Author: Ismael Lizárraga

Why Should We Study Computer Security.

--Originally published at IsmaLga on Informatics Security.

Circuit - Computer Chip - Cloud Security flickr photo by Blue Coat Photos shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license.

Computer security is a topic that recently has been given a lot to talk about. A lot of people usually thinks that computer security is something that should concerned only geeks or people in the technology industry but computer security is actually a matter that should be taken very seriously by everyone including corporations and the governement. 

But why should we be concerned about computer security? We should be concerned about it because of the big amount of data that is uploaded to the internet everyday. Some examples of sensitive information that we upload the internnet are our SSNs, bank accounts, telephone numbers, our location, IDs, etc. If for some reason, this information gets into the wrong hands people can use our bank accounts or use our identities and misuse it. 

PCMag defines computer security as "The protection of data, networks and computing power. The protection of data (information security) is the most important. The protection of networks is important to prevent loss of server resources as well as to protect the network from being used for illegal purposes. The protection of computing power is relevant only to expensive machines such as large supercomputers." 

The definition written above can give us a basic idea of the big effort that is put into the task of securing computer systems. Is a process that goes from protecting the data itself (with encryption for example) to protecting the data packets that flow through a network and assuring the availabity of the systems that store ifnormations. 

Sadly, hackers can exploit computer systems and get access to data they should not have to. Hackers accesing to private information and realeasing on the internet has been a common situation discussed on the news during the last few years. One example of this, Continue reading "Why Should We Study Computer Security." →

ACI: My perspective.

--Originally published at IsmaLga on Informatics Security.

During the first day of class we started discussing about availabity, confidentiality and integrity as key elements of information security. Ken told us that these were three essential concepts that are going to be heavily discussed during the whole semester.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines security as "the protection of a person, building, organization, or country agaisnt threats". Another definition by the same dictionary is "the fact that something is not likely to fail or be lost". A third definition is "the group of people responsible for protecting a building". I bring the comment of this definitions because they can make us aware of three different things: there is a need to protect against threats, you need to assure that a system won't fail and that in security and there is people making sure that everything works as it should and that no potentital threats come close to the stuff they protect.

Availibality, integrity and confidentiality clearly relate to the definitions described above.

Availability refers to the fact that systems must be up and running. This is implemented on systems by having the capacity and performance tools to protect against threats and recover information in case of failure. These requires infraestructure and technicians that are able to protect in case of threats and to offer fast response when an attack or a fail occurs. Availibality relates to the definion that says "the protection of a person, building, organization, or country agaisnt threats".

Integrity means assuring the accuracy of data, one example for integrity is that messages can't be modified without detection. For this, the systems should be protected in a way that attackers can't compromise data integrity, also, the system should be protected against user mistakes and have privileges on the access of systems. You can assure integrity with data access Continue reading "ACI: My perspective." →

System Administrator’s Code of Ethics and its Relation to our Life at School.

--Originally published at IsmaLga on Informatics Security.

The System Administrators' Code of Ethics by The Advanced Computing Systems Association to describe their commitment to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct and agree to guided by the code of ethics and encourage every System Administrator to do the same.

At class I was discussing with Sercan Asker about how we can relate the System Administrator's code of ethics to the situations that happen everyday around os on campus. 

In this post we explain how we relate every principle to the situations that happen at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Guadalajara. 

 

Professionalism

"I will maintain professional conduct in the workplace and will not allow personal feelings or beliefs to cause me to treat people unfairly or unprofessionally."

With professionalism, we thought directly to the workers at the campus. They always make ther job that they make the campus look well maintained. They always do their job well and never hinder student.

Personal Integrity

I will be honest in my professional dealings and forthcoming about my competence and the impact of my mistakes. I will seek assistance from others when required. I will avoid conflicts of interest and biases whenever possible. When my advice is sought, if I have a conflict of interest or bias, I will declare it if appropriate, and recuse myself if necessary. 

With personal integrity we thought of ordinary stops. A good student usually stops after the lecture in the library, always trying honestly to give his best. In the library the learning atmosphere is respected and if someone needs help, you always find someone who will help you.  

Privacy

I will access private information on computer systems only when it is necessary in the course of my technical duties. I will maintain and protect the confidentiality of any

Continue reading "System Administrator’s Code of Ethics and its Relation to our Life at School." →