Course Outline
Introduction
The landscape of cyber threats is complex and evolving, with a variety of actors targeting information systems for government and private sector entities. Understanding these threat actors and their motivations is crucial for developing effective cybersecurity strategies.
- Cybercriminals: Individuals or groups who engage in illegal activities to gain financial profit or other illicit benefits.
- Script kiddies: Amateur hackers who use pre-written code and tools to launch attacks, often without a deep understanding of the underlying technology.
- State-sponsored hackers: Actors supported by nation-states, often with advanced resources and sophisticated techniques aimed at strategic objectives for government or economic advantage.
- Hacktivists: Individuals or groups who use hacking to promote political or social causes, often targeting organizations they perceive as adversaries.
- Insiders: Employees or contractors within an organization who may intentionally or unintentionally compromise security through malicious actions or negligence.
- Researchers / White Hackers: Ethical hackers who identify and report vulnerabilities to help strengthen security measures for government and private systems.
Types of Cyber Attacks
- Ransomware: Malicious software that encrypts data and demands payment in exchange for the decryption key, often causing significant operational disruptions.
- DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service): Attacks designed to overwhelm a network or service with excessive traffic, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate users.
- APT (Advanced Persistent Threat): Coordinated attacks by sophisticated actors who maintain long-term access to networks for the purpose of exfiltrating sensitive information.
Tactics and Techniques
- Phishing, vishing, smishing: Deceptive methods used to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security.
- Malicious devices: Hardware or software designed to gain unauthorized access or disrupt operations.
- Physical security: Measures to protect physical assets and infrastructure from unauthorized access or damage.
- Brute force/password spray: Automated techniques used to guess passwords and gain unauthorized access to accounts.
- APT attacks: Advanced, targeted, and sustained cyber intrusions that often involve multiple stages of compromise and data exfiltration.
Cyber Resilience Strategy
- MITRE ATT&CK: A framework that provides a comprehensive knowledge base of adversarial tactics and techniques to enhance threat detection and response capabilities for government and private sector organizations.
- Defense-in-depth: A layered security approach that incorporates multiple protective measures to reduce the risk of successful attacks.
- Security monitoring: Continuous oversight of networks and systems to detect and respond to potential threats in a timely manner.
- Disaster recovery: Plans and procedures designed to restore critical operations and data following a cyber incident or other disruptive event.
Personal Security
- Password security and multifactor authentication: Practices that enhance the strength and protection of login credentials, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
- Darknet monitoring: Surveillance of hidden internet forums and marketplaces to identify potential threats or compromised data for government and private entities.
- Secure Internet connection: Measures to protect online activities from interception and eavesdropping, such as using encrypted connections and secure Wi-Fi networks.
- Data encryption: Techniques that convert information into a coded format to prevent unauthorized access and ensure confidentiality.
- Secure email: Methods to safeguard electronic communications, including the use of end-to-end encryption and digital signatures.
- Mobile security: Strategies to protect mobile devices and applications from vulnerabilities and threats, ensuring the integrity of data and operations.
Summary and Next Steps
Cybersecurity is a critical component of national and organizational resilience. By understanding the diverse threat landscape, implementing robust defense strategies, and promoting personal security practices, government agencies can better protect their information systems and assets. Ongoing vigilance and adaptation to emerging threats are essential for maintaining a secure and resilient cyber environment.
Requirements
Fundamentals of computer operation for government
Essentials of internet and email usage for government
Testimonials (1)
I enjoyed refreshing my knowledge on the various subjects on cyber security. I was increasingly interested around cyber attacks, how they happen and what we (as an organisation) could potentially do to try and mitigate any risks. I did raise a question around AI in cyber attacks, and the answer was very in depth and interesting with a live example given on the spot.
