Internet Security ABC - Top Five Vulnerable Areas in Internet Security

Top Five Vulnerable Areas in Internet Security

The internet connects millions of computers. With it, you have access to a vast warehouse of knowledge. All you need to get to that knowledge is a humble home computer and a phone line or cable. However, that kind of access also opens new security risk doors. Important information can be taken, changed, or used for the wrong purpose with these security risks. These security risks can even damage the computer systems involved. An intruder does not have to break into your home, someone's office, or anyone's safe to damage the information or the systems involved with the internet. They can do it from the convenience of their own computer. There are five major risks on the internet.

The first risk is called an account compromise. This means someone else uses your computer account besides you. This is not the same thing as the account manager using your account. This is the

unauthorized access of your account. This can be done for a number of reasons. The first reason someone might use your account without your permission is to gain access to your data. They could steal something as small as your contact information or something as important as your credit card or bank account information. Another reason someone might use your account is to cause havoc in the information stored in your account. This is basically malicious mischief, computer style. It's like kids spray-painting graffiti, only in an electronic form.

Another risk is from probing. A probe is the attempt to get into a system or an account. In most cases, the perpetrator is looking for something he can steal or cause harm to. For example, a probe may try to get into your site files to look at your customer's names and addresses. In some other cases, probes have tried to get into sites to corrupt the data. Probes, themselves, though, don't cause the harm. They may cause some confusion, but once the probe discovers a way in, the perpetrator is not far behind.

An additional risk to internet security comes from a denial of service attack. The point of these is to stop users who should be in the system from using it appropriately. This can not only damage the equipment involved, it can cause panic and confusion. If large enough networks are hit, say major businesses like telecommunications companies, business can come to a standstill, causing major profit loss.

A fourth major risk to internet security is a malicious code attack. These kinds of attacks damage systems permanently. You may have heard about some of these. They can include Trojan horses, viruses, and worms. With a Trojan horse, the program is hidden in something legitimate. Once opened or altered, the Trojan horse begins its quiet damage. A worm makes thousands of copies of itself once it has started. A virus can do the same thing, but it usually requires a little help from a user. Any of these kinds of malicious codes can cause system damage and denial of service.

The final major risk to internet security is an internet infrastructure attack. While these other risks represent serious problems, an attack on the internet infrastructure could cause far more damage than any one of these smaller attacks. These are very serious security attacks that can compromise lots of users at any one given time.

The people who cause these problems can be curious kids, college students testing out new programs and software tools, people seeking fame, or paid individuals working for companies with malicious intents. They could even be former employees of a corporation who wish to do serious damage to the company because of problems they experienced during their tenure there. Intruders may want any number of things including laughs, a problem to solve, power, attention, or money. Most are connected with other intruders through bulletin boards and conferences. They share knowledge, software, and programs.

Security risks and incidents have risen dramatically as more and more users have internet access. It is important that you remember every part of the internet is vulnerable, whether you realize it or not. Giving your contact information, account information, or financial information to any company that does business with the web, is a risk. Putting your company on the web is a risk. Usually, these kinds of risks are well worth it. They make you a part of the ever growing, ever changing internet. However, sometimes they cause serious personal loss.

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