COIT20249: Cyber Security Benefits and Threats Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of cyber security, focusing on its benefits and the various threats it faces. It begins with an introduction to cyber security, emphasizing its importance in protecting sensitive data and systems from cyber-attacks. The report then delves into the importance of cyber security for organizations, highlighting the need for robust measures to prevent data breaches and protect against evolving threats. It explores security vulnerabilities, including malware, phishing attacks, and unpatched systems, and discusses different types of emerging threats such as device compromise, service disruption, data exfiltration, and advanced persistent threats. The report concludes with recommendations for strengthening cyber security measures and protecting against potential attacks, emphasizing the need for proactive strategies and employee awareness.

Running head: - CYBER SECURITY
BENEFITS AND THREATS RELATED TO CYBERSECURITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CYBER SECURITY
Executive Summary
Cyber security helps in maintaining the cyber-attacks. It helps in safeguarding the sensitive
data related to the organization .There are different kind of cyber-attacks that destroy the data
of the organization, However with the help of the cyber security all the data are protected and
stored securely from the place where it is cored. Cyber security is one of the important part
of the organization. The organization and the employee should have sound knowledge about
cyber security.

2CYBER SECURITY
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Cyber security............................................................................................................................3
Importance of Cyber Security for ABCT...................................................................................5
Security Vulnerabilities..............................................................................................................6
Different Types of Emerging Threats........................................................................................7
Recommendation........................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

3CYBER SECURITY
Introduction
Cyber Security is an important and common part for everyone related to the use of
computer and device related to internet connectivity. When the information is submitted
online, it becomes easy to cyber-attacks and cybercrimes. The cyber-attacks occurs over an
external related DNS server or related to an internal firewall, which indirectly effects the
information stored, and to the infrastructure of the related enterprise (Martin, Kinross &
Hankin, 2017). Cyber-attack indirectly damages the information stored and damages the
business of the related organization. However, with the help of cyber security, the
information is secured. Cyber security provides security from unauthorized access related to
the online services containing a large amount of data, which are related to the appliances that
can be used for communication. The cyber security comprises of the cyber security life cycle,
which consists of various stages. Cyber security not only protects the confidential data but
also checks the integrity of data both are important for the quality and protection of data.
Cyber security is one of the major priority for business organization and all the employees
related to the organization need to be aware of the implementation of cyber security and
related protective measures. Cyber security is changing rapidly and comprises of different
steps that can protect the information related to the organization. A number of cyber security
techniques are present, which helps in preventing the cyber-attacks (Aggarwal, Gonzalez &
Dutt, 2016). The report discusses about cyber security, importance of cyber security, related
security vulnerabilities, different emerging threats related to cyber security and
recommendation to protect devices from cyber-attacks.
Cyber security
The main purpose of cyber security is to protect the key information and smart
devices from cyber-attacks and cyber threats. Cyber security plays a major role in companies

4CYBER SECURITY
that gather personal information and maintain database related to the user's information, in
social platforms where personal data are shared, and in government organization where
confidential data related to politics and military information are stored. With the help of
cyber security, it becomes easy to protect the personal and important government-related data
against the vulnerable attacks, which are stored on the cloud storage, or in various application
and networks (Shackelford et al., 2015). A huge amount of investment is made for the
safeguard of the stored important data. As the number of users using the online platform is
increasing, the risk related to cybercrimes is also increasing, which is estimated in billions.
There are different types of cyber security. The different types of cyber security are
information security, application security and network security. The information security
deals with the protection of the data from unauthorized access, and to recognize the thefts and
protect the information related to the hardware which can store and transfer data.
Authorization related to the user and cryptography is the example of information security.
With the assistance of the application security, the application can be protected from the
threats that can occur due to the design, maintenance and installation of the application. The
network security helps in safeguarding the related network components. Securing the network
helps in securing the related data shared over the network. Some of the examples of network
security are anti-virus which use the firewall to block the unauthorized access and provides
secure access from remote areas (Collier et al., 2014). Certain techniques are present to
counter the cyber-attacks with the help of cyber security. The techniques are authentication,
encryption, digital signatures, antivirus, firewall and steganography. The authorization
process helps in identifying an individual and helps in ensuring that the individual is the same
as the individual claims to be. The method of authentication used on the internet is in the
form of username and password. With the increasing cybercrime, the method of
authentication comes with an additional feature of one-time password. The method is also

5CYBER SECURITY
known as two-step authentication and is an important factor for multinational organizations
(Modi et al., 2013). Encryption technique involves the transformation of data in the
unreadable form before it is communicated over the internet. The individual having access to
the key can convert the data into a readable form. The method of transferring the encrypted
data into readable form at the receiver end is known as decryption method. The digital
signature is used for the validation of the data and use authentication. With the help of the
digital signature, the content related to the document is verified. The antivirus helps in
preventing the malicious from entering the data. The firewall is a shield between the
organization network and the internet. Steganography is a technique that helps in hiding the
messages in the form of document file, image file and relevant files. One of the major
advantage of this file is that it cannot be identified easily (Martin et al., 2017).
Importance of Cyber Security for ABCT
The main objective of the ABCT organization is to protect important data with the
help of cyber security. Cyber security is important for the organization, as it comprises of
different confidential data related to the users. Every organization requires cyber security to
prevent cyber-attack. The organization performs all the business over the network, which is
connected. It is necessary to implement cyber security in the organization as cyber criminals
are becoming more professional and often attacking the organization to gather information. It
is important to safeguard the companies’ data from threats like frauds, data theft and related
online vulnerabilities (Johnson, 2016). There are hackers who are interested in hacking the
password related to the company. The increase cyber-attack to the organization demands for
the implementation of cyber security. Cybercrimes and attacks damage the related
information of the company and the government. Cyber security is important for the
organization as it provides a different preventive measure against the cyber-attacks. The
attack can be more expensive for the ABCT organization, so it is important to implement

6CYBER SECURITY
different methods of cyber security. The increasing number of hackers and advancement in
hacking tools is the reason for the implementation of cyber security. With the help of cyber
security thousands of unprotected computers can be protected. Thousands of infected web
pages can be prevented with cyber security. It is important for internet users to understand the
need to protect the network from hackers and theft (Abawajy, 2014). The development in the
field of technology is increasing, which is creating the demand for cyber security. The
organization need to recognize the methods, which require protecting the information stored
in their storage system. It is essential to identify the vulnerabilities that the ABCT
organization can face and then follow the related method of cyber security to protect the
organization from the upcoming cyber-attacks. Cyber security needs to approach in a
systematic way. Cyber security is one of the important strategies that is required by the
organization. Improve in the security awareness and related planning can help in protecting
the ABCT organization and can prevent the loss due to the cyber-attacks. Better, the methods
of cyber security the information data are protected in a better and secure way. Therefore, the
use of cyber security by the ABCT organization is important as it deals with the personal
information of the customers that need to be protected (Gunes et al., 2014).
Security Vulnerabilities
The vulnerabilities that are detected in the ABCT system is related to the malware,
phishing attacks and unpatched security-related vulnerabilities. Over the years, different kind
of malware comes in place of the old malware. Ransomware is a kind of malicious software
that infects the victims’ storage and destroys the data stored in the victims’ storage drive
(Goutam, 2015). The hackers charge money to return the key to the organization, and if the
demand is not fulfilled, the entire data is lost. Trojans is a kind of malware that damages the
entire system as it enters the network security defence system. Worms are also a kind of
malware defect that spread through the system and destroy the entire stored data. The main

7CYBER SECURITY
aim of such kind of malware is to destroy the stored sensitive data. Antivirus is present in the
system that can destroy and prevent malware. One of the easy ways to prevent vulnerabilities
is with the help of updating the system regularly. The IT team should check all the software
that is installed in the organization for improving the latest updates and version related to
cyber security. All the software’s need to be applied to all the systems (Furfaro et al., 2017).
A phishing attack is a kind of security vulnerability that attacks the victim by taking away
sensitive data. A kind of email is sent that destroy the entire system. Certain basic strategy is
used to prevent phishing attacks. The organization need to implement email virus related
detection tools. The tool will check the attached mail so that the network is not harmed.
Multifactor authentication needs to be implemented so that user access to the network
becomes difficult. All the employee of the organization must have sound knowledge related
to the cyber security and techniques of cyber-attacks. Phishing is a complete technique that is
a fraud and used to capture sensitive data. The vulnerabilities can arise due to the present of
certain weakness related to the systems. The use of an online platform for all kind of work is
one of the main reason that increases cyber-attacks. With increase cyber-attacks, the demand
for cyber security increases. The vulnerability is a kind of threat that can damage all the
stored data and information. Security vulnerability needs to be prevented with the help of
cyber security (DiMase et al., 2015).
Different Types of Emerging Threats
There are different types of emerging threats that are related to cyber-attacks and can
affect the ABCT organization. The emerging threats like the device compromise, service
disruption, data exfiltration, bad data injection and advanced persistent threat (Eslahi et al.,
2014). With the device, compromise the hackers’ aims to gain control over the entire device.
The main requirement of the cyber-attacks is the requirement of the root credentials and the
opportunity to exploit the system. With the assistance of the device compromise, different

8CYBER SECURITY
types of cyber-related attacks opportunity are granted. Service disruption is another kind of
disruption, which prevents a device from performing the duties related to the tasks. The main
requirement of the attack is the gain over the computing devices. The main consequences of
the attack are that it causes the failure of the entire system, failure of the device and loss of
the revenue (Preuveneers & Ilie-Zudor, 2017). With the data extra filtration method of cyber,
all the sensitive data can be easily stolen. The main requirement of the attack is the access to
the device storage. The power granted is related to IP theft and exposure to the private
information of the organization. Information of the organization is misused (Fischer et al.,
2013). The bad data injection misleads the system by submitting incorrect data without the
system detecting it. The attack requires access to the device storage. The attack helps in
determining the state of data it drives and determines the real world consequences. The
attack, known as the advanced persistent threat, extends its access to the device. The main
requirement of the attack is the time, patience and resources. With the help of the attack, the
ability to attack the target is done at a much faster rate. The attack gives full access to the
system. There is a different method of attack as well as the attack due to the presence of a
virus that destroys the entire data stored in the system. The virus is introduced in the system
from the time of installation, and it sold down the system. Various types of threats to the
network and data stored are arising with the increase in the use of online platforms for
sharing of the data (Fischer, 2014). Different types of cyber threats like phishing,
ransomware, the introduction of virus can lead to the destruction of the stored data and
destroy the user information of the ABCT organisation. To avoid such threats, the
organization should have sound knowledge and software to safeguard their sensitive data.
Recommendation
Cybersecurity comprises of certain key elements like preventing, detecting and
responding to the cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks cause loss of money and damage the

9CYBER SECURITY
organisation information (Abawajy, 2014). Several methods are used to protect the cyber-
attacks. The information collected and stored are sensitive and need to be protected. All the
related software and the operating system need to be updated to prevent the cyber-attacks.
The chance of cyber risks can be avoided by the implementation of the strong password and
different types of authentication method. All the accounts related information need to be
checked and updated regularly. The user must limit all the information that is shared on the
online platform. All the network need to be protected by changing the administrative and the
related password regularly (Campbell, 2015). Different methods by which the cyber-attacks
related to the home and offices can be avoided. The software needs to be updated regularly.
Scanning must be done daily to detect any virus that effects the system. The accounts must be
enabled with two-step authentication. Personal information needs to be private and not shared
on an online platform. The users must be trained and must have sound knowledge regarding
cyber-attacks and cybersecurity. All the related parameters need to be maintained, and the
access needs to be filtered. All the related cyber security need to be monitor properly
(Knowles et al., 2015).
Conclusion
From the report, it can be concluded that cybersecurity needs more attention and need
to be implemented in the organisation to protect important data. Cybersecurity involves the
protection of the confidential and important user, politics, and defence related data. Cyber
security involves teamwork (Anwar & Mahmood, 2014). All the organization requires
identifying the threats to prevent the attacks by the professional attackers. Cyber security
comprises of different techniques and methods. Different techniques such as encryption,
firewall, antivirus and digital signature. Cyber security helps in maintaining the security of
the organization. The main aim of cyber security is to protect the computer and smart devices
from vulnerabilities related to cyber-attacks. It can be stated that cyber-attacks deals with

10CYBER SECURITY
protecting, preventing and recovering from the cyber-attacks. The organisation and its
employees need to be aware of all the cyber-attacks, both internal and external. Cyber
security helps in defending from hacks and virus. The cyber security related application need
to be updated daily. With the help of the security developers, the virus can be deleted weekly.
Cybersecurity is important for the organization as all the data stored need to be protected.
Detection is one of the important aspect related to cyber-attacks. The cyber-attacks are one of
the effective methods of preventing the virus and defects related to the data stored in the
network, cloud and different storage applications. One of the easiest ways to secure data is by
prediction of the attack at the initial stages. However, it can be stated that cybersecurity is
important to protect sensitive data.

11CYBER SECURITY
References
Abawajy, J., (2014). User preference for cyber security awareness delivery
methods. Behaviour & Information Technology, 33(3), 237-248.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/43408969/cyber-security-awareness-
load.pdf?
AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1558614454&Signature=EjK
OwFxJUvj6UYJuHgd6J9Kn6j4%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename
%3DUser_preference_of_cyber_security_awaren.pdf
Aggarwal, P., Gonzalez, C., & Dutt, V. (2016). Cyber-security: role of deception in cyber-
attack detection. In Advances in Human Factors in Cybersecurity (pp. 85-96).
Springer, Cham.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Palvi_Aggarwal/publication/300372121_Cyber-
security_Role_of_Deception_in_Cyber-Attack_Detection/links/
579f700e08aec29aed2142a6.pdf
Anwar, A., & Mahmood, A. N. (2014). Cyber security of smart grid infrastructure. arXiv
preprint arXiv:1401.3936.
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1401/1401.3936.pdf
Campbell, R. J. (2015). Cybersecurity Issues for the bulk power system.
http://www.richardcyoung.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Cybersecurity-Issues-for-the-
Bulk-Power-System.pdf

12CYBER SECURITY
Collier, Z. A., DiMase, D., Walters, S., Tehranipoor, M. M., Lambert, J. H., & Linkov, I.
(2014). Cybersecurity standards: Managing risk and creating
resilience. Computer, 47(9), 70-76.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Igor_Linkov/publication/
265645586_Cybersecurity_Standards_Managing_Risk_and_Creating_Resilience/links/
55e4454208aecb1a7cca046a/Cybersecurity-Standards-Managing-Risk-and-Creating-
Resilience.pdf
DiMase, D., Collier, Z. A., Heffner, K., & Linkov, I. (2015). Systems engineering framework
for cyber physical security and resilience. Environment Systems and Decisions, 35(2),
291-300.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Igor_Linkov/publication/
272374970_Systems_engineering_framework_for_cyber_physical_security_and_resilience/
links/55bf502708ae092e966539c8.pdf
Eslahi, M., Naseri, M. V., Hashim, H., Tahir, N. M., & Saad, E. H. M. (2014, April). BYOD:
Current state and security challenges. In 2014 IEEE Symposium on Computer
Applications and Industrial Electronics (ISCAIE) (pp. 189-192). IEEE.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/34233704/BYOD-
Current_State_and_Security_Challenges.pdf?
AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1558615570&Signature=9nz
8Wa1vJAwFTFCrdc4NMOFU6u8%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B
%20filename%3DBYOD-Current_State_and_Security_Challeng.pdf
Fischer, E. A. (2014). Cybersecurity issues and challenges: in brief.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/65e3/4c9bb7330fcfec378394b5d308b6a323947d.pdf

13CYBER SECURITY
Fischer, E. A., Liu, E. C., Rollins, J., & Theohary, C. A. (2013). The 2013 cybersecurity
executive order: Overview and considerations for congress. Washington:
Congressional Research Service.
https://dennisnadeaucomplaint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Dennis-Nadeau-Complaint-
2013-Cybersecurity-Executive-Order.pdf
Furfaro, A., Argento, L., Parise, A., & Piccolo, A. (2017). Using virtual environments for the
assessment of cybersecurity issues in IoT scenarios. Simulation Modelling Practice
and Theory, 73, 43-54.
http://www.isihome.ir/freearticle/ISIHome.ir-26081.pdf
Goutam, R. K. (2015). Importance of cyber security. International Journal of Computer
Applications, 111(7).
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.695.9225&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Gunes, V., Peter, S., Givargis, T., & Vahid, F. (2014). A survey on concepts, applications,
and challenges in cyber-physical systems. KSII Transactions on Internet &
Information Systems, 8(12).
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.717.3807&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Johnson, A. L. (2016). Cybersecurity for financial institutions: the integral role of
information sharing in cyber-attack mitigation. NC Banking Inst., 20, 277.
https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1400&context=ncbi
Knowles, W., Prince, D., Hutchison, D., Disso, J. F. P., & Jones, K. (2015). A survey of
cyber security management in industrial control systems. International journal of
critical infrastructure protection, 9, 52-80.

14CYBER SECURITY
https://daneshyari.com/article/preview/275730.pdf
Martin, G., Kinross, J., & Hankin, C. (2017). Effective cybersecurity is fundamental to
patient safety.
https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/bitstream/10044/1/49096/2/cyber.pdf
Martin, G., Martin, P., Hankin, C., Darzi, A., & Kinross, J. (2017). Cybersecurity and
healthcare: how safe are we?. Bmj, 358, j3179.
https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/bitstream/10044/1/51379/2/bmj.j3179.full.pdf
Modi, C., Patel, D., Borisaniya, B., Patel, A., & Rajarajan, M. (2013). A survey on security
issues and solutions at different layers of Cloud computing. The journal of
supercomputing, 63(2), 561-592.
http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/12199/7/RevisedPaperbyChirag.pdf
Preuveneers, D., & Ilie-Zudor, E. (2017). The intelligent industry of the future: A survey on
emerging trends, research challenges and opportunities in Industry 4.0. Journal of
Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, 9(3), 287-298.
http://eprints.sztaki.hu/9269/1/Preuveneers_287_3303591_ny.pdf
Shackelford, S. J., Proia, A. A., Martell, B., & Craig, A. N. (2015). Toward a global
cybersecurity standard of care: Exploring the implications of the 2014 NIST
cybersecurity framework on shaping reasonable national and international
cybersecurity practices. Tex. Int'l LJ, 50, 305.
https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/10244/SSRN-id2446631.pdf?
sequence=1&isAllowed=y

15CYBER SECURITY
Skopik, F., Settanni, G., & Fiedler, R. (2016). A problem shared is a problem halved: A
survey on the dimensions of collective cyber defense through security information
sharing. Computers & Security, 60, 154-176.
https://www.skopik.at/ait/2016_cs.pdf