Digital Immune System Demands Cybersecurity Vitamins

Take a glance at the most discussed cybersecurity news of the week. Get to know about the digital immune system, market demands related to cybersecurity professionals, cybersecurity issues and trends.

Human immune system is a prototype for data protection system

iHLS on April 8, 2019

When your immune system is weak, your body gives signals in the form of a runny nose, fever or cough. Frequently, the reason for illness is the infection that the body is trying to overcome. When it comes to the “digital immune system” or cybersecurity, the symptoms and recovery mechanisms are the same. Here is the evidence.

Researchers at the University of South Florida Department of Electrical Engineering invented a model of software for intrusion detection in wireless sensor networks, based on human immune system structure. Engineers break the digital immune system down into three levels: external protection, non-specific resistance, and specific resistance to pathogens. The digital immune system software has the same design.

The first level is encryption keeping unauthorized users out of networks. The second one includes the non-specific resistance that discovers any intrusion and quarantines the threat for further examination. The third level includes highly specialized cells that respond to specific pathogens. Moreover, this response also builds immunological memory, leading to an enhanced response after the initial encounter.

The key to stopping hackers is to make hacking unprofitable

BBC News on April 9, 2019

This news is about chameleons, rhino and a cybersecurity approach. While an unhackable computer has not been created yet, Israeli researchers are coming up with some curious solutions. Are you interested?

According to Check Point Security Technologies, tracking 150 hacking groups a week, the average attackers’ profit reaches $100,000. The businesses reaction is not surprising: companies are trying to surround themselves with enough armor plating to make it too time-consuming for hackers to drill through. The principal reminds the rhinoceros approach.

However, sometimes rhino approach does not work and it is necessary to look at things from a different angle. Making it difficult for hackers in that they choose easier targets may become a solution. For instance, “moving target security” strategy allows scrambling the names, locations, and references of the files in a computer memory. Therefore, the industry needs to be fewer rhinoceros and more chameleon, camouflaging itself against attack.

Big cybersecurity challenges for small business

Dark Reading on April 8, 2019

There are things and situations, common for almost every person in the world. For example, the phenomenal ability to accidently spill coffee or ignoring the alarm in the morning.

Speaking about business cybersecurity, there is also a list of facts common for every organization. Regardless of the company’s size, cyber threats are in the top of it. If it is impossible to avoid them, what steps should small and medium-sized businesses take to mitigate the risks?

• Make training a priority. Proper training can help employees to recognize an attack and notify the security team.
• Build a solid patch/update process. The problem is that many systems are never patched or updated by owners themselves, so they remain vulnerable to cyber attacks.
• Make authentication count. The small size of the organizations allows managers to make sure that everyone, logging into a system, or application, is authorized to do so.
• Mobile matters. The devices must be protected from malware, the business data on them – from unauthorized access, and the access to crucial information should be controlled.