Information security

Dont be the weakest link

or
But, I use a password!!
2002 TechRepublic, Inc. www.techrepublic.com. All rights reserved.

A Matter of Balance

Convenience

Security

There is an inverse
relationship between
convenience (easeof-use) and security.
As you increase
security, you lose
convenience.

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What is Security?

Websters Dictionary: Measures taken to

guard against espionage or sabotage, crime,
attack, or escape.

H. Stanley Judd: The ultimate security is

your understanding of reality.
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Threat Categories

Natural Disasters Fire, flood, tornado, etc.

Nonhuman Product failures, bugs, etc.
Human
Malicious:
Insiders Disgruntled employees
Outsiders Hackers, crackers, etc.

Nonmalicious: Untrained2002
or uninformed employees
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One of the Companys Most

Valuable Assets
The information stored in computer
files on our desktop computers and
on the local area network
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Profiles: Whos Breaking In?

Corporate spies

Financial, competitive gain

Governments

National interests

Terrorists

Religious, political ideals

Career criminals

Financial, control/power

Insiders

Financial, revenge
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What Makes Us Vulnerable?

Easily guessed passwords Too short;

too simple; common words
Not keeping secrets Writing passwords down;
sending confidential data in e-mails
Trusting things we get from others Opening
e-mail attachments that have a virus or other
malicious code
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Password

A string of characters, entered to verify that you

are authorized to access computer resources,
consisting of:
Alphabetic A to Z and a to z
Numeric 0 to 9
Special Characters ~; !: @; #; $; %; ^; &; *;
(; ); +; =; [; ]; {; }; /; ?; <; >; ,; ;; :; \; |; `; ; ; .
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Problems with Passwords

There is a direct relationship between the ease

with which a password can be remembered and
the ease with which it can be guessed.
Without a gimmick, a password that is difficult
for an unauthorized person to guess is usually
difficult for a user to remember (more about
gimmicks later).
If a password is easy to remember, it is probably
2002 TechRepublic, Inc.
easy for someone else to guess.
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Password Security

Dont tell anyone your password.

Dont write your password down anywhere.
Make sure your password cannot be easily
guessed.
If you think there is even a slight chance
someone knows your password, change it.
Dont let someone see what you are
entering as your password.2002 TechRepublic, Inc.
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Dont Choose a Weak Password:

With fewer than eight characters.

That could be found in a dictionary.
That uses public information about you or your
family or friends (Soc Sec #; birthdate; credit
card number; telephone number, etc.).
That you have used before.
That is a variation of your user ID.
2002
TechRepublic,
Inc.
That is something significant
about
you.

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Do Choose a Strong Password:

That is at least eight characters long.
That contains uppercase and lowercase letters.
That contains at least one number or special
character.
That is not a dictionary word in any language,
slang, or jargon.
That cannot be easily guessed and is easy to
remember.
2002 TechRepublic, Inc.
Remember to change your password
every 90 days.

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Weak Passwords (examples):

cat dog diego querty hart heat heart mary

1dennis2 hartelephone lintelco hartwell
eednyw ydnew kayak palindrome
september superman mickeymouse r2d2
aaaabbbccd 12345678 a1b2c3d4 zxcvbnm
bonvoyage mercibeaucoup volkswagen
mircrosoft colorprinter windows98
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nowisthetimeforallgoodmentocometotheaid
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Strong Passwords (examples):

Wwe&nadtd 2BoN2bTist?
IsfgaWDo6
3bmstfw1491
Mdi#1imh
52eobbowtffcd
tmb1W2rpw
mkrG8b$
I know what you are thinking:
Wait one minute, you geek you said it must be
easy to remember!
Let me explain mnemonics. 2002 TechRepublic, Inc.

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Mnemonics Made Easy

Take a phrase that is easy for you to remember and
convert it into characters.
It could be the first line of a poem or a song lyric.
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink
(Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner) converts to
Wwe&nadtd.
We Three Kings from Orient Are converts to
w3KfOr3691.
(3691 is the year 1963 spelled2002
backward
to extend
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beyond six characters.)
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Protect the Security of the

Companys Information As If
Your Job Depends on It, Because

IT DOES!
2002 TechRepublic, Inc. www.techrepublic.com. All rights reserved.