Information Technology Security

Running head: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
Information Technology Security
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
Topic 1: Introduction to information security
Cyberwarfare is defined as the type of cyber-attack targeting the battlespace or
warfare which makes uses of computers, networks and online control systems. Both offensive
and defensive operations are involved in the cyberwarfare attacks (Randy and Raymond,
2014). It refers to the attacking of computer viruses and hacking in order to disrupt the
monitoring systems completely. This type of cyber attack often aims in creating damage,
destruction and even death. In cyber warfare it becomes extremely difficult to identify the
force that is causing this attack as it could be military, civilian or industrial as well.
Cyberwarfare has become the greatest challenge for which the entire security of different
nations is concerned. Cyberwarfare is the new battlefield where team of hackers from various
nations duel.
The type of motivating factor that works behind each cyberattacks in todays world is
only profit. According to reports it has been found that cyber crime is estimated to become a
$2.1 trillion problem by the year of 2019. Cyber criminals use financial malwares like Shifu,
Rovnix, Carbanak in order to steal the bank credentials of the victims. They also take the help
of cyber-attacks such as ransomware attack by performing a distributed denial of service
attack in the victim’s computer. His type of attack has gained huge popularity in the recent
years. But money is not only the chief motivating factor for which the hackers perform this
cyber-attack. Hackers often perform this attack on private company who are responsible for
developing technologies for the military use (Solis, 2014). Here the main motive behind these
types of attacks is to gain information about the military or political or economic values. This
type of attacks could be state sponsored where a group of non-profit hackers are performing
this attack on behalf of any state or corporate entity. Besides this reason, there can be also
more personal reasons such as vanity, outrage, revenge or many others. Any company or

2INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
individual may become the victim of cyber attack whose consequences can range to
dangerous outcomes.
Since few decades high contour cyber attacks have progressively augmented among
the national administrations such as, China, United States, Russia and many more. As cyber
warfare develops the battleground of choice for industrialized nations managements are able
to introduce direct attacks in contradiction of each other in confidentiality and deprived of the
risk of instigating physical harm. But as computing knowledge is proceeding earlier than
international guidelines and policies, virtual weapons offer a new technique for nations to
remunerate war without inflowing into an actual armed confrontation. This tendency has
caused in a new international threats as cardinal technology becomes progressively integrated
into all facets of life (Korstanje, 2016). Virtually in the modern computerized world, all
businesses are critical to supporting modern civilizations and all computers and their
dependence increases as expertise improves. The increasing confidence on computers
unlocks up the opportunity for spiteful agents to upset or destroy vital data systems and
facilities (Robinson, Jones & Janicke, 2015). As a result, national safety governments are
going outside air land and marine defences and are following urbane cyber security and cyber
warfare policies. Often day cyber bouts are taking compensations of zero-day susceptibility
which refers to software safety flaws that have no community knowledge and consequently
gives the software designers zero days to respond.
Preventive measures are somewhat difficult to figure out in the world pf cyber attack
because the ability of the attackers remains anonymous. However, an unrestricted offensive
cyber warfare attack provides some clues for identifying the attacker (Hruza, Sousek &
Szabo, 2014). It is necessary that strategies of prevention should be adopted in order to
prevent the attacks in the cyber space. Defences can also be developed in order to shift the
defender by identifying he mode of attack and blocking them while patching the

3INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
vulnerability. Essential network services should be isolated from usual networks in order to
maintain the data secured. Besides all these counter measures, physical security and
personnel training can also minimize the threat of malicious activities.
Topic 2: Cryptography
Cryptography is essentially important as it allows users to securely protect data, so
that it cannot be accessed by anyone else (Katz & Lindell, 2014). Cryptography method is
used to protect corporate secrets, secure classified information and to protect personal
information to guard against things like identity theft.
In todays setting, encryption is an significant part of calculating in order to keep
records secured and to attain a secured statement. Encryption is the procedure of captivating
data and indoctrination it into a method that cannot be recited by unauthorized folks. There
are two categories of encryption arrangements that are used. These are Symmetric key
encryption and public key encryption.
The comparison between the symmetric and public key encryption are given below:
Factors of comparison Symmetric key encryption Public key encryption
Description Symmetric key encryption
uses the similar key to
encode data as to decrypt
data. This usually makes it
quicker than public key
encryption (Naik & Naik,
2014).
In Public key encryption,
two types of key are used
namely public and private
key. Unlike symmetric key
encryption, each key of
public key encryption
performs unique actions
(Hofheinz & Jager, 2016).
The public key is used to
scramble data whereas the
private key is used to
decrypt data.
Algorithm Symmetric key encryption
uses two types of algorithms
The algorithms of public key
encryption include the RSA