Before the era of cybercrime, hacking for social, political, or religious causes (so-called hacktivism), and terrorist threats to our infrastructure and monetary systems, the hacker started as an explorer and traveler on the data superhighway. Today, we can still categorize some hackers as explorers. In fact, the title “hacker” carried the pejorative meaning only recently.
Read moreAccording to Donn Parker in Fighting Computer Crime, the weakest link in security is the human. Hackers see the opportunity in having people facilitate the attack. We call this “hacking the human.”
Read moreMany years ago, my family and I were having lunch when a waiter, upon learning that I work in IT, asked why a hacker had targeted him and infected his computer, stealing his credit card information. I told him that it was nothing personal, and I explained that he had two protections.
Read moreThe majority of information security education emphasizes the definition and application of best practices. First, a network or system administrator needs to understand the proper application and configuration of network and security devices: routers, switches, firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, and honeypots. A good start with strong IT policies facilitates the implementation.
Read more