Computer Security
Computer Security
Computer security might be a familiar term that is known nowadays. It’s what’s done to protect the computer from vandalism. Surprisingly, this protection would differ depending on the era it’s defined in. In the past, securing a computer mainly meant to protect it physically by placing it in a safe place and providing cooling and electricity. Back then, it was hard to get access to a computer remotely, unlike now. This leads to improve the protection from being a physical protection to protecting data and information saved on it. In result of that computer security is known also as information security.
Computer and Internet security were found based on three principles, known as C-I-A:
1- Confidentiality: this means that the data is accessible by a certain people and not for all.
2- Integrity: this means that the data should remain identical to the last state the user was using it and saved it by.
3- Availability: this means that the data should be available for access to the authorized used in a reasonable time and in a proper form.
Under those three main principles come group of other sub-principles that carry a similar meaning:
1- Identification
2- Authentication
3- Authorization
4- Accountability
Those four terms can form different combinations of security procedures that can be taken. There is nothing such as a better combination. It’s more about assisting what you want to protect and deciding which way is the best in protecting it.
More about C-I-A
Confidentiality and Secrecy
As mentioned previously, Confidentiality means that the data is controlled and is only accessible by authorized people. Secrecy is to insure that according to the person’s security clearance, he can access allowed information. Confidentiality in business means that all information are stored and protected.
Integrity, Accuracy, Authenticity
Integrity is all about maintaining the data in its original form that is formed by the user. This means that the system mustn’t modify or make any changes on it. This is important in financial environments and in network communications.
Availability
Having a secure computer doesn’t mean that the information should always be hidden. A secure computer should also keep the information available to the user when they need it. Hardware and software should work simultaneously and efficiently. If the user was not able to get the information they want, in this case this is called denial of service, or DoS. Availability is considered to be a necessity for everyone, because reaching resources are on of the basic requirements in any computer.
Questions:
1- How much does it usually coast to secure a website?
2- What are the security measures that should be followed by every user?
3- What are the ways to hack a computer? And what makes a computer harder to hack?
Resources
Russell, D., & Gangemi, G. (1991). Computer security basics (2nd ed.). Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly & Associates.
Bishop, M. (2003). Computer security: Art and science. Boston, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.
Pieprzyk, J., Hardjono, T., & Seberry, J. (2003). Fundamentals of computer security. Berlin: Springer.