Chapter 1: The Need for

Cybersecurity

Fundamentals of Cybersecurity v1.2

Chapter 1 - Sections & Objectives
 1.1 Personal Data
• Explain the characteristics and value of personal data.
• Define personal data.
• Explain why personal data is profitable to hackers.

 1.2 Organization Data

• Explain the characteristics and value of data within an organization.
• Describe types of data used by governments and organizations.
• Describe the impact of a security breach.

 1.3 Attackers and Cybersecurity Professionals

• Explain the characteristics and motives of cyber attackers and the legal and ethical issues for cybersecurity
professionals.
• Describe the characteristics and motives of an attacker.

 1.4 Cyberwarfare
• Explain the characteristics and purpose of cyberwarfare.
• Describe cyberwarfare. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 2
1.1 Personal Data

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Personal Data
Introduction to Personal Data
 What is Cybersecurity?
• Protection of networked system and data from unauthorized use or harm
 Your Online and Offline Identity
• Offline Identity
• Your identity that interacts on a regular basis at home,
school or work
• Online Identity
• Your identity while you are in cyberspace
• Should only reveal a limited amount of information about you
• Username or alias
• Should not include any personal information
• Should be appropriate and respectful
• Should not attract unwanted attention

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Personal Data
Introduction to Personal Data
 Your Data
• Medical Records
• electronic health records (EHR) – physical, mental, and
other personal information
• prescriptions
• Education Records
• Grades, test scores, courses taken, awards and degrees rewarded
• Attendance
• Disciplinary reports
• Employment and Financial Records
• Income and expenditures
• Tax records – paycheck stubs, credit card statements,
credit rating and banking statement
• Past employment and performance

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Personal Data
Introduction to Personal Data
 Where is Your Data?
• Medical records: doctor’s office, insurance company
• Store loyalty cards
• Stores compile your purchases
• Marketing partner uses the profiles for target advertisement
• Online pictures: friends, strangers may also have a copy
 Your Computer Devices
• Data storage and your portal to your online data
• List some example of your computing devices

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Personal Data
Personal Data as a Target
 How do the criminals get your money?
• Online credentials
• Gives thieves access to your accounts
• Creative schemes
• Trick into wiring money to your friends or family

 Why do they want your identity?

• Long-term profits
• Medical benefits
• File a fake tax return
• Open credit card accounts
• Obtain loans

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1.2 Organizational Data

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Organizational Data
Introduction to Organizational Data
 Types of Organizational Data
• Traditional Data
• Personnel – application materials, payroll, offer letter, employee agreements
• Intellectual – patents, trademarks, product plans, trade secrets
• Financial – income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements
• Internet of Things and Big Data
• IoT – large network of physical objects, such as sensors
• Big Data – data from the IoT

 Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability

• Confidentiality – privacy
• Integrity – accuracy and trustworthiness of the information
• Availability – information is accessible

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Organizational Data
The Impact of a Security Breach
 The Consequences of a Security Breach
• Not feasible to prevent every attack
• Attackers will always find new ways
• Ruined reputation, vandalism, theft,
revenue lost, damaged intellectual property
 Security Breach Example - LastPass
• An online password manager
• Stolen email addresses, password reminders,
and authentication hashes
• Requires email verification or multi-factor
authentication when logging in from an unknown device
• Users should use complex master password,
change master password periodically, and beware of
phishing attacks
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Organizational Data
The Impact of a Security Breach
 Security Breach Example - Vtech
• Vtech is a high tech toy maker for children
• exposed sensitive information including customer names,
email addresses, passwords, pictures, and chat logs.
• Vtech did not safeguard information properly
• Hackers can create email accounts, apply for credits, and
commit crimes using the children’s information
• Hackers can also take over the parents’ online accounts
 Security Breach Example - Equifax
• Equifax is a consumer credit reporting agency.
• Attackers exploited a vulnerability in web application software.
• Equifax established a dedicated web site with a new domain
name that allowed nefarious parties to create unauthorized
websites for phishing scheme
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1.3 Attackers and
Cybersecurity Professionals

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The Profile of a Cyber Attacker
Types of Attackers
 Amateurs
• Script kiddies with little or no skill
• Using existing tools or instructions found online for attacks
 Hackers - break into computers or networks to gain access
• White hats – break into system with permission to discover
weaknesses so that the security of these systems can be
improved
• Gray hats – compromise systems without permission
• Black hats - take advantage of any vulnerability for
illegal personal, financial or political gain
 Organized Hackers - organizations of cyber criminals,
hacktivists, terrorists, and state-sponsored hackers.

© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 13
The Profile of a Cyber Attacker
Internal and External Threats
 Internal Security Threats
• Can be an employee or contract partner
• Mishandle confidential data
• Threaten the operations of internal servers or network
infrastructure devices
• Facilitate outside attacks by connecting infected USB
media into the corporate computer system
• Accidentally invite malware onto the network
through malicious email or websites
• Can cause great damage because of direct access

 External Security Threats

• exploit vulnerabilities in network or
computing devices
• use social engineering to gain access

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Cybersecurity Criminals versus Cybersecurity Specialists
Cybersecurity Specialists

High Earning Potential

Challenging Career

Highly Portable Career

Service to the Public

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Cybersecurity Criminals versus Cybersecurity Specialists
Cybersecurity Specialists
Thwarting the cyber criminals is a difficult task, company, government and
international organizations have begun to take coordinated actions to limit
or fend off cyber criminals. The coordinated actions include:

• Vulnerability Database: The Nation Common Vulnerabilities and

Exposures (CVE) database is an example of the development of a
national database. The CVE National Database was developed to
provide a publicly available database of all know vulnerabilities.
http://www.cvedetails.com/

• Early Warning Systems: The Honeynet project is an example of

creating Early Warning Systems. The project provides a HoneyMap
which displays real-time visualization of attacks.
https://www.honeynet.org/node/960

• Share Cyber Intelligence: InfraGard is an example of wide spread

sharing of cyber intelligence. The InfraGard program is a partnership
between the and the private sector. The participants are dedicated to
sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile cyberattacks.
https://www.infragard.org/
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Cybersecurity Criminals versus Cybersecurity Specialists
Cybersecurity Specialists (Cont.) Tools for Thwarting
Cybercrime

• ISM Standards: The ISO 27000 standards are an example of

Information Security Management Standards. The standards
provide a framework for implementing cybersecurity measures
within an organization. http://www.27000.org/

• New Laws: The ISACA group track law enacted related to cyber
security. These laws can address individual privacy to protection of
intellectual property. Examples of these laws include:
Cybersecurity Act, Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act
and the Data Accountability and Trust Act.
http://www.isaca.org/cyber/pages/cybersecuritylegislation.aspx

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1.4 Becoming a
Cybersecurity Expert

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Creating More Experts
Cybersecurity Certifications
Industry Certifications

In a world of cybersecurity threats, there is a great need for skilled and

knowledgeable information security professionals. The IT industry established
standards for cybersecurity specialists to obtain professional certifications that
provide proof of skills, and knowledge level.

 CompTIA Security+ - Security+ is a CompTIA-sponsored testing program

that certifies the competency of IT administrators in information assurance.

 EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) – CEH is an intermediate-level

certification asserts that cybersecurity specialists holding this credential
possess the skills and knowledge for various hacking practices.

 SANS GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) - The GSEC certification is a

good choice for an entry-level credential for cybersecurity specialists who
can demonstrate that they understand security terminology and concepts
and have the skills and expertise required for “hands-on” security roles. The
SANS GIAC program offers a number of additional certifications in the fields
of security administration, forensics, and auditing.

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Creating More Experts
Cybersecurity Certifications (Cont.)
 (ISC)^2 Certified Information Systems Security
Professional (CISSP) - The CISSP certification is a
vendor-neutral certification for those cybersecurity
specialists with a great deal of technical and managerial
experience. It is also formally approved by the U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) and is a globally
recognized industry certification in the security field.

 ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

– Cybersecurity specialists responsible for managing,
developing and overseeing information security systems
at the enterprise level or for those developing best
security practices can qualify for CISM.

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Creating More Experts
Cybersecurity Certifications (Cont.)
Company Sponsored Certifications - Another important
credential for cybersecurity specialists are company-
sponsored certifications. These certifications measure
knowledge and competency in installing, configuring, and
maintaining vendor products. Cisco and Microsoft are
examples of companies with certifications that test
knowledge of their products. Click here to explore the
matrix of the Cisco certifications shown in the figure.

Cisco Certified Network Associate Security (CCNA

Security) - The CCNA Security certification validates that
a cybersecurity specialist has the knowledge and skills
required to secure Cisco networks.

© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 21
Creating More Experts
Cybersecurity Certifications (Cont.)
How to Become a Cybersecurity Specialist

Cybersecurity specialists must be able to respond to threats as soon as they occur.

This means that the working hours can be somewhat unconventional. Cybersecurity
specialists also analyze policy, trends, and intelligence to understand how cyber
criminals think. Many times, this may involve a large amount of detective work. Here
is good advice for becoming a cybersecurity specialist:

 Study: Learn the basics by completing courses in IT. Be a life-long learner.

Cybersecurity is an ever-changing field, and cybersecurity specialists must keep
up.

 Pursue Certifications: Industry and company sponsored certifications from

organizations such as Microsoft and Cisco prove that one possesses the
knowledge needed to seek employment as a cybersecurity specialist.

 Pursue Internships: Seeking out a security internship as a student can lead to

opportunities down the road.

 Join Professional Organizations: Join computer security organizations, attend

meetings and conferences, and join forums and blogs to gain knowledge from the
experts.
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1.5 Cyberwarfare

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Overview of Cyberwarfare
What is Cyberwarfare
 What is Cyberwarfare?
• Conflict using cyberspace
• Stuxnet malware
• Designed to damage Iran’s
nuclear enrichment plant
• Used modular coding
• Used stolen digital certificates

Click here to view another video to learn more

about Stuxnet.

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Overview of Cyberwarfare
The Purpose of Cyberwarfare
 Use to gain advantage over adversaries, nations or
competitors
• Can sabotage the infrastructure of other nations
• Give the attackers the ability to blackmail
governmental personnel
• Citizens may lose confidence in the government’s
ability to protect them.
• Affect the citizens’ faith in their government without
ever physically invading the targeted nation.

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1.6 Chapter Summary

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Chapter Summary
Summary
 Define personal data.

 Explain the characteristics and value of personal data.

 Explain the characteristics and value of data within an organization.

 Describe the impact of security breach.

 Describe the characteristics and motives of an attacker.

 Describe the legal and ethical issues facing a cybersecurity professional.

 Understand the pathway to become a cybersecurity specialist to help defeat the cyber criminals.

 Explain the characteristics and purpose of cyberwarfare.

© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 27