CertiGuide to Security+  9  Chapter 0:  Read.Me

Chapter 0:  Read.Me 1 2 3 4 5 0.1  You’re saved….If

This brief chapter is for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a manager, a technical guru or a marketing specialist. While the body of this work examines security issues in depth, here you will discover the overview of security. In July 2002, Bill Gates gave an update on Microsoft’s Security Initiative. In short, it took the company two months, not one to begin to clean up the software holes, at a cost of 100 million bucks. (And that’s just the beginning!) More importantly, his memo called upon users doing their part.

Giving this work a quick glance could leave the reader with a thought similar to, “we’re doomed.” This certainly does not have to be the case. Security is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It involves analyzing the various risks faced by the organization, and taking the appropriate steps to bring the risk down to a level acceptable to the organization.

In this title you will discover that:

• Security is an ongoing challenge, not a one-time fix. Consider it job security.
  
  
• Security costs can be quantified and given a positive Return On Investment (ROI).
  
  
• Security approaches must be balanced between physical security, technical security and people.
  
  
• The biggest challenge in security is people.
  
  
• While there are no absolutes, many attacks are easily stopped.

We begin your overview by examining the above listed points.

As the chief security officer of GM stated, security is a process. Forget for the moment that new holes are found in systems that have existed for years (such as the veritable Apache web server), and, remember that new technologies give rise to new issues. Because security is not a pleasant thought for most of us, there is a human tendency to just pretend it doesn’t exist or at best, demand a “fixit!” so it doesn’t have to be thought about again. Sorry! That isn’t how the world works. Any psychology student can tell you that the fear of the unknown is a very powerful emotion. This in fact is what drives the irrational need to either ignore security issues or demand a one-time permanent solution.

There is an old saying “knowledge is power”. That truism builds on the behavior of human fears of the unknown. This leads to the next point.

Chapter 0:  Read.Me 1 2 3 4 5 0.1  You’re saved….If