Cybersecurity Principles and Best Practices

The SSL protocol uses asymmetric encryption to encrypt the session key and a symmetric algorithm to encrypt the actual data.

The first step in a risk management methodology should be to identify the critical information assets for the business.

The eye, specifically the iris or retina, provides the most reliable physical characteristic for biometric systems due to its unique and complex patterns.

A user awareness program should be designed to cover all employees and undergo periodic reviews to ensure it aligns with current best practices.

SHA1 uses a 160-bit key, and while it's more secure than MD4, it is not the most secure algorithm.

Intrusion detection systems collect evidence of attack attempts, but they don't prevent attacks.

The Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol is used specifically for securing credit card payments in e-commerce.

A qualitative approach focuses on understanding the nuances, meanings, and perspectives of a particular phenomenon. It involves exploring data through observation, interviews, and other methods to gain in-depth insights.

Changes made by application programmers directly to production programs increase the risk of unauthorized code injection or data manipulation, leading to fraud.

The primary purpose of testing backup centers is to ensure that they can successfully restore critical business operations in the case of a disaster.

The Security Committee, typically composed of executives and security experts, is responsible for developing a comprehensive security policy that guides the organization's security practices.

MTO (Maximum Tolerable Outage) defines the maximum time an organization can be operating offsite and still achieve its business continuity objectives.

The risk of a threat is calculated by multiplying the probability of the threat occurring by the severity of its impact if it does.

A security policy should be derived from a comprehensive risk assessment, identifying the organization's vulnerabilities and potential threats.

Establishing a security policy is the initial and foundational step in developing a comprehensive security program. It provides a framework for all subsequent security activities.

A digital signature is a cryptographic method used to verify the authenticity and integrity of a digital message, ensuring the sender's identity and preventing any unauthorized modifications.

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack where attackers disguise themselves as legitimate entities to deceive victims into revealing sensitive information, like passwords and credit card details.

The primary goal of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is to detect malicious activities or potential security threats within a network and alert administrators.

Creating a digital signature involves using a private key to encrypt a message digest, producing a unique code that verifies the message's origin and ensures its integrity.

A production system with inadequate security controls might exhibit vulnerabilities such as allowing unauthorized access to sensitive data or lacking appropriate recovery mechanisms.

Vulnerability assessment identifies potential weaknesses in a system, while penetration testing actively exploits these vulnerabilities to understand the impact and potential consequences.

A Certification Authority (CA) acts as a trusted third party that verifies the identity of entities requesting digital certificates and issues certificates with corresponding public and private keys.

A failure in security information governance can manifest in various ways, such as lacking clear security policies or having outdated security information.

A security policy must include information about the critical resources to be protected and how to protect them.

Social engineering is a way to gain unauthorized access to systems and data by manipulating people.

A dry pipe suppression system uses water as a fire suppression agent, but only releases it when a fire is detected.

Risk analysis helps prioritize risks based on their likelihood and impact, allowing organizations to focus on the most critical areas.

Access controls are the primary security measure for protecting software and data in a data center.

Atomicity ensures that a database transaction is treated as a single unit, either completing entirely or not at all.

Security procedures include defining the roles within an organization and the responsibilities associated with each role.

A risk analysis should consider both the probability of a loss and the severity of the loss, weighing both factors.

A documented plan outlining steps to restore critical business operations following a disaster, ensuring continuity.

A documented plan detailing how to maintain critical business processes in the event of a disruption, ensuring ongoing operations.

The maximum amount of time an organization can tolerate being offline before experiencing unacceptable consequences.

A procedure that simulates a disaster recovery plan using real-world scenarios and testing the effectiveness of recovery procedures.

A secure facility with basic infrastructure and connectivity, requiring some setup and equipment to become fully operational.

An alternative facility with fully operational equipment, ready for immediate use in case of a disaster.

A backup facility with minimal infrastructure, requiring significant time and resources to become operational.

The process of analyzing the impact of a potential disaster and identifying critical business functions, assets, and recovery requirements.

This refers to how much financial loss you would expect if a specific event were to happen, calculated by multiplying the likely occurrence probability by the potential loss value.

The security administrator is responsible for maintaining, enforcing, and ensuring the integrity of access rules, which control who can access what resources within the system.

A crucial aspect of any information security policy is that it should be tailored to the specific needs and context of the organization, including its organizational structure, business processes, and sensitive information.

When deciding how long to keep information, you should prioritize legal and business requirements as they often dictate how long you need to retain data.

Single Sign-On (SSO) simplifies user access and management by allowing them to log in once and access multiple applications. However, a compromised SSO key would impact all connected applications.

When selecting an authentication mechanism, you need to consider how complex it is to implement, how sensitive the information being protected is, and if it will be user-friendly. You should also think about false positives, which could lead to an incorrect rejection of a user.

Data owners, usually area managers, hold the responsibility for classifying data based on its value and the potential impact of its compromise.

The Return on Security Investment (ROSI) is a metric used to assess the effectiveness of security investments. It compares the cost of security measures with the potential savings from preventing data breaches and disruptions.