Computer and Information Security

Protecting yourself and your clients in the wild and wooly online world

To protect your computer and information assets…

…buy a Mac!

The End

Mac Hacked Via Safari Browser in Pwn-2-Own Contest A zero-day vulnerability … Macaulay

pwned the Mac by sending it an e-mail that directed a user to a malicious site. Upon visiting the site, the user … was infected with malware, without clicking on anything within the site.

-- eWeek Security Watch

Vectors for getting “pwned”

Physical access Theft Seizure Attack of opportunity

Network access Browsing the Web Using email Using a wireless connection …

Physical protection

Leave sensitive information at home Separate data from hardware Use encryption Use strong passwords Eliminate sensitive information Log out when not using

Cracking passwords

Single word found in dictionary: ~ 1 s Example: “translator”

7 random lowercase letters: ~ 45 m Example: “uklahva”

10 random characters: ~ 632,860 years! Example: “4pRte!ai@3” (With Moore’s Law: 30 years)

Source: Wikipedia (Password strength)

Network vulnerabilities

Internet & email

Cross-site scripting (XSS) Phishing (social engineering) Viruses …

On a network: batten the hatches

Filter Block Ignore

Internet

Firefox

Safer Cross-platform Free/Libre Add-ins All the cool kids are using it!

Vital Firefox Add-ins

Web of Trust NoScript

Web of Trust

Warns users about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware, or send spam.

ginstrom…

warez…

NoScript

Allows JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice.

Scripts from 15 sites!

Safer Email

View email as plain text Beware of phishing Spam filtering

Example: MS Outlook

SpamBayes

http://spamassassin.apache.org/

SpamAssassin

http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Stay Safe!

http://ginstrom.com/ijet-19/