Question

List and discuss categories of threats (at least 4) that information systems face.

Answer 1

Answer:--------------

1. Theft
The loss of important hardware, software or data can have significant effects on an organization’s effectiveness .Theft can be divided into three basic categories: physical theft, data theft, and identity theft.

2. Computer Viruses
Computer virus is a kind of nasty software written deliberately to enter a computer without the user’s permission or knowledge ,with an ability to duplicate itself ,thus continuing to spread .Some viruses do little but duplicate others can cause severe harm or adversely affect program and performance of the system .Virus program may still cause crashes and data loss .In many cases ,the damages caused by computer virus might be accidental ,arising merely as the result of poor programming .Type of viruses ,for example ,worms and Trojan horses .

3. Worm
A worm is a specific type of virus. Unlike a typical virus, it's goal isn't to alter system files, but to replicate so many times that it consumes hard disk space or memory. Worm victims will notice their computers running slower or crashing.

4. Vandalism
Deliberate damage cause to hardware, software and data is considered a serious threat to information system security .The threat from vandalism lies in the fact that the organization is temporarily denied access to someone of its resources .Even relatively minor damage to parts of a system can have a significant effect on the organization as a whole.

5. Spyware
Spyware usually invades computers through software downloads. Shareware and freeware downloads, in addition to peer-to-peer file sharing are typical infection points. Like Trojans, spyware can pilfer sensitive information, but are often used as advertising tools as well. The intent is to gather a user's information by monitoring Internet activity and transmitting that to an attacker.

6 Accidents
Major of damage caused to information systems or corporate data arises as a result of human error .Accidental misuse or damage will be affected over time by the attitude and disposition of the staff in addition to the environment .Human errors have a greater impact on information system security than do manmade threats caused by purposeful attacks .But most accidents that are serious threats to the security of information systems can be mitigated.

7. Unauthorized Access (Hacker and Cracker)
One of the most common security risks in relation to computerized information systems is the danger of unauthorized access to confidential data .The main concern comes from unwanted intruders, or hackers, who use the latest technology and their skills to break into supposedly secure computers or to disable them .A person who gains access to information system for malicious reason is often termed of cracker rather than a hacker.

8. Trojan
Trojan horses, commonly referred to as Trojan, are programs. They masquerade as normal, safe applications, but their mission is to allow a hacker remote access to your computer. In turn, the infected computer can be used as part of a denial of service attack and data theft can occur.
A particularly nasty Trojan is a keystroke logger than can be used to capture passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information.