Just visualize, your site is running perfectly, everything is going well and suddenly; suddenly your site has been hacked. This feels like a nightmare. Right? A rapid increase of web applications makes web-based hacking attacks more attractive. Website security is not only the challenge but one of the most important things that should be taking care of website owners.

Joomla is one of the leading Content Management Systems for web content. Just like WordPress and other open source platforms, Joomla sites also have to deal with hacker’s attack. Not to worry! Joomla comes with amazing security extensions that help to secure your site from hackers. Here’s we have come up with a list of some of the best Joomla security extensions that can help to protect your site. Take a look at the list:

• jHackGuard

jHackGuard is a security solution designed by Site Ground the Joomla websites from being hacked. It protects you by filtering the input data of users. Being disabled for the authenticated administrators, it allows them to carry out their administrative task easily. The plugin is available in different versions, thus you can choose an appropriate version that suits your site.

• JomDefender

Each day, attacks of hackers on Joomla websites increase and owners may have to spend the heap of money to fix the damage. JomDefender is one of the best extensions developed by Core PHP, which help you to secure your site from hacker’s attack. It keeps your Joomla site hidden and protected and also lets you find the right configuration for your site.

• Admin Tools

Admin Tools is a unique security extension that helps to protect your site. It notifies latest updates to the users that can help them in maintaining the site. Additionally, it helps to fix your files and directories permissions, manage custom URL directions and also enhance the security as well. It also features “Web Application Firewall” in order to keep your site safe from small common attacks.

• RSFirewall

RSFirewall is one of the advanced Joomla security extensions that protect your website from intrusions and hacker attacks. Additionally, it is backed up by a team of trained experts that runs the latest updates as well as keeps the extension up-to-date with the latest vulnerabilities. It allows you to scan your entire site and file to identify the malware so that you can make the necessary improvements.

• Marco’s SQL injection

Marco’s SQL injection plugins are developed to protect your site against SQL injection and LFI (Local file inclusion). Some of the great features of this extension are:

It blocks the SQL injection/LFI attempts by filtering requests in GET, POST, and REQUEST and alert by an email when the alert is generated. Protect the site from unknown 3rd party extension vulnerability and it will automatically block an IP that attacking your site.

• Akeeba Backup

It’s a perfect solution for full those who want a full backup of their site. It creates a full backup of the site in a single archive including database, files, and restoration script. It also provides different format like you can use standard ZIP archive or JPA archives or JPS archives. It runs an AJAX powered backup which means it prevents server timeouts for the restore process.

• Eye site

Eye site- the name already describes itself that it always keeps an eye on your website. It immediately alerts you if any files were added, deleted or changed in your directory structure. It scans each and every directory you have and stores the details of every file. It provides the plugin which enables you to scan your site automatically at specific time intervals. History screen is always available which shows the history of all past scans and actions.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, aforementioned list of security extensions will help you to protect your Joomla website from hacking attacks and enhance the security as well.

CCTV, or closed-circuit television, is probably one of the most commonly used security devices for homes, and business establishments like stores, banks, and other businesses. A CCTV surveillance system is made up of single or multiple cameras, a recording device, and a monitor. These systems can be wired or wireless. And while these systems have many advantages, they also have their disadvantages. All the disadvantages of using CCTV security systems are discussed below.

LIMITATIONS

A major disadvantage for CCTV systems is that they can only monitor a limited area. Criminals are able to vandalize the cameras in various ways. They may stick chewing gums on them or spray something on the lens. They may also change the angle of the camera.

WIRELESS SYSTEMS

Wireless CCTV systems need a specified frequency for the cameras to send signals to the receiving and recording station. Air conditioning, fluorescent lighting, and other electric motored products like cordless telephones can cause interruptions in the frequencies. This could affect the quality of the picture and video. A wireless CCTV camera system is subject to distortion when it comes to image quality and in order to identify and repair system breakdowns, an expert in wireless technology is needed.

WIRED SYSTEMS

Wired systems have the disadvantage of using fixed cameras to a particular area. This means that the cameras can’t easily change locations. Installing and cabling these cameras is a tedious task. As a matter of fact, it demands the assistance of professionals.

HACKING

The value of CCTV information has increased, thus, it results in a higher risk from hackers. Hacking the footages produced by the CCTV security cameras can lead to privacy issues. The images and the videos produced by the cameras capturing a naked woman may be distributed throughout the cyberworld. It isn’t possible to completely protect the public security system from hackers. As the system connects to a network, hackers can virtually hack into the system from outside locations.

These are all the disadvantages of using them in homes and in business establishments. But be that as it may, you shouldn’t let those be a hindrance for you to be able to protect your properties. You should keep in mind that even if these CCTV systems have a lot of disadvantages, you should look on the brighter side. These systems have more advantages than disadvantages so why should you let that stop you in monitoring your properties?

Computer Crime and My Personal Experience

I decided to research the subject of Computer Crime on the internet because I, like many consumers, pay bills, shop and perform other types of personal and business transactions on the internet. Two years ago, my credit card information was stolen after paying a cell phone bill on the internet. Therefore, the question of whether or not computer crime can be stopped is one that I continuously have concern about and ponder over.

First, let me define computer crime: “Computer crime, or cybercrime, is any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target” (Wikipedia). If I were asked two years ago whether or not I thought computer crime could be stopped, I would answer the question reflecting my negative experience and that answer would have been no.

However, I believe it depends upon the type of cybercrime. For example, if someone uses a computer to illegally obtain financial information, sell drugs, bullying or solicit sex, locating and stopping those individuals would be a matter of tracking the CPU’s unique identification numbers and the location of the unit and either blocking or deleting the website. Depending upon the severity of the computer crime, the perpetrator could be arrested and convicted.

Today, there are various types of security software available for websites that detect suspicious activities and helps to filter spam. However, if the crime has to do with hacking, whether it is because the hacker’s intent is to test his/her hacking skills, hacking to make a statement, or to destroy a particular website, this type of cybercrime is proving to be more challenging to prevent. Hackers are usually highly skilled technicians.

Also, every time advanced malware becomes available, it is a matter of time before hackers discover ways to breach the encryption and hack websites. “Most companies encounter multiple cyber attacks every day, many unknown to the public and many unknown to the companies themselves” (Walters, Riley).

Cyber Attacks on U. S. Companies in 2014

In 2014, a disturbing amount of major corporations experienced website hacking resulting in hackers gaining access to consumer’s personal information. Until today, recovering and implementing security measures to prevent security breaches has proven to challenging.

Just to provide an idea of how serious and prevalent the crime of hacking is, here is a list of corporations that were hacked in 2014: Target, Neiman Marcus, Michaels, Yahoo Mail, Aaron Brothers, AT&T, and eBay. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, “The spate of recent data breaches at big-name companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, and Target raises questions about the effectiveness of the private sector’s information security.” FBI Director James Comey stated, “There are two kinds of big companies in the United States.

There are those who’ve been hacked… and those who don’t know they’ve been hacked” (FBI). It is the later part of Mr. Comey’s statement where he says, “those who don’t know.” I find that disconcerting. What else is waiting in the shadows of unknown? Could it be an attack on the entire Human Resource Administration’s database or the system that disburses social security benefits? What would happen of cybercrime became the new secret war weapon for some countries in an attempt to destroy the economy of others. Today, these are all great possibilities. Should we cease ecommerce activities on the internet?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the internet has become the way that people communicate, learn, shop, enjoy entertainment and share information. The convenience outweighs all of the issues surrounding computer crimes.

Bullying

Another type of cybercrime is bullying. This has been shown to be common among young people under 18 years of age. It usually occurs on social media where people post private information, stalk, or consistently banter negatively about other people in such a way as to cause embarrassment, devastation, fear and in some cases harm.

It isn’t possible to always identify the stalker because many times the information is posted anonymously and it is distributed quickly. Removing the information has proven to be challenging. Websites that are frequently used for cyber bullying include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other websites that promote socializing as its main focus. The fact that bullying is perpetrated through technology does not negate the terrible impact it has on the victims. It is believed that “Kids who are cyber bullied are more likely to: Use Alcohol and drugs, skip school, experience in-person bullying, be unwilling to attend school, receive poor grades, have lower self-esteem, and have more health problems,” according to research conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics (Department of Health).

United States Convictions of Computer Crimes

The Department of Justice’s website contains a 2015 press release of arrest and convictions resulting from cybercrimes. Some of the convictions include: “CMU Student Pleads Guilty to Designing Malware, Selling it on Hacker Forum; Operator of Music Piracy Websites Pleads Guilty to Criminal Copyright Infringement; Former State Department Employee Indicted in Computer Hacking and Cyberstalking; New York Man Admits Sending Spam, Nine People Charged in Largest Known Computer Hacking And Securities Fraud Scam; and, Estonian National Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Charges Arising From Cyber Fraud Scheme That Infected Millions Of Computers Worldwide” (FBI).

The foregoing list represents a fraction of cybercrimes that are listed on the website. Crime enforcement agencies in many states throughout the United States have their own stories of arrest and convictions regarding cybercrime.

Conclusion

The internet is worldwide free reign that is not controlled by any government. The intent of the internet is to allow a source of freedom and the sharing of information without government regulations.

However, because of the growing usages of the internet in providing consumer goods and services, governments around the world will have to collaborate on finding an end to cybercrime.

One government cannot impinge laws on the internet that could overlap into the governance of another. Therefore, governments must find a way to come together, and if there are differences they must put them aside, in order to address and prevent cybercrime.

References

Computer crime. n.d. 6 October 2015.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. 10 October 2014. Print. 3 October 2015.

Riley, Walter. “Cyber Attacks on U. S. Companies in 2014.” Issue Brief 27 October 2014. Print. 3 October 2015.

Stopbullying.gov. n.d. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Print. 6 October 2015.

Whether it’s YouTube for videos or Flicker for photographs, the ever increasing demand for entertainment leads to the creation of more and more websites dedicates to displaying amateur “art” in the hopes of widespread popularity. As evidenced by the recent sale of YouTube to Google for $1.65 Billion, once a website gains widespread popularity, riches are not far away. This trend has increased the demand for new and entertaining content. Most times such services rely on self-submitted videos, photos or articles, but as more sites pop up, available supply dwindles. Consequently, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “website hacking” has become more and more popular. This form of hacking occurs when an individual uses some service or sight to put up their own video, photo or blog, in order to share that particular medium with known friends. Hackers looking for new and original content will often hack this information and use it on their own site, in an attempt to gain hits and popularity in the effort to be the next YouTube.

Most times this form of hacking goes undiscovered, or alternatively, if discovered, the true owner of the personal copyright views it as too time or money consuming to go after the hacker. Whether or not you view it as such, this form of hacking constitutes theft. Unlike theft of tangible goods or chattels, this is theft of intellectual property to which only you have the right. When the theft, or hacking, rises to the level of intrusion where it becomes necessary to take action, a person must first determine how to go about putting a stop to the theft. .

The first necessary step is identifying the source of the original theft. When the intellectual property has been stolen for some period of time, this can be a difficult task. Most often the material hasn’t spread to the point where it is difficult to track down the original hacker. However, if you find that the information has spread, you should contact the administrator of each website and identify yourself as the primary source, and most sites will post a correction. If you can at least find a name or business name, you may then use certain directories to track down a mailing or email address [such as [http://www.whois.godaddy.com], http://www.whois.sc and [http://www.dns.com], among others].

The next step, without involving an attorney, is to contact the hacker using the information found regarding their site. You should first make a request that they stop broadcasting your material. The first request should remain polite, in the event that they truly don’t know their site is using your property. If your efforts are repudiated or met without a response, it may be necessary to contact an attorney to take further action.

If repudiated and you decide you would like to press forward, you should contact an attorney experienced in cyberlaw matters. A qualified attorney can help you begin to preserve evidence by creating a paper trail, gather information and properly establish ownership over the stolen material. Once ownership is established the attorney can help you to register your copyright with the United States Copyright office, since in the United States, it is necessary to register a work prior to enforcing your rights with regard to that work. Once registered, the attorney will likely elect to issue an inexpensive Cease and Desist order to the cyber hacker. Based on the Cease and Desist order, you should then contact those who advertise on the hacker’s sight, as well as associated search engines, and demonstrate to them that your material is the subject of a Cease and Desist order. Most search engines will immediately comply since Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyrights Act (DMCA) creates a safe harbor for these companies, preventing them from sustaining any liability when immediately pulling material in response to such a request. These steps, supported by the consumer oriented DMCA, enable cyber theft victims to minimize the damage done by the hacker.

If the cyber hacker still refuses to stop using your now copyrighted material, your attorney can properly advise you on how to proceed, and what type of court action may be necessary to ensure compliance with your order, and whether any form of damages may be available to you in your enforcement proceedings. Only an experienced cyber law attorney can efficiently and accurately guide you through the web difficulty which arises when personal content has been stolen by illegal cyber-hackers. Individuals must take steps to keep personal material personal and to ensure that the hackers are not allowed to continue committing their illegal acts.

Hacking is a common occurrence these days, but it’s good to know that hacking targeting you specifically because of who you are is far less common than scattershot hacking. Additionally, taking advantage of your online data is much more common than taking control of your computer.

Most people don’t understand their computers or operating systems deeply. There’s no shame in that. No one really understands everything about computers. But that makes it easier for those types who are forever trying to make an illicit buck with some new way they have to separate you from your stuff, or some tool they’ve bought to apply leverage to an unprotected digital niche. Furthermore, the digital world changes quickly and it’s much easier for those providing software and hardware to sell insecure wares rather than to take the extra time (and loss of market share) to make them very safe.

So it remains up to us to be more conscious in our behavior online, on the phone, and with our purchased equipment. Some of these conscious behaviors apply across the board to computers, tablets, and phones; others are specific to certain platforms.

Email – Phishing

I got an email from Apple, referencing a recent purchase and asking me to verify it. I clicked on the link and my browser went to Apple’s website, but something didn’t seem quite right. I stopped a moment to think: I had made a purchase online from Apple the previous day, but the email didn’t reference the specific item. I dropped off the website and took a look at the email. I hovered my cursor over the link and sure enough, it didn’t even mention Apple in the link. This is super-common – phishing emails designed to get you to go to some official-looking but bogus website (like the Apple website I’d thought I was on) and enter in your credentials which then give the hacker free access to your online account. And because many people use the same password and login for many of their online accounts it can give the hacker control of your digital life in short order. This happens to people who should know better and even almost happened to me, who also should know better!

But how did they know I had just bought something from Apple, or in other bogus emails – how do they know I just bought something on eBay, or what bank I’m with? How do they even know my email address?

The short answer is – they probably don’t. They send that same email to a million likely email addresses – either from a list they bought, email addresses they harvested online, or just randomly generated by a program (“joe@abc.com,” “joe@xyz.com,” “joe@yourwebsite.com,” etc). It costs almost nothing to send an email and it doesn’t cost much more to send a million. It’s easy enough to add an official logo snagged off a corporate website to an email, and it’s similarly easy to make an official-looking website. In fact, one could just snatch the code off an official website and replace the official links with bogus ones that steal your login credentials. Furthermore, a link isn’t always what it appears to be. For instance, if I say to click here to WinAMillionBucks.com you’ll see that it goes to a site that may save you some money, but won’t win you a million bucks.

It can be enlightening to hover (without clicking) your cursor over a given hyperlink like the one above, and see what pops up. Or if nothing pops up, right-click (on a single-button mouse, [ctrl]-click) to reveal the link.

The short form answer to not being taken in like this is: DON’T click on links in emails. Type the desired URL into a browser. Or copy the link, paste it into a text document, and see if it is actually your bank, or Apple, or eBay or where you really wanted to go.

Coming up in part 2: Two-Factor Authentication, Passwords, and Giving Away the Form.

What you need to know to protect your computer

In 2010, a sophisticated virus was discovered on computers that were part of the network controlling uranium enrichment plants in Iran. The virus, eventually named Stuxnet, had been designed to destroy physical assets. This was the first time that a malicious virus had been created, not to steal data, but to physically damage equipment that was controlled by a computer network.

Regin Malware

What is not well known about Stuxnet is that it used a total of five, zero day exploits to replicate and spread itself through the computer network. The exploits are simply code that has been designed to attack computer software through previously unknown vulnerabilities.

Because zero day attacks are aimed at unknown vulnerabilities, there is no way to protect a computer or network from them. Hackers and cyber-criminals discover these vulnerabilities and develop zero day exploits to attack a computer system. Once they have gained access, they can insert a virus or Trojan horse into the now compromised system.

In addition to the criminal uses, governments and the military use zero day exploits to sabotage or perform surveillance on an enemy. The use of Stuxnet against the Iranian nuclear program was such a program carried out by the government of the United States.

With the success of Stuxnet, zero day exploits have become big business. Governments, underground hackers and even talented amateurs are searching out and cataloging zero day exploits and selling them to the highest bidder. Whether that buyer is a government or a criminal organization, they have access to an undetected and undetectable way to compromise a computer system’s security.

That is what makes the zero day attacks so terrifying to large corporations, banks and government agencies. Stuxnet showed what could happen by using a zero day exploit to cause physical damage. If zero day attacks are unleashed against large commercial targets, the damage could easily run into the billions of dollars and there is no way to stop it.

On the other end of the spectrum, exploited webpages that download malware to your system or infected word or adobe documents can all be considered zero day vulnerabilities before they are discovered and fixed. These sites or documents exploit a vulnerability on your system and are fairly common, but tend to have random results. Targeting companies or organizations using these types of attacks is inefficient and easily stopped.

In 2010, there were a total of fourteen zero day vulnerabilities documented by Symantec throughout the world. The period between 2006 and 2011 saw a total of 71 incidents that met Symantec’s criteria. Although this may seem like a small number of exploits, each of them leads to an attack on a computer system or network.

Zero day exploits that target major organizations are thankfully rare, but can cause considerable damage when they get through. A year ago a zero day vulnerability was discovered on a politically important website. Although Microsoft had identified the exploit before it was imbedded, the patch had not been issued. The malware was linked to Chinese cyber-espionage agents and was targeted at visitors who were interested in national and international security policy. Microsoft quickly updated its malware protection.

Renewed calls for protection of our country’s power grid and critical industries demonstrate that the government is taking the possibility of new zero day attacks emerging seriously. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), tasked with defending US nation’s infrastructure, has struggled with keeping up with technical advances and have not proven themselves effective in this role.

The commercial sector, unfortunately, has not fared much better. The threat landscape for large enterprises includes well-funded efforts at cyber-crime, including the attack on JPMorgan by Russian hackers earlier this year. Criminal or state backed efforts aimed at stealing intellectual or physical property are challenges that will only increase in the coming years as more of these zero day vulnerabilities are discovered and exploited.

Commercially, this makes a CIOs job a living nightmare. Until now, ensuring availability and controlling costs have been the largest challenges facing technical departments. Equal attention needs to be paid to providing security for their network against an unknown enemy who will be using an undetectable tool that can exploit an unstoppable vulnerability. The only good thing about zero day vulnerabilities is the short window that they are usually active. Once discovered, the lifespan of a zero day vulnerability is measured in the length of time before your next security update.

Ali Bitazar is Well-known Network Security Expert

Protecting your computer against hacking is different from protecting it against viruses that you accidentally or unknowingly invite into your computer that then cause damage in one form or another. Anti-hack is about protecting your computer against external entities that are deliberately trying to get into your computer to cause damage and to steal from you – or cause damage. Viruses are impersonal and hacking is personal.

Anti-Hack software is now out there for sale in addition to anti-virus software. These products protect you in ways that anti-virus software does not. Following are some examples.

DoS (Denial of Service) Attacks:

DoS attacks occur when too much traffic is directed to your company website at once. The web server essentially ‘chokes’ on the amount of traffic trying to squeeze into it’s network hardware. Attack scripts are easily downloadable and you do not need to be an experienced engineer to launch an attack. Upset customers seeking some sort of revenge or disruption, competitors interrupting your site, or these days, as in the recent major hospital attacks, the trend is to hold your web site hostage until some ransom is paid or some demand met. “Ransomeware” is a relatively new term, but it is gaining a lot of visibility in recent times.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) Attacks:

Akamai’s Prolexic Security Engineering and Response Team (PLXsert) recently issued a threat advisory warning of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks abusing the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) interface. PLXsert SNMP DDoS attack campaigns target various industries including consumer products, gaming, hosting, nonprofits, and software-as-a-service, mainly in the US (49.9%) and China (18.49%). The attackers used an online tool posted by the hacker group ‘Team Poison’. This latest wave of attacks targets devices running SNMP which by default is open to the public Internet unless that feature is manually disabled. Anti-hack software is now being created that help prevent SNMP attacks such as this by preventing the attacker from forcing network switching to secondary gateways.

SYN/AWK Attacks:

This is a little complex but basically, a SYN flood attack is similar to a Denial of Service attack in that there is request made to the web server that ties up its resources and makes it unavailable to other connections. When a computer or web browser tries to connect to a web site, what’s called a 3-way handshake is used to establish the connection between the two computers. In a SYN/AWK Flood attack, the computer offers its hand (1-way), the server reaches out to meet it (2-way) but the offered hand is quickly withdrawn. The server waits for the hand to come back until it ‘times-out’ and then the cycle repeats millions of times. The 3-way handshake is never established and all other connections are refused while this is happening.

USB Auto-Run Attacks:

By default, Windows runs any executable, program, or script on a USB drive the second it is inserted into any computer or laptop. This means that anyone* with unauthorized code, like a virus or a key-logger or backdoor program – all of which are easily downloadable – can walk past any computer in your building, insert the USB drive for just a second or two, and take control of your entire business without you knowing about it. Anti-virus software knows this and will try to block known vulnerabilities, but what about the unknown ones that were created this morning?

*I want to get them thinking locally here too. Friends could do it, your wife could do it, your kids could do it, the babysitter, your priest, etc…

Remote Connections:

Here’s a test; right-click on My Computer and select the Remote tab, or, in Windows 8, right-click This Computer and click the ‘Remote Settings’ link on the left side of the System panel that opened. Is ‘Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer’ checked? Click the Advanced button and you will see how far this goes and how easy it is for your computer to allow others to connect to it. You can actually allow others to take complete control of your system.

This was designed for a helpdesk in a major corporation to connect quickly and easily without a lot of authentication fuss. The average home, school, and SOHO system is obviously not on a corporate helpdesk so closing these interoperability ‘features’ will help protect your system against external intrusion. If you ever need them back on, you can explicitly turn them back on. But we don’t believe they should be on by default. Neither does the NIST, the USAF, The DoHS, or even the NSA. Check for the current settings on your computer – then update if necessary – I’ll bet you find that this setting is on, allowing remote control to externals.

Microsoft Program Inventory:

In Windows 7, Microsoft quietly introduced a feature they call ‘Program Inventory’. A direct quote from Microsoft states: “The PDU inventories programs and files on the system and sends information about those files to Microsoft”. Not only are you constantly sending information about every installed program on your machine, but also information about every single file that a program can open. Read that quote again: Microsoft ‘inventories all of the programs and files on your system’ and they admit it somewhere buried in the guts of the operating system.

But they didn’t tell you before they implemented it. You would be shocked at what they are doing with Windows 8 and especially the new and free upgrade to Windows 10. How on Earth could you have a sustainable business model giving away your main product unless there was some massive reward for doing so. Your information is most likely that reward. Find this window in your system settings to turn off the feature if you wish to protect the privacy of your information.

Conclusion

While no system can be completely 100% secure in today’s rapidly changing computer threat landscape, there is absolutely no reason to give intruders a helping hand. Easy-connection and interoperability features and settings need to be switched off by the dozens. The goal is to make it more difficult for intruders, much more difficult, rather than to continue to have operating systems with hundreds of open doors, windows, and step-ladders into private areas just waiting to be exploited.

Windows 10 is particularly vulnerable and there are many settings you should be considering turning off to protect yourself further so be sure to learn more about this – there are many video guides for doing this available on YouTube today.

In summary, there is a definite reason why hacking is on the rise globally. People have realized just how easy it is now to gain control of your computer – and they are doing it.

The increase in computer and mobile technology has led to greater threats in security. This could be in the form of viruses that can crash the system and allow easy access to confidential data. With the rapid modernisation in technology across corporations, how does one stop security intrusions from taking place? The job of securing systems and mobile devices can be best left to a trained ethical hacker. Such a person would have trained himself on an ethical hacking course.

Job of an ethical hacker

The job of an ethical hacker is to systematically penetrate the computer network of an organisation in order to determine the security vulnerabilities of the same. Whatever turns out to be the vulnerability of the system is determined and then accordingly fixed by the IT department of the organisation. If these vulnerabilities are not fixed, they could be potentially exploited by a malicious hacker.

The methods used by an ethical and a malicious hacker are nearly the same. Both have almost the same knowledge in terms of programming. However, the intentions are what really differentiate one from the other. A traditional hacker uses illegal techniques to bypass a system’s defences, whereas the ethical hacker makes use of legal techniques. The ethical hacker is given permission by the organisation to invade security systems. In addition, this person also documents threats and vulnerabilities, providing an action plan on how to fix overall security.

Where are vulnerabilities usually found?

Usually when a large number of software are being used on computers, it gives chances of infection from viruses. These viruses are actually illegal programs which can supply information to other sources. Poor or improper system configurations are liable to have infections and vulnerabilities. Any kind of hardware or software flaws, as well as operational weaknesses in technical processes can lead to program corruption.

International standards followed by ethical hackers

There are various standards in the industry which allow companies to carry out penetration testing. One of these is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This consists of a globally recognised set of policies and procedures meant to optimise securities of credit, debit as well as cash card transactions. It also protects cardholders from misuse of personal information.

Large companies like IBM have large teams of employees as ethical hackers. Many global firms also offer ethical hacking in the form of a course. Another organisation called as Trustwave Holdings Inc. has its own Ethical Hacking lab which can explore potential vulnerabilities in ATMs, POS devices and different kinds of surveillance systems.

An ethical hacking course provides all the various advanced tools and techniques used by security professionals to breach the vulnerabilities of systems in an organisation. The course makes you think like a hacker and explore a situation from a hacker’s mindset. More can be learned from a cyber security training course.

For more information visit: http://www.multisoftsystems.com/cyber-security/ethical-hacking

If you are charged with a cybercrime you need a criminal defense lawyer in San Francisco who is experienced with these cases. In today's fast paced world filled with technology, using a computer is simply a fact of life. Yet, despite all of the conveniences that computers provide, there are many risks involved in using this technology. In fact, many individuals and companies find them the victims of cybercriminals, or hackers, who are capable of gathering sensitive information by breaking into computer systems.

At the same time, there are many people who face charges that they did not commit – people who need a truly experienced San Francisco defense attorney to handle their case – an attorney who understands cybercrimes and has experience defending such cases.

The reality is that a criminal defense lawyer in San Francisco must have a great deal of technical knowledge to effectively defend a case. Some scenarios surrounding these types of cases that your attorney must be familiar with include:

• Stealing credit card or debit card information from a retailer via a technique known as "War Driving." War Driving involves sitting in a vehicle in a parking lot outside of a "big box" store and stealing credit card numbers from the retailer's Wi-Fi network.

• Setting up computer programs that automatically take credit card and debit card information and send it to a special account that has been set up by the hacker. The hacker then sells this data to criminals known as Fencers. The Fencers then resell the information to other criminals, who use the information to make purchases on unsuspecting cardholders' accounts.

• Breaking into the website of a commercial store in order to steal credit card and debit card information from those who have made online purchases from the store.

It is important to note that hackers come from a variety of backgrounds. While some do have training in the field of computers, many do not have any specific training or background in the industry.

In fact, many hackers start off as teenagers who have learned to manipulate Internet providers to obtain free Internet service. After enjoying the thrill that this seemingly harmless theft offers, they take the next step by learning how to manipulate other computer systems to their advantage.

While no one condones the criminal activity of hackers, it is important for those who have been charged with these crimes to hire a skilled and experienced San Francisco defense attorney. After all, the punishments associated with being convicted of such a crime can be quite severe. But, by hiring a criminal defense lawyer in San Francisco who is familiar with these types of cases and who has a strong technical background, someone who has been arrested for cybercrimes will have the best chance of beating the case.

Application Security risk assessment and risk management are vital tasks for IT managers. Corporations face increased levels of Application Security risk from hackers and cyber crooks seeking intellectual property and customer information. A comprehensive application security risk assessment is a modern day corporate necessity.

Application security risk management provides the optimal protection within the constraints of budget, law, ethics, and safety. Performing an overall Application Security risk assessment enables organizations to make wise decisions.

Web Servers – Application Security

Web Servers are One of the most critical sources of Application Security risk to organizations. Performing an application security assessment and implementing security risk management is critical. Here are core points that pose a major security risk to Application Security:

Default configuration – Application Security

Web server default configurations that may not be secure leave unnecessary samples, templates, administrative tools, etc. open to attacks. Poor application security risk management leaves security breaches for hackers to take complete control over the Web server.

Databases – Application Security

Web sites and applications must be interactive to be useful and there lies the risk… Web applications without sufficient application security allow hackers to attack their databases. Invalid input scripts leads to many of the worst database attacks. Comprehensive risk assessment may reveal steps to ensure application security.

Encryption – Application Security

Encryption reduces application security risks and losses when Web servers are breached. Even though a company’s Intranet server has greater vulnerability to attacks, encryption creates a lower relative risk.