The internet is an integral part of modern communication. Due to its widespread nature and availability, it is the source of many security issues facing computers and information. Security issues may be raised partly due to the inherent nature of the internet or due to human fault. The following are the major internet security concerns together with their solution.
The internet serves as a ground from which many hackers launch their attacks on personal computers. To connect to the internet, a computer has to have a personal address called an IP address. Hackers are able to direct attacks to a single computer through the internet. The hackers first have to identify the IP of the target computer and then gain access through a free port on the CPU. The reasons for doing this may be to access private information such as credit card numbers for financial gains. To combat this problem users of the internet should install a firewall software on their computers. Firewalls scan each incoming packet and only allows legitimate ones to pass through to the computer. An example of a firewall is the freely available ZoneAlarm.
When e-commerce sites gather information about their clients, they store it in a server for ease of access. This information is open to unauthorized access by fraudsters especially when the firm does not have adequate security measures put in place. To prevent access of this privileged information, owners of e-commerce sites should separate the web server and the server database so that if one is compromised, the other one is still secure.
Securing the client computer and the server does not necessarily mean that the browsing session will be secure. Modern hackers have developed software that targets the data flowing from the client computer to the server and back. This data regularly contains information such as the login details of an individual or private emails. To guard against this kind of attack, information transmitted to and from the server should be encrypted with a strong signal. This would make it difficult for the intruder to retrieve the information obtained by illegal means.
Servers on the internet are regularly the target of denial of service attacks. These attacks focus a large number of requests on the server. This causes the server to overload. Therefore, it is unable to deal with legitimate requests. Such attacks result in business losses for the users of the website. These attacks are done purely out of malice or to make a political statement. The owners of websites should regularly scan the traffic to their websites and have ways of differentiating between legitimate and illegitimate information. This will ensure their clients have access to their website for 24 hour a day.
Computers installed in the internet may be infected with Trojans. Trojans are programs that disguise as legitimate programs to gain access to a user’s computer. Hackers use Trojans to scan for monitor emails, scan for instant messages or even monitor database communications. They are designed to compromise a computer without being detected by the owner. Users of the internet should install strong antiviruses in their computer to detect and quarantine items found to contain Trojans.
Users of the internet regularly go about their business in a state of anonymity. Most websites do not require for users to identify themselves. This means that there is a possibility for criminals to use the internet to facilitate their activities. One of the most common is the cyberbullying. This happens when people mistreat an individual especially in message boards or group chats. There also possibilities of pedophiles using the internet to lure their victims. To combat this security measure, designers of websites should make it compulsory for users to provide personal identifying information before being allowed to comment on their content. Parents should also utilize family safety features available on most operating systems.
Many sites require users to login before using their services. People have to create a unique password that grants them access to their personal account. Attackers sometimes target the passwords in to gain access to a user’s account. One of the methods regularly used by attackers is the brute force method. This entails running dictionary words and their combinations as the password in the hope that one of them will be the right password. This is possible in the modern internet age as there are powerful computers that can run millions of words in a short period. To protect oneself from such attacks, the user of the computer should create a powerful password containing letters, numbers, and symbols. This makes it impossible for the attackers to land on the right combination.
References
Holden, G. (2003). Internet security: in easy steps. Barnes & Noble Books.
Kelly, G. (2002, Dec). Security, privacy, and confidentiality issues on the Internet. Retrieved from Journal of Medical Internet Research: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1761937/
Speed, T., & Ellis, J. (2003). Internet Security: A Jumpstart for Systems Administrators and IT Managers. Digital Press.
