Information Security

Front 1

What are the three key principles of Information Security?

Back 1

i. Confidentiality

ii. Integrity

iii. Availability

Front 2

What are the five building blocks of Information Security?

Back 2

i. Confidentiality

ii. Integrity

iii. Availability

iv. Authentication

v. Non-repudiation

Front 3

Describe the following key objective:

Confidentiality

Back 3

Is the protection of communications or stored data against interception and reading by unauthorised persons.

Front 4

Describe the following key objective:

Integrity

Back 4

Enusuring that information should only be able to be modified by those who are authorised to do so.

Relies on hash algorithms which convert a block of data into a much smaller piece of data as output (a digest or "hash"). If the original data changes, the hash would be different.

Front 5

Describe the following key objective:

Availability

Back 5

Means that data is accessible and services are operational despite possible disruptive events such as power supply cuts, natural disasters, accidents or attack.

Front 6

Describe the following Information Security building block:

Authentication

Back 6

Is the confirmation of the asserted identity of entities or users.

Front 7

Describe the following Information Security building block:

Non-repudiation

Back 7

The concept of ensuring that no party involved in a communication can deny its participation.

Front 8

What is a PKI and how is it useful?

Back 8

PKI; Public Key Infrastructure

Binds public keys with user identities using a digital certificate issued by a certification authority (CA).

Allows secure communications on an insecure public network.

Front 9

Describe six steps that would be carried out when establishing an information security management system (ISMS) for an organisation.

Back 9

i. Identify information assets, their security requirements and value.

ii. Identify, assess and treat information security risks.

v. Select/implement relevant controls to manage unacceptable risks.

vi. Monitor/maintain/improve effectiveness of controls.

Front 10

Why does an organization need Information Security Management (ISM)?

Back 10

To protect their assets, whether these be information, systems, networks or people.

These are valuable assets and therefore it is important to address their perceived risk exposure.

Front 11

What is an ISMS and why do companies need them?

Back 11

ISMS; Information Security Management System

i. To achieve greater assurance that its information assets are adequately protected against threats on a continual basis.

ii. To maintain a structured/comprehensive framework for identifying/assessing risks, applying controls, etc.

iii. To continually improve its control environment.

iv. To effectively achieve legal/regulatory compliance.

Front 12

What is a digital certificate?

Back 12

A digital certificate is a signed message vouching that a particular name is associated with a public key.

Front 13

What is an IDS and how is it useful?

Back 13

IDS; Intrusion Detection System

A device or software application that monitors network or system activities for malicious activities or policy violations and produces reports to a management station.

Front 14

What are the five types of Intrusion Detection Systems? Briefly describe each.

Back 14

i. Network based IDS; sensors located at choke points often in the DMZ or network borders.

ii. Protocol based IDS; sensors located at front end of a server, monitoring packets between server/client.

iii. Application based IDS; sensors sit within group of servers (e.g. web server -> database), analysing application specific protocols (e.g. SQL queries).

iv. Host based IDS; sensor is a software element monitoring all activity on 'host' machine.

v. Hybrid IDS; combines the above approaches.

Front 15

What is the difference between passive and reactive IDS?

Back 15

Passive: IDS sensor detects/ logs potential security breaches & sends alert to the console.

Reactive: Also known as Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), responds to suspicious activity by resetting the connection/reprogramming firewall to block network traffic from offending source.

Front 16

Describe the differences between symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

Back 16

Symmetric Encryption: The decryption key is the same as the encryption key.

Asymmetric Encryption: The keys are different. There is a public and private key, the former of which is openly shared with everyone.

Front 17

What is a digital signature?

Back 17

A digital code (generated and authenticated by public key encryption) which is attached to an electronically transmitted document to verify its contents and the sender's identity.