-
Meet Hollywood Rainmaker Kevin Allyn - July 17, 2019
-
From Humble Beginnings to Great Success - February 21, 2019
-
Spotlight on Tolga Katas - February 15, 2019
-
Freedom Downtime – The Story of Legendary Hacker Kevin Mitnick - August 25, 2018
-
Steve Wozniak Corrects Inaccuracies About Jobs Movie - August 25, 2014
-
Kevin Mitnick Interview on Steven Colbert - August 25, 2014
-
Legendary Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips on Why the Capacity for Boredom Is Essential for a Full Life - July 19, 2014
-
The Psychology of Your Future Self and How Your Present Illusions Hinder Your Future Happiness - July 18, 2014
-
Media Mistake: Brian Mulligan on Bath Salts – A Story Mistold - June 20, 2014
-
Anna Deavere Smith on Discipline and How We Can Learn to Stop Letting Others Define Us - June 16, 2014
Network Security – The Real Vulnerabilities
You have done, what most people think, are the major steps towards a secure network. This is partially correct. What about the other factors?
Scenario: You work in a corporate environment in which you are, at least partially, responsible for network security. You have implemented a firewall, virus and spyware protection, and your computers are all up to date with patches and security fixes. You sit there and think about the lovely job you have done to make sure that you will not be hacked.
You have done, what most people think, are the major steps towards a secure network. This is partially correct. What about the other factors?
Have you thought about a social engineering attack? What about the users who use your network on a daily basis? Are you prepared in dealing with attacks by these people?
Believe it or not, the weakest link in your security plan is the people who use your network. For the most part, users are uneducated on the procedures to identify and neutralize a social engineering attack. What’s going to stop a user from finding a CD or DVD in the lunch room and taking it to their workstation and opening the files? This disk could contain a spreadsheet or word processor document that has a malicious macro embedded in it. The next thing you know, your network is compromised.
This problem exists particularly in an environment where a help desk staff reset passwords over the phone. There is nothing to stop a person intent on breaking into your network from calling the help desk, pretending to be an employee, and asking to have a password reset. Most organizations use a system to generate usernames, so it is not very difficult to figure them out.
Your organization should have strict policies in place to verify the identity of a user before a password reset can be done. One simple thing to do is to have the user go to the help desk in person. The other method, which works well if your offices are geographically far away, is to designate one contact in the office who can phone for a password reset. This way everyone who works on the help desk can recognize the voice of this person and know that he or she is who they say they are.
Why would an attacker go to your office or make a phone call to the help desk? Simple, it is usually the path of least resistance. There is no need to spend hours trying to break into an electronic system when the physical system is easier to exploit. The next time you see someone walk through the door behind you, and do not recognize them, stop and ask who they are and what they are there for. If you do this, and it happens to be someone who is not supposed to be there, most of the time he will get out as fast as possible. If the person is supposed to be there then he will most likely be able to produce the name of the person he is there to see.
I know you are saying that I am crazy, right? Well think of Kevin Mitnick. He is one of the most decorated hackers of all time. The US government thought he could whistle tones into a telephone and launch a nuclear attack. Most of his hacking was done through social engineering. Whether he did it through physical visits to offices or by making a phone call, he accomplished some of the greatest hacks to date. If you want to know more about him Google his name or read the two books he has written.
It’s beyond me why people try and dismiss these types of attacks. I guess some network engineers are just too proud of their network to admit that they could be breached so easily. Or is it the fact that people don’t feel they should be responsible for educating their employees? Most organizations don’t give their IT departments the jurisdiction to promote physical security. This is usually a problem for the building manager or facilities management. None the less, if you can educate your employees the slightest bit; you may be able to prevent a network breach from a physical or social engineering attack.
Dennis d’Entremont is the operator of SaveLoad Video Game Directory and Computers-Made-Easy.com
Author: Dennis DEntremont
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing
6,668 Comments on this Post
hacklink panel
Great post thank you. Hello Administ .
Sites
I discovered something I didn’t know before
Cami Halısı
Good info. Lucky me I reach on your website by accident, I bookmarked it.
santraliptv
sercan dusler kalitesi
beylikdüzü escort
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It?s the old what goes around comes around routine. Did you acquired lots of links and I see lots of trackbacks??
Güneşli Escort
Güneşli Escort Bayan İlanlarının tanıtım web sitesi
beylikdüzü escort
We all require far more such website owners like you on the net and much fewer spammers. Fantastic mate!
Yenibosna Escort
Yenibosna Escort Bayan İlanlarının tanıtım web sitesi
Cami Halısı Fiyatlari
Great post thank you. Hello Administ .
Hacklink
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
Cami Halısı
Great post thank you. Hello Administ .
hacklink panel
I really love to read such an excellent article. Helpful article. Hello Administ .
Hacklink
I really love to read such an excellent article. Helpful article. Hello Administ .
hacklink panel
Thank you great posting about essential oil. Hello Administ .
Article
Thankss very nice post
Yün cami halısı
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
spotify pr
spotify pr hizmeti sayesinde yükselişe geçin
kaliteli iptv
sercan dusler kalitesi
müzik pr
şarkı tanıtımı ile dinlenmelerinizi yükseltin
hacklink panel
Thank you great post. Hello Administ .
web design company
I’m researching website design companies in London, and your web design agency’s work speaks for itself. Great design portfolio!
website design company
I’m researching website design companies in London, and your web design agency’s work speaks for itself. Great design portfolio!
sollet
Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. hacklink sollet
Sanal Sunucu Kirala
En iyi vds kirala
instagramdan para kazanma
sosyal medya ipuçları ile daha hızlı yükselin
erhan çepni kimdir
erhan çepni
creative agencies london
Visura’s web design expertise is truly remarkable. They’ve helped countless businesses enhance their online presence, and I highly recommend their services.
xxx pornos
Good info. Lucky me I reach on your website by accident, I bookmarked it. pornhub xxx pornos
xxx videos
Thank you for great article. Hello Administ . xxx videos xxx videos
pornhub
Thank you great post. Hello Administ . pornhub
Nose Aesthetics
Sir your blog looking so nice. Thanks for sharing. i like to read you blog
Akrilik Cami Halısı
Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information.
Cami Halısı Fiyatlari
Thank you great posting about essential oil. Hello Administ .
Akrilik Cami Halısı
Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information.
türkçe altyazılı porno
Thank you for great article. Hello Administ . hdxvipizle
web agency
I was searching for creative agencies in London, and I’m glad I found your website. Your digital marketing expertise is impressive!
Cami Halısı Fiyatlari
Thank you great posting about essential oil. Hello Administ .
london web design agency
As a web designer in the UK, I appreciate the insights shared by your web design agency. It’s inspiring!
web designers uk
Website design in London is competitive, but your web design agency stands out. Impressive portfolio!
Cami Halısı
Great post thank you. Hello Administ .
Cami Halı Fiyatlari
Nice article inspiring thanks. Hello Administ .
bodrum korsan taksi
bodrumda 20 yıllık tecrubemizle sizlere layık olmaya çalışan tek güvenilir firmadır
insanlopedi
tarihi ve gezi amaçlı bir çok bilgi
İcerik
very nice post article
yalıkavak korsan taksi
bodrumda en güvenilir firma olarak sizlere 7-24 hizmet vermeye devam ediyoruz
webseo
very nice post article
gümbet korsan taksi
tecrubeli ekip güven sağlayan elemanlar
betnano
betnano
Göbekli Cami Halısı
Thank you for great content. Hello Administ.
hacklink satın al
Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. hacklink panel