GCSE Systems

OCR software and

Computer Science Security
J276 Unit 3
Preventing
vulnerabilities
2
Objectives
• Understand vulnerabilities to a system, and how they
happen.
• Explain the reason these vulnerabilities are a threat to
the system.
• Discuss ways to protect a system from threats.
 Silent Starter

How would YOU protect from these?

Malware Phishing Hacking

Anti Virus Software Deleting and ignoring suspicious emails Ensuring all software are up to date.

Don’t post any personal information

online
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Activity
Time – 30mins

Complete the worksheet in front of you, detailing

what the form of protection is, who uses it and
what its advantages and disadvantages are.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Network Forensics
Network Forensics allow special software to look at
businesses internet footprint.

Allowing them to see their transactions, to see that

they are real transactions where a fear of money
laundering is.

It allows the software to see who the user commutated

with, when, how and how often.

This is frequently used by the police in Cyber criminals

The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Penetration Testing
Penetration Testing is a form of testing to look for
security weaknesses in a system.
The role is to;
• Gather Information about the target
• Identify possible entry points
• Attempt to break in
• Report back the findings

This checks for problems that could be taken

advantage of in malicious attackers.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Network policies
A sensible Network Policy is very
important to keeping a network safe.

This includes;
• Mandatory resetting of passwords after a period of time.
• Restricting what files users are allowed to see and edit
• Restricting what folders users are allowed to see and
edit
• Restricting what websites users can access and what
they are allowed to download.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Anti-Malware Software
Malware can infect a computer from many different
ways.
Installing Anti-Malware software can stop an infection
on a computer.
This can be by scanning a USB before you are able to
access it.
Scanning downloads before they are opened,
especially .zip and .exe downloads.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Firewall
A firewall is designed to restrict what network traffic is
allowed to connect to and from your computer.

• This includes blocking known malicious connections when you try

to go to the website.
• Asking you if a program is allowed to connect to the network.
• Checking that you want to access a website, if it thinks the
website is unsafe.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Password Protection
Password protection is important when trying to keep
your online accounts safe.
This includes;
• Creating a strong password that is not easy to guess
• Changing your password after a period of time
• Not having the same password for multiple accounts

A “Strong” password, is one that contains random

numbers, letters and symbols.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

User access levels (UAC)

Restricting what a user on a computer can
stop any infection from Malware.

• Read only folders, where the user can only view the
contents, and not edit.
• Not being able to even view certain folders.
• Restriction on what programs they can run.
The CPU
Unit 1 Systems architecture, memory and storage

Encryption
Encryption is the act of changing how
data looks, to make it impossible to
be read without an Encryption key.

This is how data is protected when

being sent on a network.

The data is sent Encrypted, where

only the sending and receiving
computer is able to decrypt the
information.