1.2 Key Concepts and Terminology

Cybersecurity protects digital assets from threats. It's crucial for businesses to safeguard data, systems, and networks. Understanding key terms like vulnerabilities, threats, and risks helps organizations assess and mitigate potential dangers.

Various cyber threats exist, from malware to phishing attacks. The CIA triad—confidentiality, integrity, and availability—forms the foundation of effective cybersecurity practices. Tools like firewalls, VPNs, and antivirus software help businesses defend against evolving digital threats.

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Essential cybersecurity terms and concepts

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• Cybersecurity
  • Practices that protect systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks
  • Ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information assets (data, hardware, software)
• Vulnerability
  • Weakness in a system or network that attackers can exploit
  • Includes software bugs (unpatched systems), misconfigurations (default passwords), and outdated systems (legacy software)
• Threat
  • Potential cause of harm or damage to a system or network
  • Intentional threats include hackers (black hat) and malicious insiders; unintentional threats include natural disasters (hurricanes) and human error (accidental deletion)
• Risk
  • Potential impact and likelihood of a threat exploiting a vulnerability
  • Calculated using the formula: $Risk = Threat × Vulnerability × Consequence$
• Exploit
  • Method or technique used to take advantage of a vulnerability
  • Delivered through software (malware), scripts (SQL injection), or manual techniques (social engineering)

Types of cyber threats and attacks

• Malware
  • Malicious software designed to harm systems or steal information
  • Includes viruses (self-replicating), worms (spread across networks), trojans (disguised as legitimate software), ransomware (encrypts data), and spyware (monitors user activity)
• Phishing
  • Social engineering attack that tricks users into revealing sensitive information
  • Delivered via fraudulent emails (spoofed sender) or websites (fake login pages)
• Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
  • Attempts to make a system or network unavailable to users
  • Achieved by overwhelming the target with traffic (botnets) or exploiting vulnerabilities (buffer overflow)
• Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks
  • Intercepts communication between two parties to steal or manipulate data
  • Occurs on unsecured networks (public Wi-Fi) or through compromised endpoints (infected devices)
• Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
  • Prolonged, targeted attacks by sophisticated adversaries
  • Aims to steal sensitive data (intellectual property) or establish long-term access (backdoors)

CIA triad in cybersecurity

• Confidentiality
  • Ensures information is accessible only to authorized individuals
  • Achieved through access controls (user roles), encryption (data at rest and in transit), and secure communication channels (VPNs)
• Integrity
  • Maintains accuracy and consistency of data throughout its lifecycle
  • Ensured by preventing unauthorized modifications (access controls) and detecting tampering (hashing)
• Availability
  • Ensures information and systems are accessible when needed
  • Maintained through redundancy (failover systems), backup systems (data recovery), and incident response plans (business continuity)
• CIA triad
  • Fundamental model for developing security policies and measures
  • Balances confidentiality, integrity, and availability for effective cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Tools and Technologies

Common cybersecurity tools for business

• Firewalls
  • Network security devices that monitor and control incoming and outgoing traffic
  • Includes hardware-based (appliances), software-based (host-based), or a combination of both (next-generation firewalls)
• Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS)
  • Monitors network traffic for suspicious activities and potential threats
  • IDS detects threats (alerts); IPS can also take action to block or mitigate them (inline)
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
  • Secure, encrypted connections between remote devices and networks
  • Provides secure access to corporate resources for remote workers (teleworkers)
• Antivirus and Anti-malware software
  • Detects, prevents, and removes malicious software from systems
  • Regularly updated to identify and protect against new threats (zero-day exploits)
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
  • Collects and analyzes log data from various sources to detect and respond to threats
  • Provides real-time monitoring (dashboards), alerting (notifications), and incident response capabilities (playbooks)