Discussion:
I’m taking this course to develop a solid foundational understanding of cyber security
principles, threats, and protection strategies. In today’s world, almost every aspect of
life and work is connected to the digital space, so I believe it’s essential to understand
how to protect personal data, systems, and networks from potential cyber attacks.
From this course, I hope to gain practical knowledge about common cyber threats,
how to recognize and prevent them, and how to apply safe practices both personally
and professionally. I’m also interested in learning about how organizations manage
cyber risks, as this knowledge could be valuable for my career development,
especially in the IT and AI/ML fields, where data protection and system security are
critical.
In the future, I’d like to explore advanced cybersecurity topics, perhaps through more
specialized online courses or certifications. I’m looking forward to learning from others
in this forum and sharing experiences on how cyber security affects different areas of
work and life.
Consider a major online retailer. Which types of malicious external party represent
the greatest threat to such an organisation?
Think about your answer and write a couple of sentences.
For a major online retailer, the greatest threats often come from cybercriminals and
hacking groups seeking financial gain through data breaches, ransomware, or credit
card theft. Additionally, phishing attackers and fraudsters pose significant risks by
targeting customers and employees to steal login credentials or payment information,
potentially damaging the company’s reputation and customer trust.
Now consider a government department with a major online presence, but which is
not engaging in any kinds of financial transactions. Which types of malicious
external party represent the greatest threat to such an organisation?
Think about your answer and write a couple of sentences.
For a government department with a major online presence, the greatest threats
typically come from hacktivists and state-sponsored attackers. These groups may aim
to disrupt services, steal sensitive data, or damage public trust for political, ideological,
or strategic reasons rather than for financial gain.
In recent years we have seen many examples of distributed denial of service
(DDoS) attacks, where servers are targeted by being sent large number of requests
from a number of devices. This is clearly a major threat to the availability of
targeted servers, both in terms of services that they provide and the data they may
have stored on them. What sorts of security controls can be used to reduce the
impact of such attacks?
Write down your thoughts on this question.
1. Network-based Controls
• Firewalls and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS):
Can be configured to detect and block abnormal traffic patterns that resemble
DDoS attacks.
• Rate Limiting / Traffic Shaping:
Limits the number of requests a client or IP can make over a period of time,
preventing overload.
• Anycast Routing / Load Balancing:
Distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers or data centers, so no single
server becomes overwhelmed.
2. Cloud and Third-party DDoS Mitigation Services
• Services like Cloudflare, AWS Shield, or Akamai provide DDoS protection by
absorbing or filtering malicious traffic before it reaches your servers.
• They often use scrubbing centers that differentiate between legitimate and
malicious traffic.
3. Application-level Controls
• CAPTCHAs or authentication challenges on critical services to distinguish
human users from bots.
• Timeout and connection limits in web servers to prevent a single client from
consuming too many resources.
4. Redundancy and Resilience
• Deploy multiple servers across regions (geographical redundancy).
• Regular backups ensure data availability even if a server is temporarily
inaccessible.
• Failover mechanisms switch to backup systems automatically when the
primary server is overloaded.
5. Monitoring and Incident Response
• Real-time traffic monitoring to detect spikes early.
• Predefined DDoS response plan ensures rapid mitigation and minimal service
disruption.
• Alerts and automated mitigation allow quick action before service outages
occur.
Dividing it up (Discussion)
As individuals, cyber security is just as important as it is for organisations, because
we all rely heavily on digital devices, online services, and cloud storage. Some of the
major issues we face include:
1. Identity Theft and Financial Fraud:
Cybercriminals can steal personal information such as passwords, banking
details, or social security numbers to commit fraud.
2. Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks:
Attackers often trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or
downloading malware through emails, messages, or fake websites.
3. Malware and Ransomware:
Devices can be infected by malicious software that steals data, locks files, or
monitors our activities.
4. Privacy Concerns:
Our personal data is constantly collected online, and careless sharing can lead
to misuse of information, reputation damage, or targeted attacks.
5. Weak Passwords and Credential Reuse:
Many people use the same or weak passwords across multiple accounts,
making it easier for attackers to compromise several services at once.
Key priorities for improving individual cyber security include:
• Strong, Unique Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Protects
accounts even if passwords are leaked.
• Regular Software Updates: Keeps operating systems, apps, and antivirus
programs protected against known vulnerabilities.
• Awareness and Vigilance: Being cautious with emails, links, and downloads to
avoid phishing and malware.
• Secure Backup Practices: Regularly backing up important data to mitigate the
impact of ransomware or accidental loss.
• Privacy Management: Limiting personal information shared online and reviewing
privacy settings on apps and social media.
In short, individuals need to be proactive about cyber security, combining good
habits, updated technology, and awareness to reduce risks to their digital lives.