Cyber Security in Canada

Chapter Overview

• Focuses on the importance of cybersecurity in business and personal computing.
• Addresses the increasing target nature of digital devices due to their integration in daily activities.
• Highlights security threats, preventive measures, and tools used for information systems security.

Cybercrime

• Cybercrime involves illegal activities conducted using or targeting computers.
• In Canada, organizations reportedly spent an average of $9.25 million to resolve damages from cyber attacks (2019).
• 21% of Canadian businesses faced cybersecurity incidents, with only 12% reporting these to authorities.
• Small and medium enterprises are particularly vulnerable to immediate financial and privacy risks from cyber threats.
• Cybercriminals target organizations for sensitive customer data, financial information, and proprietary knowledge.
• Consequences of cybercrime include reputational harm, productivity losses, intellectual property theft, and recovery costs.

Personal Information Protection

• PIPEDA mandates private businesses in Canada to safeguard personal data and report any breaches to the privacy commissioner.
• Organizations must understand legal requirements related to personal data handling to minimize impacts of cyber incidents.

Types of Cybercrime

• Targeted Technology Crimes: Examples include malware (viruses, spyware, ransomware) and DoS/DDoS attacks.
• Technology-Facilitated Crimes: Include identity theft, social engineering, hacking, phishing, spoofing, and software piracy.
• Malware encompasses programs designed to disrupt or steal data; ransomware encrypts data, demanding payment for access.
• DDoS attacks involve multiple computers flooding a target to disrupt authorized access.

The Information Security Triad (CIA Triad)

• Confidentiality: Ensures that only authorized users can access certain information.
• Integrity: Guarantees that data remains unchanged and accurately reflects its intended meaning, protecting against unauthorized alterations.
• Availability: Information should be accessible for authorized users within appropriate timeframes, depending on the context.

Tools for Security

• Organizations utilize various tools categorized into authentication, prevention, and detection tools to ensure information security.

Authentication

• Authentication verifies user identity through:
  • Passwords: Most common but may be easily compromised.
  • Out-of-Wallet Questions: Security questions known only to the user.
  • Tokens: Physical items (like keys/cards) for identification, which can be lost.
  • Biometrics: Uses unique physical traits for identification (e.g., fingerprints).
  • Multi-factor Authentication: Combines multiple identification factors for enhanced security.

Prevention Measures

• Access control, encryption, firewalls, antivirus programs, and backups help prevent unauthorized access and data loss.

• Access Control: Regulates who can access and interact with information.

  • Access Control List (ACL) assigns specific actions to users but can be challenging to manage with increasing users and resources.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) assigns permissions based on user roles, allowing simplified management.

• Encryption: Scrambles data to make it unreadable without a decryption key, enhancing data security during transmission.

  • Symmetric key encryption shares one key between sender and receiver, while public key encryption involves a pair of keys.

• Firewalls: Filter incoming and outgoing network traffic based on established security rules, available as both hardware and software options.### VPNs and Access Security

• VPNs enable remote users to bypass firewalls and access corporate internal networks securely.

• Combines software and security measures to maintain overall network security during off-site access.

Antivirus Programs

• Antivirus software detects and removes malicious programs like viruses and spyware.
• Functions as a reactive measure, requiring updates to recognize new threats.

Backup Strategies

• Essential for protecting organizational data, including server and individual computer backups.
• Key components of a backup plan include:
  • Understanding information assets and their storage locations (servers, hard drives, cloud).
  • Regular backups based on data criticality; daily backups for critical data, weekly for less important.
  • Offsite storage to protect against disasters, ensuring backups are separate from original data.
  • Regular testing of backup restoration processes to confirm functionality and reliability.

Physical and Operational Security

• Physical security measures protect hardware and networking components, vital for data integrity.
• Implementation includes:
  • Locked doors and restricted access to sensitive areas.
  • Physical intrusion detection via security cameras.
  • Environmental monitoring to ensure optimal conditions for sensitive equipment.
  • Employee training against theft, particularly during travel.

Security Policies

• Security policies are vital administrative controls establishing guidelines for resource use.
• Must comply with legal and regulatory requirements relevant to the organization.
• Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) delineate allowable actions while using organizational resources.

Incident Response and Network Security Measures

• Organizations should develop incident response plans as part of their cybersecurity strategy.
• Employ multiple security measures including:
  • Regular software updates and enabling security software.
  • Strong user authentication, employee training, and data backup protocols.
  • Secure configurations for devices and cloud services.

Password Security

• Effective password policies should require complexity, regular changes, and avoidance of reuse.
• Employee training is crucial to prevent social engineering tactics used to steal passwords.

Cybersecurity Framework

• The CIA triangle (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) is foundational for security policy development.
• Tools for enhancing security include authentication measures, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems.

Cybercrime

• Defined as illegal acts using computers or targeting them.
• The increase of cybercrime correlates with the growing reliance on technology in businesses.

User Position on Data Privacy

• Organizations need to consider user rights and data handling ethics.
• Users should maintain control over their personal data, with organizations held accountable for ethical management.

Key Terms Summary

• Access Control: Limits user access to information based on permissions.
• Acceptable Use Policies (AUP): Rules governing the acceptable use of resources.
• Authentication: Verifying user identity through knowledge, tokens, or biometrics.
• Backup: Creating copies of data for recovery: a critical disaster recovery strategy.### Biometric Authentication
• Verifies identity using unique biological traits, e.g., fingerprints.

Confidentiality

• Ensures information access is restricted to authorized individuals.

Cybercrime

• Refers to illegal activities using a computer or targeting a computer.

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack

• Prevents authorized users from accessing a web server.

Employee Training

• Essential for securing equipment; employees should safeguard laptops during travel.

Encryption

• Encodes data during transmission/storage, ensuring only authorized access.

Environmental Monitoring

• High-value equipment like servers must be monitored for temperature, humidity, and airflow to prevent failure.

Firewall

• Increases network security by blocking unauthorized data and messages.

Hacking

• Involves unauthorized access to a computer.

Identity Theft

• Criminals exploit personal information for unauthorized use.

Integrity

• Guarantees that accessed information is unaltered and accurate.

Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

• Identifies potential attacks on the network.

Physical Security

• Protects hardware and networking components holding sensitive information.

Locked Doors

• Secure valuable information assets in controlled-access locations to prevent physical theft.

Multifactor Authentication

• Requires multiple independent authentication methods for identity verification.

Phishing

• Deceptive emails posing as trusted sources to extract personal information.

Physical Intrusion Detection

• Monitors secure locations with security cameras to detect unauthorized access.

Piracy

• Illegal copying and distribution of software is classified as a computer crime.

Public Key Encryption

• Utilizes a pair of keys (public and private) for secure message transmission.

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)

• Users assigned roles determine access rights, simplifying security management.

Secured Equipment

• Devices should be locked to prevent theft of sensitive data.

Spoofing

• Disguising identity by altering the source address of messages to appear authorized.

Social Engineering

• Manipulates individuals into revealing confidential information.

Symmetric Key Encryption

• Both parties share the encryption key to secure information transmission.

Universal Power Supply (UPS)

• Provides battery backup for critical system components, preventing data loss during power failures.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

• Enables external users to access internal corporate networks securely by bypassing firewalls.

Test your knowledge on cyber security in Canada, including the average cost of resolving cyber attacks, percentage of impacted businesses, and more.