Cybersecurity, Technology, and Society

How do engineers make cyber networks safer?

2/13/19

There are many jobs and responsibilities when it comes to cybersecurity and making sure things run smoothly and safely and engineers have a big part in that. Engineers do a lot when it comes to making sure networks are safe and remain safe. Engineers focus on designing computer systems that can deal with disruptions which could be natural disasters or cyber-attacks. Security engineers analyzes computer networks, ensure they are running securely, and tries to foresee possible security issues that could arise in the future. Some of the jobs I found that engineers do to keep networks safe are develop a set of security standards and practices, create new ways to solve existing production security issues and recommending security enhancements to managements. I think that engineers add that extra security to any network and know how to do it properly and give the people they are working for the trust that their networks will be secure and no one who is not supposed to have access will not get in. From one of our readings, An introduction to privacy engineering and risk management in federal systems, it states that “privacy engineering should provide a sufficient base of evidence to supports claims that the desired level of trustworthiness has been achieved.” (Pg. 16). Engineers know exactly how to make the people they are working with trust them and they give them the feeling of security that things will run smoothly. “Organizations need systems to support their privacy policies, privacy engineering can provide an outcome-oriented process to support this goal.” (Pg. 16). Also “System engineers could use and organizing construct to help them characterize system properties associated with privacy and to map system capabilities and controls to provide evidence of the desired level of trustworthiness.” (Pg. 16). What I learned is that engineers do so much to make cyber networks safer and have their own process in doing that than just the normal procedures to take while making sure things are secure, they take things to the next level and earn the trust to do it properly.

References:

Brooks, Sean. Garcia, Michael. Lefkovitz, Naomi. Lightman, Suzanne. Nadeau, Ellen. (2017, January). An introduction to privacy engineering and risk management in federal systems.Retrieved from

https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2017/01/NIST.IR_.8062.pdf

Sokanu Interacitve Inc (2019). What does a security engineer do? Retrieved from

https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/security-engineer/

How can you tell if your computer is safe?

3/18/19

Your computer is one of the many things that hold almost all of your information and they can be the easiest to be hacked into. Your computer probably holds your whole life on it with pictures, personal information, family history or information, your work documents and passwords you keep in your folders, so you do not forget them. Your computer is one thing you would not want anyone to get into because of the risks it can come with. Making sure your computer is safe is a big deal and there are many ways to do so.

To tell if your computer is safe you need to test your computers security. There are many programs you can use to do this but the one that I found is Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. It is a free tool that examines your windows and office settings for any potential problems, especially contamination. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer tests your user account passwords and will let you know if any account has a weak or disabled password, which would be easy for hackers to get into. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer will check many of your account settings and it also has guides to what settings are preferred and why. MBSA will show you what folders are being shared or set up for sharing so you know which ones you need to change so others cannot see them. This program will help you make sure that your computer is safe.

Another way to know if your computer is safe is if you have updated your browser plugins. If the browser is updated your computer will be safer. Old browser will leave your computer vulnerable and having an updated one will be better at protecting you from viruses and attacks. Another way to tell if your computer is safe is by testing your firewall. A firewall will keep hackers from seeing your computer online when they’re searching for victims. Having a good firewall will keep your computer safe.

Reference:

Komando, Kim. (2017, June 2). 5 ways to test your computers security. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2017/06/02/5-ways-test-your-computers-security/102354032/

How should we approach the development of cyber-policy and infrastructure given the “short arm” of predictive knowledge?

April 21, 2019

The online definitions for cyber-policy and infrastructure are “a policy framework by department of electronics and information technology, it aims at protecting the public and private infrastructure from cyber-attacks” and “The fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function.”

There are many ways that we can approach the development of cyber-policy and infrastructure. To approach the development of cyber-policy we would need to update software and systems. By updating your software and systems you are keeping up to date with everything and you are protecting yourself against any cyber-attacks that can be caused by using old software systems. Conduct security audits to review the security practices and policies of your central IT systems. Make sure that your employees are not going to be vulnerable to offering confidential information. Social engineering can be as simple as an employee shouting out a password to another employee and someone who is not authorized to have this information will now be able to have access to all of your business’s information. Before making any deals make sure that you get an audit from business partners and vendors. Companies should have policies in place that require regular security audit reports from vendors that they are considering before any contracts are signed. You should be providing security education to your employees to make sure that they are up to date with their knowledge about keeping private information within the business is a proper way. Perform regular date backups and make sure that they work. With performing regular data backups, you are securing that everything is safe, and your business is not going to lose any information. The last two things in approaching the development of cyber-policy and infrastructure are physically secure your information assets and maintain industry compliance.

References:

Shacklett, Mary. (2018, April 3). 10 ways to develop cybersecurity policies and best practices.Retrieved from https://www.zdnet.com/article/10-ways-to-develop-cybersecurity-policies-and-best-practices/

Kenton, Will. (2018, April 12). Infrastructure. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/infrastructure.asp