated Creeping featurism, or creeping featuritis, is a phrase used to describe software which over-emphasizes new features to the detriment of other design goals, such as simplicity, compactness, stability, or bug reduction. ... I love the Ease of getting into your mothers pants. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Consumers refers to individuals or households that purchase and use goods and services generated within the economy. ... Market share, in strategic management and marketing, is the percentage or proportion of the total available market or market segment that is being serviced by a company. ...


It should be noted that the Windows NT line of operating systems from Microsoft contained mechanisms to limit this, such as services that ran under dedicated user accounts, and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with user/group rights, but the Windows 95 line of products lacked most of these functions. Before the release of Windows 2003 Microsoft has changed their official stance, taking a more locked down approach. On 15 January 2002, Bill Gates sent out a memo on Trustworthy Computing, marking the official change in company stance. Regardless, Microsoft's operating system Windows XP is still plagued by complaints about lack of local security and inability to use the fine-grained user access controls together with certain software (esp. certain popular computer games). Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... In computer systems security, role-based access control (RBAC) is an approach to restricting system access to authorized users. ... Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. ... Windows Server 2003 Desktop The successor to Windows 2000 Server, Microsofts Windows Server 2003 (codename Whistler Server, also known as Windows NT 5. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... For other persons named Bill Gates, see Bill Gates (disambiguation). ... Trusted computing (TC) refers to a family of specifications from the controversial TCPA with their stated goal of making computers more secure through the use of dedicated hardware. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...


Financial cost

Serious financial damage has been caused by computer security breaches, but reliably estimating costs is quite difficult. Figures in the billions of dollars have been quoted in relation to the damage caused by malware such as computer worms like the Code Red worm, but such estimates may be exaggerated. However, other losses, such as those caused by the compromise of credit card information, can be more easily determined, and they have been substantial, as measured by millions of individual victims of identity theft each year in each of several nations, and the severe hardship imposed on each victim, that can wipe out all of their finances, prevent them from getting a job, plus be treated as if they were the criminal. Volumes of victims of phishing and other scams may not be known. It has been suggested that Grayware be merged into this article or section. ... This is about the computer worm. ... The Code Red worm was a computer worm released via the Internet on July 13, 2001 affecting computers running Microsofts Internet Information Server (IIS) web server. ... Credit cards A credit card is a system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. ... Identity taker is a term first appearing in U.S. literature in the 1990s, leading to the drafting of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. ... This phishing attempt, disguised as an official email from a (fictional) bank, attempts to trick the banks members into giving away their account information by confirming it at the phishers linked website. ...


Individuals who have been infected with spyware or malware likely go through a costly and time-consuming process of having their computer cleaned. Spyware and malware is considered to be a problem specific to the various Microsoft Windows operating systems, however this can be explained somewhat by the fact that Microsoft controls a major share of the PC market and thus represent the most prominent target. A large number of toolbars, some added by spyware, overwhelm an Internet Explorer session. ... It has been suggested that Grayware be merged into this article or section. ... A large number of toolbars, some added by spyware, overwhelm an Internet Explorer session. ... It has been suggested that Grayware be merged into this article or section. ...


Reasons

There are many similarities (yet many fundamental differences) between computer and physical security. Just like real-world security, the motivations for breaches of computer security vary between attackers, sometimes called hackers or crackers. Some are teenage thrill-seekers or vandals (the kind often responsible for defacing web sites); similarly, some web site defacements are done to make political statements. However, some attackers are highly skilled and motivated with the goal of compromising computers for financial gain or espionage. An example of the latter is Markus Hess who spied for the KGB and was ultimately caught because of the efforts of Clifford Stoll, who wrote an amusing and accurate book, The Cuckoo's Egg, about his experiences. For those seeking to prevent security breaches, the first step is usually to attempt to identify what might motivate an attack on the system, how much the continued operation and information security of the system are worth, and who might be motivated to breach it. The precautions required for a home PC are very different for those of banks' Internet banking system, and different again for a classified military network. Other computer security writers suggest that, since an attacker using a network need know nothing about you or what you have on your computer, attacker motivation is inherently impossible to determine beyond guessing. If true, blocking all possible attacks is the only plausible action to take. Physical security describes measures that prevent or deter attackers from accessing a facility, resource, or information stored on physical media. ... Hacker, as it relates to computers, has several common meanings. ... In the context of computer networking, cracking (also called black-hat hacking) is the act of compromising the security of a system without permission from an authorized party, usually with the intent of accessing computers connected to the network. ... The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century and created a state in North Africa, centered on the city of Carthage. ... Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol to a background. ... Markus Hess, a West German citizen, was a computer prodigy and particularly effective hacker. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for Committee for State Security, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ... Clifford Stoll (or Cliff Stoll) is an astronomer, computer systems administrator, and author. ... For the science fiction novel by C. J. Cherryh, see Cuckoos Egg (novel). ... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... “Banker” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Information sensitivity be merged into this article or section. ... “Computer Networks” redirects here. ...


Vulnerabilities

To understand the techniques for securing a computer system, it is important to first understand the various types of "attacks" that can be made against it. These threats can typically be classified into one of these seven categories:


Exploits

Software flaws, especially buffer overflows, are often exploited to gain control of a computer, or to cause it to operate in an unexpected manner. Many development methodologies rely on testing to ensure the quality of any code released; this process often fails to discover extremely unusual potential exploits. The term "exploit" generally refers to small programs designed to take advantage of a software flaw that has been discovered, either remote or local. The code from the exploit program is frequently reused in trojan horses and computer viruses. In some cases, a vulnerability can lie in certain programs' processing of a specific file type, such as a non-executable media file. A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. ... In computer security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is a programming error which may result in a memory access exception and program termination, or in the event of the user being malicious, a possible breach of system security. ... An exploit is a piece of software, a chunk of data, or sequence of commands that take advantage of a bug, glitch or vulnerability in order to cause unintended or unanticipated behavior to occur on computer software, hardware, or something electronic (usually computerized). ... Software testing is the process used to measure the quality of developed computer software. ... First off all quality of computer software is conformance to requirements and absence of bugs. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. ...


Eavesdropping

Any data that is transmitted over a network is at some risk of being eavesdropped, or even modified by a malicious person. Even machines that operate as a closed system (ie, with no contact to the outside world) can be eavesdropped upon via monitoring the faint electro-magnetic transmissions generated by the hardware such as TEMPEST. The FBI's proposed Carnivore program was intended to act as a system of eavesdropping protocols built into the systems of internet service providers. “Computer Networks” redirects here. ... To eavesdrop is to surreptitiously overhear a private conversation. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... í For other uses, see Tempest. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Carnivore is a name given to a system implemented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that is analogous to wiretapping except in this case, e-mail and other communications are being tapped instead of telephone conversations. ... An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services. ...


Social engineering and human error

A computer system is no more secure than the human systems responsible for its operation. Malicious individuals have regularly penetrated well-designed, secure computer systems by taking advantage of the carelessness of trusted individuals, or by deliberately deceiving them, for example sending messages that they are the system administrator and asking for passwords. This deception is known as Social engineering. As commonly used, individual refers to a person or to any specific object in a collection. ... Social engineering is the practice of obtaining confidential information by manipulation of legitimate users. ...


Denial of service attacks

Denial of service (DoS) attacks differ slightly from those listed above, in that they are not primarily a means to gain unauthorized access or control of a system. They are instead designed to render it unusable. Attackers can deny service to individual victims, such as by deliberately guessing a wrong password 3 consecutive times and thus causing the victim account to be locked, or they may overload the capabilities of a machine or network and block all users at once. These types of attack are, in practice, very hard to prevent, because the behavior of whole networks needs to be analyzed, not only the behaviour of small pieces of code. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are common, where a large number of compromised hosts (commonly referred to as "zombie computers") are used to flood a target system with network requests, thus attempting to render it unusable through resource exhaustion. Another technique to exhaust victim resources is through the use of an attack amplifier - where the attacker takes advantage of poorly designed protocols on 3rd party machines, such as FTP or DNS, in order to instruct these hosts to launch the flood. There are also commonly vulnerabilities in applications that cannot be used to take control over a computer, but merely make the target application malfunction or crash. This is known as a denial-of-service exploit. A denial-of-service attack (also, DoS attack) is an attack on a computer system or network that causes a loss of service to users, typically the loss of network connectivity and services by consuming the bandwidth of the victim network or overloading the computational resources of the victim system. ... “Computer Networks” redirects here. ... A denial-of-service attack (also, DoS attack) is an attack on a computer system or network that causes a loss of service to users, typically the loss of network connectivity and services by consuming the bandwidth of the victim network or overloading the computational resources of the victim system. ... A zombie computer (often abbreviated zombie) is a computer attached to the Internet that has been compromised by a security cracker, a computer virus, or a trojan horse. ...


Indirect attacks

Attacks in which one or more of the attack types above are launched from a third party computer which has been taken over remotely. By using someone else's computer to launch an attack, it becomes far more difficult to track down the actual attacker. There have also been cases where attackers took advantage of public anonymizing systems, such as the tor onion router system. Tor (The Onion Router) is a free software implementation of second-generation onion routing — a system enabling its users to communicate anonymously on the Internet. ...


Backdoors

Methods of bypassing normal authentication or giving remote access to a computer to somebody who knows about the backdoor, while intended to remain hidden to casual inspection. The backdoor may take the form of an installed program (e.g., Back Orifice) or could be in the form of an existing "legitimate" program, or executable file. A specific form of backdoors are rootkits, which replaces system binaries and/or hooks into the function calls of the operating system to hide the presence of other programs, users, services and open ports. It may also fake information about disk and memory usage. Authentication (from Greek αυθεντικός; real or genuine, from authentes; author) is the act of establishing or confirming something (or someone) as authentic, that is, that claims made by or about the thing are true. ... A backdoor in a computer system (or cryptosystem or algorithm) is a method of bypassing normal authentication or securing remote access to a computer, while attempting to remain hidden from casual inspection. ... Inspection in software engineering, refers to peer review of any work product by trained individuals who look for defects using a well defined process. ... Back Orifice (often shortened to BO) is a controversial computer program designed for remote system administration. ... A rootkit is a set of software tools frequently used by a third-party (usually an intruder) after gaining access to a computer system. ...


Direct access attacks

Common consumer devices that can be used to transfer data surreptitiously.

Someone gaining physical access to a computer can install all manner of devices to compromise security, including operating system modifications, software worms, key loggers, and covert listening devices. The attacker can also easily download large quantities of data onto backup media, for instance CD-R/DVD-R, tape; or portable devices such as keydrives, digital cameras or digital audio players. Another common technique is to boot an operating system contained on a CD-ROM or other bootable media and read the data from the harddrive(s) this way. The only way to defeat this is to encrypt the storage media and store the key separate from the system. Download high resolution version (1039x806, 262 KB)Common personal storage devices that can be used to carry computer data. ... Download high resolution version (1039x806, 262 KB)Common personal storage devices that can be used to carry computer data. ... It has been suggested that Maintenance OS be merged into this article or section. ... Keystroke logging (often called keylogging) is a diagnostic tool used in software development that captures the users keystrokes. ... A bug is the common name for a covert listening device, usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A DVD+R disc The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... DDS tape drive. ... A USB keydrive, shown with a US quarter coin for scale. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Apple iPod, the most popular hard drive-based digital audio player An embedded hard drive-based player (Creative Zen Vision:M), one of the many alternatives for the iPod An MP3 CD player (Philips Expanium) Some mobile phones can be used as digital audio players, such as the Nokia 6233. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ...


See also: Category:Cryptographic attacks


Reducing vulnerabilities

Computer code is regarded by some as just a form of mathematics. It is theoretically possible to prove the correctness of computer programs though the likelihood of actually achieving this in large-scale practical systems is regarded as unlikely in the extreme by some with practical experience in the industry -- see Bruce Schneier et al. Source code (commonly just source or code) is any series of statements written in some human-readable computer programming language. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... In mathematics, a proof is a demonstration that, given certain axioms, some statement of interest is necessarily true. ... In theoretical computer science, correctness of an algorithm is asserted when it is said that the algorithm is correct with respect to a specification. ... Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. ...


It's also possible to protect messages in transit (ie, communications) by means of cryptography. One method of encryption —the one-time pad —has been proven to be unbreakable when correctly used. This method was used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, though flaws in their implementation allowed some cryptanalysis (See Venona Project). The method uses a matching pair of key-codes, securely distributed, which are used once-and-only-once to encode and decode a single message. For transmitted computer encryption this method is difficult to use properly (securely), and highly inconvenient as well. Other methods of encryption, while breakable in theory, are often virtually impossible to directly break by any means publicly known today. Breaking them requires some non-cryptographic input, such as a stolen key, stolen plaintext (at either end of the transmission), or some other extra cryptanalytic information. Communication is a process that allows beings - in particular humans - to exchange information by several methods. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and the verb γράφω gráfo write or λεγειν legein to speak) is the study of message secrecy. ... Excerpt from a one-time pad. ... Cryptanalysis (from the Greek kryptós, hidden, and analýein, to loosen or to untie) is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information which is normally required to do so. ... The VENONA project was a long-running and highly secret collaboration between the United States intelligence agencies and the United Kingdoms MI5 that involved the cryptanalysis of Soviet messages. ... “Cipher” redirects here. ...


Social engineering and direct computer access (physical) attacks can only be prevented by non-computer means, which can be difficult to enforce, relative to the sensitivity of the information. Even in a highly disciplined environment, such as in military organizations, social engineering attacks can still be difficult to foresee and prevent. Social engineering is the practice of obtaining confidential information by manipulation of legitimate users. ...


In practice, only a small fraction of computer program code is mathematically proven, or even goes through comprehensive information technology audits or inexpensive but extremely valuable computer security audits, so it's usually possible for a determined cracker to read, copy, alter or destroy data in well secured computers, albeit at the cost of great time and resources. Extremely few, if any, attackers would audit applications for vulnerabilities just to attack a single specific system. You can reduce a cracker's chances by keeping your systems up to date, using a security scanner or/and hiring competent people responsible for security. The effects of data loss/damage can be reduced by careful backing up and insurance. An information technology (IT) audit or information systems (IS) audit is an examination of the controls within an entitys Information technology infrastructure. ... A computer security audit is a manual or systematic measurable technical assessment of a system or application. ... Backup in computer engineering refers to the copying of data for the purpose of having a second copy of an original source, in case of damage to the original data source. ... Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. ...


Security measures

A state of computer "security" is the conceptual ideal, attained by the use of the three processes:

  1. Prevention,
  2. Detection, and
  3. Response.
  • User account access controls and cryptography can protect systems files and data, respectively.
  • Firewalls are by far the most common prevention systems from a network security perspective as they can (if properly configured) shield access to internal network services, and block certain kinds of attacks through packet filtering.
  • Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS's) are designed to detect network attacks in progress and assist in post-attack forensics, while audit trails and logs serve a similar function for individual systems.
  • "Response" is necessarily defined by the assessed security requirements of an individual system and may cover the range from simple upgrade of protections to notification of legal authorities, counter-attacks, and the like. In some special cases, a complete destruction of the compromised system is favored.

Today, computer security comprises mainly "preventive" measures, like firewalls or an Exit Procedure. A firewall can be defined as a way of filtering network data between a host or a network and another network, such as the Internet, and is normally implemented as software running on the machine, hooking into the network stack (or, in the case of most UNIX-based operating systems such as Linux, built into the operating system kernel) to provide realtime filtering and blocking. Another implementation is a so called physical firewall which consists of a separate machine filtering network traffic. Firewalls are common amongst machines that are permanently connected to the Internet (though not universal, as demonstrated by the large numbers of machines "cracked" by worms like the Code Red worm which would have been protected by a properly-configured firewall). However, relatively few organisations maintain computer systems with effective detection systems, and fewer still have organised response mechanisms in place. For other uses, see Risk (disambiguation). ... In general, detection is the extraction of intelligence from a carrier signal in a communication system. ... Note: to create a user account for Wikipedia, go to the login page. ... In security, specifically physical security, the term access control refers to the practice of restricting entrance to a property, a building, or a room to authorized persons. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and the verb γράφω gráfo write or λεγειν legein to speak) is the study of message secrecy. ... Firewall separating zones of trust A firewall is a hardware or software device which is configured to permit, deny or proxy data through a computer network which has different levels of trust. ... An Intrusion Detection System or IDS is a software tool used to detect unauthorised access to a computer system or network. ... The word forensic (from Latin: forensis - forum) refers to something of, pertaining to, or used in a court of law. ... An audit trail or audit log is a chronological sequence of audit records, each of which contains evidence directly pertaining to and resulting from the execution of a business process or system function. ... Data logging is the practice of recording sequential data, often chronologically. ... This article is about law in society. ... Exit procedure is a band formed in the suburbs of Eastchester. ... A protocol stack is a particular software implementation of a computer networking protocol suite. ... Filiation of Unix and Unix-like systems Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. ... Linux (IPA pronunciation: ) is a Unix-like computer operating system. ... A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer. ... The Code Red worm was a computer worm released via the Internet on July 13, 2001 affecting computers running Microsofts Internet Information Server (IIS) web server. ...


Difficulty with response

Responding forcefully to attempted security breaches (in the manner that one would for attempted physical security breaches) is often very difficult for a variety of reasons:

  • Identifying attackers is difficult, as they are often in a different jurisdiction to the systems they attempt to breach, and operate through proxies, temporary anonymous dial-up accounts, wireless connections, and other anonymising procedures which make backtracing difficult and are often located in yet another jurisdiction. If they successfully breach security, they are often able to delete logs to cover their tracks.
  • The sheer number of attempted attacks is so large that organisations cannot spend time pursuing each attacker (a typical home user with a permanent (eg, cable modem) connection will be attacked at least several times per day, so more attractive targets could be presumed to see many more). Note however, that most of the sheer bulk of these attacks are made by automated vulnerability scanners and computer worms.
  • Law enforcement officers are often unfamiliar with information technology, and so lack the skills and interest in pursuing attackers. There are also budgetary constraints. It has been argued that the high cost of technology, such as DNA testing, and improved forensics mean less money for other kinds of law enforcement, so the overall rate of criminals not getting dealt with goes up as the cost of the technology increases.

In law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak) is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area... Data logging is the practice of recording sequential data, often chronologically. ... Motorola Surfboard cable modem A cable modem is a type of modem that provides access to a data signal sent over the cable television infrastructure. ... A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a computer virus. ... For the band, see The Police. ... Information and communication technology spending in 2005 Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... The word forensic (from Latin: forensis - forum) refers to something of, pertaining to, or used in a court of law. ...

Further reading

There are operating systems designed specifically with security in mind, such as the operating system OpenBSD, which is widely considered one of the most heavily code-audited operating systems available. In computing, an operating system (OS) is the system software responsible for the direct control and management of hardware and basic system operations. ... OpenBSD is a Unix-like computer operating system descended from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), a Unix derivative developed at the University of California, Berkeley. ...


There is an extensive culture associated with electronic security; see electronic underground community. The electronic underground community is a closed culture grown around electronic/computer security. ...


See also

Lists and categories

To aid the fight against viruses and other malware many security advisory organizations and developers of anti-virus software compile and publish lists of viruses. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... This is a list of trojan horses. ... This is a list of noteworthy computer viruses and worms. ... . ...

Individual articles

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Digital Forensic Tools. ... RAM (Random Access Memory) Look up computing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and the verb γράφω gráfo write or λεγειν legein to speak) is the study of message secrecy. ... Cryptology is an umbrella term for cryptography and cryptanalysis. ... It has been suggested that File wipe be merged into this article or section. ... Defensive programming is a form of defensive design intended to ensure the continuing function of a piece of software in spite of unforeseeable usage of said software. ... Defensive Computing is a form of training for computer users to help reduce the risk of computing problems by avoiding dangerous computing practices. ... Full Disclosure is an Thriller with the Megastar Fred Ward. ... A hack in progress in Lobby 7 at MIT. Hack is a term in the slang of the technology culture which has come into existence over the past few decades. ... A protection ring is a defined level of privilege within the architecture of a computer CPU. There may be two or more rings, arranged in a hierarchy from most privileged (most trusted, normally named ring 0) to least privileged (least trusted). ... Physical security describes measures that prevent or deter attackers from accessing a facility, resource, or information stored on physical media. ... The RISKS Digest or Forum On Risks to the Public in Computers and Related Systems is an online periodical published since 1985 by the Committee on Computers and Public Policy of the Association for Computing Machinery. ... Security engineering is the field of engineering dealing with the security and integrity of real-world systems. ... Software is itself a resource and thus must be afforded appropriate security. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Data recovery is the process of salvaging data from damaged, failed, corrupted or inaccessible primary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally. ... Microreboot is a technique used to recover from failures in software systems. ... Crash-only software refers to computer programs that handle failures by simply restarting, without attempting any sophisticated recovery. ... Antivirus software consists of computer programs that attempt to identify, thwart and eliminate computer viruses and other malicious software (malware). ... A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. ... Targeted threats are a class of malware destined for one specific organization or industry. ... A large number of toolbars, some added by spyware, overwhelm an Internet Explorer session. ... WhenU adware displaying ads on a Windows desktop. ... This is about the computer worm. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... It has been suggested that Grayware be merged into this article or section. ... A computer virus hoax is a false email message warning the recipiant of a virus that is going around. ... A black-hat is a term in computing for someone who compromises the security of a system without permission from an authorized party, usually with the intent of accessing computers connected to the network. ... In cryptography and computer security, security through obscurity (sometimes security by obscurity) is to some a controversial principle in security engineering, which attempts to use secrecy (of design, implementation, etc. ... A KMail folder of spam messages. ... Recently the threat of viruses on Palm OS devices has become reality. ...

References

  • Ross J. Anderson: Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems, ISBN 0-471-38922-6
  • Bruce Schneier: Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, ISBN 0-471-25311-1
  • Cyrus Peikari, Anton Chuvakin: Security Warrior, ISBN 0-596-00545-8
  • Jack Koziol, David Litchfield: The Shellcoder's Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes, ISBN 0-7645-4468-3
  • Clifford Stoll: The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage, an informal -- and easily approachable by the non-specialist -- account of a real incident (and pattern) of computer insecurity, ISBN 0-7434-1146-3
  • Roger R. Schell: The Internet Rules but the Emperor Has No Clothes ACSAC 1996
  • William Caelli: Relearning "Trusted Systems" in an Age of NIIP: Lessons from the Past for the Future. 2002
  • Noel Davis: Cracked! story of a community network that was cracked and what was done to recover from it 2000

Ross J. Anderson is a researcher, writer, and industry consultant in security engineering. ... Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. ... Anton Chuvakin is a computer security specialist, currently a Security Strategist with netForensics, a U.S. Security Information Management company. ... David Litchfield is a renowned security expert, who focuses on the discovery and publication of computer security vulnerabilities. ... Clifford Stoll (or Cliff Stoll) is an astronomer, computer systems administrator, and author. ... Dr. Roger R. Schell is President of ÆSec, a company focused on appliances built on hardened platforms for secure, reliable e-business on the Internet. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Computer insecurity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2121 words)
Because computer systems can be very complex, and cannot be guaranteed to be free of defects, this security stance tends to produce insecure systems.
Computer code is regarded by some as just a form of mathematics.
Computer security is a highly complex field, and is relatively immature, except in the area of designing computers that are secure.
Computer security - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2082 words)
Computer security can be seen as a subfield of security engineering, which looks at broader security issues in addition to computer security.
Firewalls are systems which help protect computers and computer networks from attack and subsequent intrusion by restricting the network traffic which can pass through them, based on a set of system administrator defined rules.
Computer security is a highly complex field, and it is relatively immature, except on certain very secure systems that never make it into the news media because nothing ever goes wrong that can be publicized, and for which there is not much literature because the security details are proprietary.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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