Chapter 17
Planning Security Strategies
In This Chapter
Recognizing potential threats
Preparing countermeasures
The always-on, network-connected enterprise provides a ready target for attack. The concept of security through obscurity is worthless in an age of automated tools capable of profiling public-facing networks and attacking any identified vulnerabilities. This chapter examines some of the most commonly encountered network threats — malware, application vulnerabilities, and directed network attacks — and identifies strategies useful in defending against them.
Throughout this chapter, attackers are people, groups, or other entities that attempt to circumvent security controls. Although an attacker is typically a malicious outside person, such as an industrial spy, it can also be an internal individual, such as an employee trying to bypass security to make his job easier.
Identifying Threats to the Enterprise
Threats to the enterprise can come from internal or external sources and can target particular operating systems, applications, organizations, or even users. The following sections look at common enterprise threats.
Malware
Malware is malicious or unwanted software that is placed on computers without the owner’s informed consent. A computer with malware installed on it is said to be infected. Malware infections can result in destruction or alteration of data, confidential ...
