Basic Concepts and Models of Cybersecurity

Abstract

This introductory chapter reviews the fundamental concepts of cybersecurity. It begins with common threats to information and systems to illustrate how matters of security can be addressed with methods from risk management. In the following, typical attack strategies and principles for defence are reviewed, followed by cryptographic techniques, malware and two common weaknesses in software: buffer overflows and SQL injections. Subsequently, selected topics from network security, namely reconnaissance, firewalls, Denial of Service attacks, and Network Intrusion Detection Systems, are analysed. Finally, the chapter reviews techniques for continuous testing, stressing the need for a free distribution of dual-use tools. Although introductory in nature, this chapter already addresses a number of ethical issues. For instance, well-intended security mechanisms may have undesired side effects such as leaking sensitive information to attackers. As asymmetries and externalities are at the core of many security problems, devising effective security solutions that are adopted in practice is a challenge.