Reference no: EM132555329
COMP1431 Audit and Security - University of Greenwich
Learning Outcomes: Analyse and assess risk exposures of particular assets to particular threatsSpecification
Read the following and then write a report for your client.
MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence agency, has repeated its warning that foreign agents are trying to persuade company insiders to reveal secrets. IT staff with sysadmin access are considered popular targets because of their privileged access rights to many corporate systems.
Security company CyberArk points out that the targets are not the people but their access: "Privileged and administrative accounts are the most powerful in any organisation. They provide absolute control over a company's infrastructure. Attackers use techniques like malware and phishing to steal these privileged and administrative credentials.From Stuxnet to Snowden, the common denominator is that the breach occurred through an exploited privileged account. Attackers understand this - it's time for businesses to understand as well and proactively address these critical security gaps."
Another company, Vormetric, adds: "This warning confirms our contention that the abuse of privileged credentials is the next frontier for cyber crime against enterprises. With organisations such as Target, Morrisons and Korea Credit Bureau falling victim in quick succession, it is clear businesses are still struggling to defend their most critical assets from those legitimately within the perimeter.Vormetric recently surveyed 500 IT decision makers and found almost half believed insider threats had become harder to detect. Just nine per cent said they felt safe from insider threats. Vormetric advises companies to adopt an inside-out security architecture based on strict need-to-know principles. "Businesses must ensure constant monitoring of their IT to detect and respond to data breaches as soon as they happen - irrespective of whether the attack was internal or external."
A furthercompany, LogRhythm, did a study that revealed almost half of UK employees admitted having accessed or taken confidential information from the workplace, while 79 per cent claimed their illegitimate actions had never been identified. "LogRhythm stated "This indicates a gross level of negligence by companies who really should know better."
Part 1: Introduction
What is this report all about, why has it been produced?
Part 2 : PAM Accounts
What exactly could be done with stolen ‘privileged and administrativeaccounts'?
Part 3 : Need-to-Know Data Access
What is meant by ‘strict need-to-know principles'? How could this be arranged?
Part 4 : Data Leakage
What measures should be put in place to protect against employees accessing or taking "confidential information from the workplace. "Give five measures.
Part 5 : Repercussions in Public Domain
How might ‘Target, Morrisons and Korea Credit Bureau' have lost out now that this knowledge of their breach of security is in the public domain?
Part 6: Insider Threats Audit
How might auditors help with keeping the ‘insider threats' under control?
Part 7 :References and Appendices
List of references used and appendices included.
Attachment:- Audit and Security.rar