A threat, for information security, is any activity that represents possible danger to user’s information. Intruders want the information stored by the users which are personal and sensitive, such as credit card numbers, PINs, passwords etc. By stealing this information the malicious intruders commonly referred to hackers may gain financially. The intruders also use the resources of the compromised systems for their own purposes and for attacking other computer systems connected to the Internet. Recent trends in computer security threats show that the attackers are compromising the home computers and installing malicious code such as Bots in these systems, which may then be used as Zombies to further launch large scale attacks on critical information systems. This type of attack is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS).
Vulnerabilities in home computer
A vulnerability is a weakness in user’s information security that could be exploited by a threat; that is a weakness in user’s system and network security, processes, and procedures.
Computer vulnerability is flaw in the computer system. Which when exploited allows intruder to compromise the system’s integrity. The common types of vulnerabilities are logical errors in operating system or applications due to poor coding techniques, allowing intruder to exploit them and giving him heightened access to the user’s computer.
Various security tools are available to secure the system like firewalls etc. These tools provide excellent security mechanism but having flaw in design that could lead to security breach. The term “security through obscurity” fits into this arena, being the system is secure because nobody can see hidden elements. All types of file encryption come under this category. By means of encrypting the data an additional layer of protection is being added to the computer system.
In case a system is compromised, the critical data is still protected by encryption. And the intruder may not be able to steal the information from the hacked system.
Vulnerabilities in home computer
A vulnerability is a weakness in user’s information security that could be exploited by a threat; that is a weakness in user’s system and network security, processes, and procedures.
Computer vulnerability is flaw in the computer system. Which when exploited allows intruder to compromise the system’s integrity. The common types of vulnerabilities are logical errors in operating system or applications due to poor coding techniques, allowing intruder to exploit them and giving him heightened access to the user’s computer.
Various security tools are available to secure the system like firewalls etc. These tools provide excellent security mechanism but having flaw in design that could lead to security breach. The term “security through obscurity” fits into this arena, being the system is secure because nobody can see hidden elements. All types of file encryption come under this category. By means of encrypting the data an additional layer of protection is being added to the computer system.
In case a system is compromised, the critical data is still protected by encryption. And the intruder may not be able to steal the information from the hacked system.
