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Category: Defenses

Published on Leave a comment on Term of the Week: Hardening

What is it?

The act or process of making a network, data repository, sensor, computer system, software, or other equipment resistant to unauthorized access or damage.

Why is it important?

Unauthorized access is one of the primary catalysts for operational, financial, strategic, legal, and other damage to an organization. These breaches also increase the risk of harm to third parties, including customers, patients, and other stakeholders. Hardening hardware, software, and data systems is a key risk mitigation strategy.
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Published on Leave a comment on Term of the Week: Sandboxing

What is it?

The practice of isolating malware, or software that is suspected to contain malware, within a contained or quarantined environment to observe and study its communications, infection vectors, and other behavioral heuristics.

Why is it important?

Sandboxing allows security researchers to investigate malware execution, heuristics, and communications within an isolated environment and aids in the development of indicators of compromise (IOC) and anti-malware signatures.

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Published on Leave a comment on Term of the Week: Encryption

What is it?

The process of encoding a message or information in such a way that only authorized parties can read it.

Why is it important?

Encryption is important to our personal, business, community, and national security. Criminals, competitors, or hostile governments may seek to exploit weak or non-existent encryption to hack systems or steal data. Strong, well-managed encryption renders content unreadable to anyone who does not have authorized access.

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Published on Leave a comment on Term of the Week: Firewall

What is it?

A network security system built into hardware or software that monitors network traffic and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on a set of rules.

Why is it important?

Firewalls enable system administrators to monitor and control network traffic coming into and out of their systems. Firewalls provide a first line of defense against network-based cybersecurity attacks. They are also used to censor information by blocking traffic to and from certain sites.

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