Enemies at the gate: The rise of cyber-protection

History has seen its share of entities that have evolved to cope with the times. From fishes that developed legs to walk on land during prehistoric times to cavemen learning how to use fire and weapons to survive, evolution is a way to ensure things continue and improve. 

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In today’s digital age, with the World Wide Web transforming into a world of its own, it was an inevitability that cyber-protection evolved to tackle the ever-growing threat of cybercriminals and dangerous programs that serve to destroy and promote anarchy. Without cyber-protection, as the world knows it today, cyberspace would be in complete disarray and total ruin. 

It was around 30 years ago when the first computer worm hit the web and hit it hard. A number of IT experts were quickly convinced that if a single program could be enough to bring the internet to its knees, something had to be done.

However, the safety programs back in the day were still not enough, as a new strain of malware had evolved into the Melissa and ILOVEYOU programs, affecting and damaging millions of PCs globally. 

Once again, a technological evolution had to happen to keep the world safe. IT experts came up with more aggressive antivirus programs and firewalls to combat the looming threat. Programs not only defended but also quarantined harmful files, and weren’t restricted to computers. They could now be used online as well. 

Today’s antivirus and anti-malware programs are much more sophisticated than ever before, which is for the best. Who knows what troubles cybercriminals may think of next? 

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Secure Channels CEO Richard Blech is an entrepreneur, investor, and innovator. His primary business focus is on data security, technology, and strategic alliances. Visit this blog for more updates on the industry.

The malware that the FBI fears the most

While cybersecurity has evolved by leaps and bounds over the past decades, so have the methods of cybercriminals the world over. In fact, some of the dangerous programs existing in cyberspace today baffle even the best IT professionals. One such program is ransomware.

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Ransomware is a type of malware that enters computer systems through email accounts. Like most harmful programs, ransomware presents itself as a harmless program that anyone can point and click on. A single click would cost a person around $500 dollars. Why? Because a single click can lock a computer and encrypt all the important files inside. The only way to open it up again is to pay the ransom, and receive the password.

Ransomware has earned the infamous reputation of being one of the very few programs the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has given up on. During one it’s fiercest attacks, ransomware left all IT experts in shambles, including those from the FBI. In fact, the FBI simply suggest that victims of this malware should just pay the ransom.

With a computer program of this caliber on the internet, IT and cybersecurity experts caution people when opening emails. The main point being that the strategy should be prevention until someone somewhere finds a way to reverse the effects of ransomware once it’s affected a computer and its files.

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 Secure Channels CEO Richard Blech is an entrepreneur, investor, and innovator. Learn more about his industry on this page.

A brief historical note on viruses

The term “virus” in the computing world has been inaccurately applied to a number of malware programs. Even if people have equated every malicious software to a virus and have misappropriated the word in a variety of situations, it is still important to clarify and identify correct contexts where programs can be considered viruses. 

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The system attacks of a computer virus may range from funny screen messages to acquisition of sensitive information. The main characteristic of a computer virus is its ability to reproduce and modify other software without the knowledge of the user. But unlike a worm, a virus needs the activation of the program or executable file to which it is attached. 

There was already considerable academic and theoretical work on self-replicating computer programs, decades before the first viruses ravaged systems all over the world. The Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann had lectured and published works in the 1940s and 1950s on the design and processes of program multiplication. 

Similar studies were produced within the academic circles of Europe and the US. Veith Risak and Jürgen Kraus wrote their own papers on the subject. The American computer scientist Fred Cohen did some of the most extensive research on the topic, finally coining and defining the computer virus and elaborating on its inherent characteristics of infection, modification, and reproduction. 

People didn’t care much about these malicious programs in the 1980s, basically considering them largely theoretical and with little or no consequence to real world operations. The introduction of the first virus in the wild, Elk Cloner, gave a clearer picture of the capabilities of these programs. 

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Richard Blech is an entrepreneur, investor, and innovator. He is also the CEO of Secure Channels, a company conceiving solutions designed to be customizable to its clients’ environment without compromising the level of protection it provides and reducing maintenance costs. To read similar articles, visit this blog.

Essential steps toward building a sound cyberdefense strategy

Data breaches are getting more efficient, speedier, and sophisticated by the minute, and businesses cannot afford to be left behind with no cyberdefense plan in place. 

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Here are the three starting points for companies and organizations to protect themselves and build a good, comprehensive cyberdefense strategy in the face of increasing cyber attacks. 

Classifying related assets 

Businesses must scour their own backyards and build an inventory of authorized as well as unauthorized software and devices. They should classify critical assets, data, processes, and overall infrastructure, and know what to defend and how. Prioritization is the way to properly allocate budget and resources. After this step, an organization can start to effectively protect the identified assets along with the data stored on them. 

Defining the threats 

Model potential threats cover everything from system failures to internal network abuses and external attacks. Understand all areas of possible attack, what the attackers’ likely objectives are, and which assets will be affected in the aftermath. Have technical teams know more about the effects of natural disasters on data centers, what might halt business continuity from their perspective, what happens when critical devices fail, and the effects of costly IT or internal user mistakes, to name a few. 

Manage configurations 

Consider the kind of configuration management controls and systems that are in place for network devices and systems. It’s vital that a company implement secure configurations using built-in security measures, as well as regularly audit such configurations. 

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Secure Channels CEO Richard Blech is an entrepreneur, investor, and innovator focusing on data security, technology, and strategic alliances. Learn more about his industry on this page.