Threats to the Data and Potential Security Issues.

Threats to the Data and Potential Security Issues.

Protecting you and your data from electronic threats in today's world isn't just about watching out for viruses. In our ever-increasingly connected world, more than just the files on our computer are at risk, and from a variety of sources. Not only can you lose data due to a virus on your computer, but there's now the threat of having your entire identity stolen due to phishing scams, or even security breaches outside of your control.  The Intranet and Extranet technologies offer business organizations many advantages aimed at the efficient sharing of information and data. An Intranet is generally limited to an organization’s employees. Typical use might involve providing access to a certain division or category of employees on an as-needed basis. An Extranet seeks to achieve a similar goal, only the users might be limited to outsiders such as customers, suppliers, or clients.

Viruses and other malicious software known as malware can cause data loss: malware can cause a wide array of problems for your data, ranging from individual deleted files to drive partitions becoming damaged, even entire disk drives getting erased.

In addition to viruses affecting your local computer, the Internet also poses other risks that could allow malicious individuals to access your bank account, credit reporting information, or even completely steal your identity. Threats such as key loggers and phishing scams can put our personal information at risk, if we are not careful to protect ourselves from these online threats.

Key threats to data security

Data may get:

·         lost or damaged during a system crash - especially one affecting the hard disk

·         corrupted as a result of faulty disks, disk drives, or power failures

·         lost by accidentally deleting or overwriting files

·         lost or become corrupted by computer viruses

·         hacked into by unauthorised users and deleted or altered

·         destroyed by natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or war

·         deleted or altered by employees wishing to make money or take revenge on their employer

Fraud and Theft
Computer systems can be exploited for both fraud and theft both by "automating" traditional methods of fraud and by using new methods. For example, individuals may use a computer to skim small amounts of money from a large number of financial accounts, assuming that small discrepancies may not be investigated. Financial systems are not the only ones at risk. Systems that control access to any resource are targets. Computer fraud and theft can be committed by insiders or outsiders. Insiders are responsible for the majority of fraud.

Since insiders have both access to and familiarity with the victim computer system, authorized system users are in a better position to commit crimes. Insiders can be both general users and technical staff members. An organization's former employees, with their knowledge of an organization's operations, may also pose a threat, particularly if their access is not terminated promptly.

Targeted cyber attacks
Bored Teenage hackers, Cyber Attacks are no longer the creation for looking for bragging rights. With global organized crime syndicates behind cyber attacks, the nature of how they attack networks is changing, says a recent report by Forrester Research. No need for hackers to gather as much information as possible in one go; targeted attacks can now extract data over a longer period of time.