Chapter 7

DEBRE BERHAN UNIVERSITY

College of Computing
Department of computer Science

Administering security
Chapter 7
Computer Security

Binyam Tekalign
[email protected]
Outline
• Security planning
• Risk analysis
• Security policies
• Cyber security
• Ethics
1. Security planning
• Involves developing comprehensive strategies and actions to protect an
organization’s information assets against threats
• Ensure continuity of operations, and manage risk.
• Key Elements:
• Asset Identification: Cataloging all information assets that need protection, including data,
hardware, and software.
• Threat Assessment: Identifying potential threats to these assets, from cyber threats like
hacking and malware to physical threats such as theft or natural disasters.
• Vulnerability Analysis: Determining weaknesses in the organization's infrastructure that
could be exploited by threats.
1. Security planning
• Security Strategy Development:
• Creating a security strategy that addresses identified risks and aligns with
organizational objectives and compliance requirements.
• Implementation Plan:
• Outlining steps, timelines, and responsibilities for deploying security measures and
technologies.
• Review and Update:
• Regularly reviewing and updating the security plan to adapt to new threats and
changes in the organization.
2. Risk Analysis
• Risk analysis is the process of identifying, assessing, and evaluating potential risks to an
organization’s assets to determine the appropriate ways to mitigate them.
• Purpose of Risk Analysis:

• To arrange security efforts based on potential impact and probability of risks, ensuring that resources
are allocated effectively to protect critical assets.
• Steps in Risk Analysis:

• Identification: List all assets, threats, and existing controls. Identify vulnerabilities that could be
exploited by threats.
• Assessment: Evaluate the likelihood of each risk occurring and its potential impact on the
organization.
• Evaluation: Compare the risks against risk criteria to determine their significance.
2. Risk Analysis
• Methods and Tools:
• Utilize quantitative methods (financial impact) and qualitative methods (scenario analysis) to
assess risks.
• Tools such as risk matrices and software applications help in visualizing and managing risks.
• Outcome:
• Produce a risk assessment report that ranks risks based on their severity and likelihood.
• This report guides the decision-making process for implementing controls.
• Continuous Monitoring and Review:

• Establish a routine of ongoing risk evaluation and adjustments to the risk management plan as
the organizational environment and external threats evolve.
3. Security Policies
• Security policies are formal, written statements that guide the protection of an
organization's assets.
• They serve as a framework for setting expectations and enforcing behaviors

regarding security.
• Purpose of Security Policies:

• To provide clear and consistent instructions on what is permissible and what is
prohibited,
• Help to ensure that all personnel understand their roles and responsibilities in
protecting the organization's assets.

• Key Elements of Effective Security Policies:
• Clearly defines what the policy covers and its objectives.
• Specifies who is responsible for various security actions.
• Includes detailed policies to different aspects of security, such as data protection,

network security, physical security, and response protocols.
• Outlines the legal and regulatory standards the organization must comply with.
• Development and Implementation:
• Involvement of Stakeholders: Engaging various stakeholders in the policy creation process to
ensure coverage of all critical areas and buy-in from the start.
• Clarity and Simplicity: Writing policies in clear, understandable language.
• Regular Reviews and Updates: Policies should be reviewed and updated regularly to adapt to new
security challenges and regulatory changes.
• Training and Awareness:

• Ensuring that all employees are aware of the policies through regular training sessions and updates.
• Training helps to reinforce the importance of compliance and the implications of security breaches.
4. Cyber Security
• Refers to the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks.
• Cyber attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive

information;
• extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.
• Importance of Cyber Security:
• As our dependency on digital systems grows, the potential risks and impacts of cyber
attacks increase.
• Effective cyber security measures are crucial for protecting data integrity, securing
information and assets, and ensuring continuity of operations.
4. Cyber Security
• Key Cyber Security Challenges:
• Cyber threats are constantly changing, requiring adaptive and dynamic security
strategies.
• Balancing cyber security needs with available resources can be challenging,

especially for smaller organizations.
• Modern IT environments are complex and interconnected, making them harder to

secure comprehensively.
5. Ethics in Security
• Refers to the moral principles that guide decisions and behavior in the field of
cybersecurity and information security.
• It involves the appropriate use and protection of information that is entrusted to
individuals and organizations.
• Importance of Ethics:
• Ethical behavior is crucial in maintaining trust between organizations and the public,
• It protect privacy, and ensure the reliability and integrity of systems and data.
• Ethics helps to:
• Building Trust: Ethical practices in security help build and maintain trust between
service providers and their clients or users.
• Protecting Privacy: Ethical security practices involve ensuring that information is
used responsibly, respecting individuals' privacy rights, and complying with laws
designed to safeguard personal data.
• Accountability: Hold individuals and organizations accountable for their actions that
affect security and privacy.

• Challenges in Maintaining Ethical Standards:
• Global Impact: Addressing ethical considerations across different cultural and legal
frameworks internationally.
• Rapid Technological Changes: Keeping ethical guidelines relevant and effective in
the face of rapidly evolving technologies and threat landscapes.
• Conflict of Interest: Managing personal or organizational interests that might
interfere with impartial and unbiased decision-making.

• Promoting Ethical Practices:
• Develop and enforce a code of conduct that outlines ethical behaviors and practices.
• Provide regular training on ethical issues in cybersecurity to promote awareness and
understanding among professionals.
• Monitor and Audit: Regularly audit and assess how ethical policies are being
implemented and followed within the organization.

6. Digital Forensics
• The practice of uncovering and interpreting electronic data.
• The goal is to preserve any evidence in its most original form
• Perform a structured investigation by collecting, identifying, and validating the

digital information for the purpose of reconstructing past events.
• Purpose of Digital Forensics:

• The findings are often used in cybercrime investigations and legal proceedings to
support or refute a claim or criminal charge.
• Help organizations to understand the nature of a security breach and improve future
defenses.
Key Processes in Digital Forensics
• Identification: Determining the scope of the data that is relevant to the investigation.
• Preservation: Isolating, securing, and preserving the data to ensure that it is not altered,
deleted, or damaged.
• Analysis: Examining the collected data to draw conclusions based on the evidence found.
• Documentation: Keeping detailed and accurate records of all investigative processes and
findings to ensure the integrity and reproducibility of the investigation.
• Presentation: Summarizing and presenting the findings in a manner that is understandable

to those who are not technically proficient.
• This may involve preparing detailed reports, exhibits, and other forms of documentation that explain
what was found and how.
Tools and Technologies in Digital Forensics
• Forensic Software Tools:
• EnCase, FTK, and Autopsy, are used to perform comprehensive searches of hard
drives, recover deleted emails and files, and create timelines of computer usage.
• Mobile Forensics Tools:
• Cellebrite and Oxygen Forensic Suite are used to retrieve data from mobile devices,
including call histories, text messages, emails, and photos.
• Network Forensics Tools:
• Wireshark and Network Miner that analyze network traffic and logs to identify
unauthorized access or anomalies.
7. Hackers
• A hacker is an individual who uses their technical knowledge and skills to
gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or data.
• Hackers can exploit weakness for various purposes, ranging from kind to
malicious.
Types of Hackers
• White Hat Hackers:
• Definition: Ethical hackers who use their skills to improve security by finding and
fixing weakness in the system.
• Motivation: Typically work with organizations to strengthen defenses and prevent
breaches.
• Tools: Penetration testing tools like Nmap, Wireshark, Metasploit.
Types of Hackers
• Black Hat Hackers:
• Definition: Malicious hackers who exploit weakness of the system for personal gain,
• such as stealing data or causing disruptions.
• Motivation: Financial gain, political agendas, or personal satisfaction.
• Tools: Malware, phishing kits, keyloggers, exploit kits.

Types of Hackers
• Gray Hat Hackers:
• Definition: Hackers who operate between ethical and unethical hacking, often
exploiting vulnerabilities without malicious intent but without permission.
• Motivation: Curiosity, challenge, or to inform the affected parties about the
vulnerabilities.
• Tools: Similar to both white hat and black hat tools, such as scanning tools and
custom scripts.
Types of Hackers
• Script Kiddies:
• Definition: Inexperienced hackers who use pre-written hacking tools and scripts
without understanding how they work.
• Motivation: Desire to impress peers, cause harm, or for personal enjoyment.
• Tools: Automated scripts, downloadable hacking tools, and user-friendly hacking

software.
Types of Hackers
• Hacktivists:
• Definition: Hackers who use their skills for political or social activism, often to
promote a cause or deliver a message.
• Motivation: Political agendas, social change, protest against organizations or
governments.
• Tools: DDoS attack tools, website defacement tools, data breach methods.
Types of Hackers
• State-Sponsored Hackers:
• Definition: Hackers employed by governments to conduct espionage, cyber warfare,
and sabotage.
• Motivation: National security, intelligence gathering, disrupting adversaries.
• Tools: Advanced persistent threats (APTs), zero-day exploits, custom malware.

End
Computer Security

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DEBRE BERHAN UNIVERSITY

• Ensure continuity of operations, and manage risk.

• Review and Update:

• Purpose of Risk Analysis:

• Steps in Risk Analysis:

• This report guides the decision-making process for implementing controls.

• Continuous Monitoring and Review:

• They serve as a framework for setting expectations and enforcing behaviors

• Purpose of Security Policies:

protecting the organization's assets.

• Specifies who is responsible for various security actions.

• Includes detailed policies to different aspects of security, such as data protection,

• Training and Awareness:

• Cyber attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive

• Importance of Cyber Security:

• Balancing cyber security needs with available resources can be challenging,

• Modern IT environments are complex and interconnected, making them harder to

cybersecurity and information security.

• It involves the appropriate use and protection of information that is entrusted to

individuals and organizations.

service providers and their clients or users.

• Protecting Privacy: Ethical security practices involve ensuring that information is

designed to safeguard personal data.

affect security and privacy.

• Rapid Technological Changes: Keeping ethical guidelines relevant and effective in

the face of rapidly evolving technologies and threat landscapes.

• Conflict of Interest: Managing personal or organizational interests that might

interfere with impartial and unbiased decision-making.

• Provide regular training on ethical issues in cybersecurity to promote awareness and

understanding among professionals.

implemented and followed within the organization.

• The goal is to preserve any evidence in its most original form

• Perform a structured investigation by collecting, identifying, and validating the

• Purpose of Digital Forensics:

• Presentation: Summarizing and presenting the findings in a manner that is understandable

• Mobile Forensics Tools:

• Network Forensics Tools:

• Motivation: Financial gain, political agendas, or personal satisfaction.

• Tools: Malware, phishing kits, keyloggers, exploit kits.

• Tools: Automated scripts, downloadable hacking tools, and user-friendly hacking

• Tools: Advanced persistent threats (APTs), zero-day exploits, custom malware.

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