Pure Hacking Blog

Times have really changed. Remember in the late eighties and early nineties, before the home computer boom really hit, back when computers were more of a nerd’s hobby than an important part of your everyday life?

Back then, the idea of “cyber crime” was a sort of a romantic notion! Like pirates, but with computers instead of ships. “Hackers” were pure sci-fi as far as most of us were concerned, an elite group of whiz kids who zipped around town on roller blades, using floppy diskettes to crack into CIA networks and pull grand scale practical jokes on the whole of the internet. There was an allure to hackers because, well, we didn’t know what hackers really were at the time, we just thought that computers were kind of nerdy, but if you add an outlaw appeal to them, you have something really cool!

As with many futuristic flights of whimsy, the reality didn’t live up to the speculation. We all thought we’d have flying cars by now, or at the very least, personal jetpacks, but here we are driving around in our boring ol’ Toyota Camry and minivans. What’s worse, hackers aren’t a cool, rebellious youth culture like they were in the movies. They’re just a bunch of crooks trying to steal your credit card. What a gyp!

Of course, if those cyberpunk movies from the days of AOL dialup held any water, we wouldn’t have to worry about hackers at all. The hackers would be targeting “The Man”, when in reality, the hackers target normal people and businesses in an attempt to scam a few quick bucks off of hard working people.

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You many know instinctively you need a computer security expert, but understanding the exact reasons means having a true sense of the complexity found in the computer industry today. Every day new upgrades, tools and applications are introduced and they are designed to interface with existing programs in many cases. New technology introductions also mean new security risks in both the programs and where applications are interfaced.

A company that does business with e-commerce or has a networked system which provides multi-user access from both inside and outside the organisation needs to install bullet proof glass, so to speak, when it comes to the security system. Your business needs to be able to reach out into the internet world to access customers, but you don’t want any hackers being able to shoot through your window and breaking the security glass. The security system should be like a bubble that protects your company assets from theft and damage.

Big Business

Hacking has become big business. The internet has enabled hacking to go global too. The complexity of today’s networked systems and applications cannot be understated and they are constantly in a state of flux too. There is new equipment, new software programs, and new user tools introduced all the time. All of this means the computer security system’s importance is elevated each time cutting edge technology and hacker sophistication grows.

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Having someone dedicated to all computer security matters is critical and really not an option if your company is going to have assurances of security continuity. The security refers to both manual security and online security of computer networks. Most systems today represent a combination of networks, software and equipment and there are possible points of penetration at multiple points. The complexity of the systems dictates the need for someone who can oversee the entire operation from both generalised and specific perspectives.

In other words, the heterogeneous computer systems found in businesses today are extremely capable of handling the most complex operations but they also increase the possibility of giving access to hackers unless there is appropriate security. Since many system penetrations actually begin from within the organisation, it is important to have a security system which is designed to prevent breaches no matter who does the hacking.

Integrating System Security

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Hacking is one of those terms dropped in conversations to prove management is on top of the issues related to computer security. Computer security breaches are reported everyday and occur in even the most tightly controlled environments simply because people are not thoroughly trained in how to identify them or mission critical systems have points where security is missing. Operations where you would think all precautions have been taken find themselves embarrassed when someone steals important information for the purpose of committing a crime.

As recently as November 2008, it was reported a prison inmate gained access to employee online files containing personal information using a computer that was not intended to have access to the internet. The programmers thought access to the internet had been prevented. But “not intended to” doesn’t mean much when using integrated computer systems, because hackers can find ways to get around portals that are guarded. It’s like securing the front and back doors of a building while leaving the side windows unlocked.

Understanding the Problem

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