Protection of Systems

Abstract

This chapter is the one that gets technical. If you want to be in information security, you have to accept that you will be dealing with technical systems, working closely with technical people and the majority of things you are protecting relates in some way or another to the protection of systems. Over the next few pages we are going to look at the various categories of malware in circulation today, including some detail of how these malicious programs are used by hackers to attack your systems. We’ll also look at ancillary attack modes used by criminals to ambush unsuspecting end users, such as the modern triad that has become the scourge of the Internet: spam, phishing, and ransomware. In the second half of this chapter, we’ll pivot to the aspect of system protection, looking at the defensive countermeasures you can use to secure your networks, protect your computers, and keep your applications and information safe.