Windows Hardening Defense Essay Example for Free

Windows Hardening Defense Essay Windows Hardening Defense, starts with the basics, Log in with least amount of privileges. Always use Firewall and AV. Monitor channels for security advisories and alerts. Know your system(s). Patch early and patch often, Unpatched Systems are the lowest of low hanging fruit. Have a patch policy documented and stick with it. Review patches as they are released and determine criticality based on the exploit, threat footprint for your system(s), and whether or not there is a POC or fully weapon exploit in the wild. When possible, test patches before rolling out in production on servers. Most clients should have automatic updates enabled for the OS and any application listening on a socket or used with untrusted data (java, adobe, browsers, etc) Servers should be updated during maintenance windows if possible and depending on criticality (of threat and server). Security Technical Implementation Guide is a Compendium of DOD Policies, Security Regulations and Best Practices for Securing an IA or IA-Enabled Device (Operating System, Network, Application Software, etc.) A Guide for Information Security. Mandated in DODD 8500.1, DODI 8500.2 and endorsed by CJCSI 6510.01, AR 25-2, and AFI 33-202. The goals of STIG are to provide Intrusion Avoidance, Intrusion Detection, Security Implementation Guidance, Response and Recovery. DISA STIGs offers configuration guides and checklists for: Databases, Operating Systems, Web Servers, Etc Also provides standard â€Å"findings† and impact ratings CAT I, CAT II, CAT III. First draft November 2006; first release July 2008. 129 requirements covering: Program Management, Design Development, Software Configuration Management, Testing and Deployment. ASD STIG applies to â€Å"all DoD developed, architected, and administered applications and systems connected to DoD networks†. Essentially anything plugged into DoD. Requirements can be extremely broad: APP3510: The Designer will ensure the application validates all user input. APP3540: The Designer will ensure the application is not vulnerable to SQL Injection. Requirements can be extremely specific: APP3390: The Designer will ensure users accounts are locked after three consecutive unsuccessful logon attempts within one hour. Requirements can be esoteric: APP3150: The Designer will ensure the application uses FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic modules to implement encryption, key exchange,  digital signature, and hash functionality. Requirements can be expensive: APP2120: The Program Manager will ensure developers are provided with training on secure design and coding practices on at least an annual basis. Exploiting known vulnerabilities with PenTest apps it is very easy to discover if a server is vulnerable (Nessus, metasploit, etc.) SNMP hacking to reveal server uptime (for Windows it is OID 1.3.6.1.2 .1.1.3.0) for critical always-on systems they may not have been rebooted for months/years. Easy to back-date in a vulnerability database and see which patches require a reboot and know for certain they aren’t properly applied. If you have an account on the server you can use â€Å"net statistics server† or â€Å"net statistics workstation† to determine uptime. Security compliance manager is the framework used for Stripping, Hardening, and Compliance purposes. Use this to make a Gold/Master image for mass distribution or for individual stand-alone machines. Explicit guides are defined for hardening the registry and other file system settings. Templates for OS, Roles, Features, and Applications. With System Center 2012 you can apply industry standard compliance templates for PCI, FISMA, ISO, HIPAA, etc. The STIGs and NSA Guides are the configuration standards for DOD IA and IA-enabled devices/systems. STIGs are lists of all controls and what their values must be in order to be compliant. In process of migrating to using NIST’s SCAP (Security Content Automation Protocol) to automate compliance monitoring. Newer auditing tools have SCAP integration already in place. DISA FSO Gold Disk was used for older systems (W2k8R1 and Vista are last supported) for automated auditing. Citations: http://www.disa.mil/ and http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/index.html#

Mental Health Community in the 19th Century Essay -- Exploratory Essay

Mental Health Community in the 19th Century Mental health is a relevant issue in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Not only is Kurtz’ mental health questionable throughout the novel, but Marlow also has to be examined by a physician, to check both his physical and mental status, before he starts on the journey to Africa. The mental health community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was not nearly as developed as it is today, but many developments during this time period had a profound impact on the way we analyze the human psyche and mental health today. Mental health patients were considered innately inferior and treated as the weaker portion of the human race due to the prevailing dominant theory of Social Darwinism in the 1800s. They were put in mental asylums, where conditions had deteriorated substantially from earlier in the century. (Floyd) The public’s interest about the unsatisfactory care of the mentally ill, championed by Dorothea Dix, led to some reforms, such as higher medical standards, more oversight into asylum practices, and more research into mental health. (Floyd) Nevertheless, the status of the mentally ill did not elevate much higher, and by the 1890s the repeated failure of asylum therapy convinced most that insanity and mental illness was incorrigible. Finding no alternatives, however, patients continued to be sent to asylums to attempt to cure them as much as to isolate them from the rest of society. (Roberts) Unfortunately, people also began to fear the proliferation of the mentally ill. When ste rilization became considered, unrealistic, more, cheaper asylums were built as a means of segregated them and preventing an increase in their numbers. (Roberts) ... ...h Care. 6 Oct. 2002 http://www.mind.org.uk/information/factsheets/N/notes/notes_on_the_history_of_menta l_health_care.asp> Floyd, Barbara. From Quackery to Bacteriology. University of Toledo. 6 Oct. 2002 Mills, Val. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 6 Oct. 2002 Mustard, Ronnie. Listings: the history of mental health. 6 Oct. 2002 . Roberts, Andrew. Mental Health History Timeline. 6 Oct. 2000 . Sabbatini, Renato M.E. â€Å"The History of Psychosurgery† June/August 1997. Brain & Mind Magazine. 14 Jun.1997. State University of Campinus, Brazil. 6 Oct. 2002 http://www.epub.org.br/cm/n02/historia/psicocirg_i.htm>

Security Risk Management

Abstract In this paper, it’s have stress on importance of user in participate on information security risk management and its influence in the context of regulatory compliances via a multi-method study at the organizational level. Along with associated outcomes, the types of activities and security controls in which user’s participation as part of Sarbanes – Oxley compliance also understand here. Besides that, research model also been develop in this paper on the finding of the quantitative study and extant user participation theories in the system development literature.While the IS security literature often portrays users as the weak link in security, the current study suggests that users may be an important resource to IS security by providing needed business knowledge that contributes to more effective security measures. User participation is also a means to engage users in protecting sensitive information in their business processes. 1. 1 Introduction This a rticle is briefing about the problems that involved with information security example external threats likes hackers, viruses and people.There have two reason why user participate in IS security risk management very valuable. Firstly, user awareness of the risks to IS security is widely believed to be fundamental effective IS security (Aytes and Connolly 2004; Furnell 2008; Goodhue and Straub 1991; Hu et al 2006; Siponen 2000a,2000b; Straub and Welke 1998; Whitman 2004) and second is security control need to be aligned with business objectives to be effective (Alberts and Dorofee 2003; Halliday et al 1996; ITGI 2005; McAdams 2004; Suh and Han 2003).In this article concept of user participation have been characterized by extant theories and conceptualization in IS security contexts. The study’s multi – method research design is outlined and followed by a qualitative exploratory study that examined user participation in IS security risk management for regulatory complian ce. A theoretical model be informed by extant user participation theories and the qualitative study is then tested in a confirmatory quantitative study. 1. 2 Content In this article, security risk management was discussing with the user participation with it.Security risk management is a continuous process of identifying and prioritizing IS security risk and implementing and monitoring controls. User participation is expected to add value to SRM, which in turn contributes to effective controls that ultimately improve security. SRM have a combination with data that have been collected and analysis method that used on separate samples to examine user participation. There has two method in examines user participation such as qualitative methods and quantitative methods.Qualitative methods provides a rich understanding of the activities, behaviours and assignments that define user participation in the context of SRM for regulatory and allowed a process model to be constructed by applyin g the three user participation. Quantitative methods test the theoretical model derived from the qualitative study and based on the researchers understanding (Lee 1991). Combining this two methods provides a rich context and testability to the study (Tsohou et al. 2008).In this paper, Sarbanas – Oxley Act has be chosen for the study context as to mean locate an adequate sized sample of companies employing user participation in SRM. Sox has two reason why them encourages business participation in SRM. First, ICOFR focuses on business process that impact financial information on publicly reported statements and second technical controls geared toward protecting the network perimeter from external threats are insufficient to manage internal threats and vulnerabilities embedded within business processes.An exploratory study was conducted to better understand the specific activities, behaviours and assignments that constitute user participation in SRM and to investigate their outc omes. To conduct the exploratory study, informants with SOX experience were first identified and selected. Nine semi-structured interview were conducted with eleven informants from five companies in three countries, two interviews included two informants. A contextual narrative of user participation lays a foundation for a subsequent examination of the effects of participation studied through the lens of three extant user participation theories.This three theories are The Buy-In Theory, The System Quality Theory and The Emergent Interaction Theory. User participation in SRM was found to raise organizational awareness of security risks and controls within targeted business processes, and facilitated greater alignment of SRM with business objectives, values, and needs. As a result, development and performance of security controls improved. Thus, user participation was found to add value to an organization’s SRM. User participation’s effect was strongest in aligning SRM w ith the business context.In turn, users became more attentive as business-alignment increased. This finding suggests that users are likely to be more attentive when IS security is something to which they can relate. That is, when SRM becomes part of business processes, and users are assigned hands-on SRM tasks, security becomes more visible and relevant to users. Consequently, user participation may be a mechanism for managing user perceptions on the importance of security. Accountability was found to contribute most to user participation in SRM.One explanation for this finding is that the study context was regulatory compliance for a law that required annual external audits. This finding suggests that regulation may provide an opportunity for security managers to engage business users in security risks and controls when regulatory compliance has a business process orientation. Secondly, regardless of regulation, study findings suggest that efforts at accountability for SRM may be m ore effective if there are routine audits with documented results and follow-up for control deficiencies. 1. 3 ConclusionAlthough the IS security literature has often cited users as the weak link in IS security due to user errors and negligence, the present study provides evidence that supports an opposing view. User participation raises organizational awareness of security risks and controls within business processes, which in turn contributes to more effective security control development and performance. Security managers can harness regulatory compliance as an opportunity to engage users, raise organizational awareness of security, and better align security measures with business objectives. . 4 References Alberts, C. , and Dorofee, A. 2003. Managing Information Security Risks: The Octave Approach, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison- Wesley. Aytes, K. , and Connolly, T. 2004. â€Å"Computer Security and Risky Computing Practices: A Rational Choice Perspective,† Journal of Or ganizational and End User Computing (16:3), pp. 22-40. Lee, A. S. 1991. â€Å"Integrating Positivist and Interpretive Approaches to Organizational Research,† Organization Science (2:4), pp. 342-365. Hu, Q. Hart, P. , and Cooke, D. 2006. â€Å"The Role of External Influences on Organizational Information Security Practices: An Institutional Perspective,† in Proceedings of the 39th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Tsohou, A. , Kokolakis, S. , Karyda, M. , and Kiountouzis, E. 2008. â€Å"Process-Variance Models in Information Security Awareness Research,† Information Management & Computer Security (16:3), pp. 271-287.

AP Scores Whats a Good Advanced Placement Test Score

Advanced Placement exams are graded on a relatively simple 5-point scale. The top score is a 5, and the lowest score is a 1. The average score will vary for different subject areas, but for selective colleges, a score of 4 or 5 will often be needed to impress the admissions folks and earn college credit. What Do AP Scores Mean? AP scores are much more straight-forward than SAT scores or ACT scores since AP exams are graded on a 5-point scale. However, not every college treats AP scores the same way. Students who take the AP exam will get a score ranging from 1 to 5. The College Board defines the numbers as follows: 5 - Extremely well qualified to receive college credit4 - Well qualified to receive college credit3 - Qualified to receive college credit2 - Possibly qualified to receive college credit1 - No recommendation to receive college credit The five-point scale, probably not coincidentally, can also be thought of in terms of letter grades: 5 - A4 - B3 - C2 - D1 - F Whats an Average AP Score? The average score on all Advanced Placement exams is slightly below a 3 (a 2.89 in 2018). In 2018, of the more than 5 million AP exams administered, the grades broke down as follows: AP Score Percentiles for All Exams (2018 Data) Score Number of Students Percentage of Students 5 721,962 14.2 4 1,014,499 19.9 3 1,266,167 24.9 2 1,177,295 23.1 1 910,401 17.9 Note that these numbers are the averages for ALL exam subjects, and that average scores for individual subjects can vary significantly from these averages. For example, the mean score for the Calculus BC exam was 3.74 in 2018 while the mean score for Physics 1 was a 2.36. Do AP Exams Help with College Admissions? Absolutely. With the exception of a few specialized schools and programs that rely largely on auditions or portfolios, nearly all colleges rank success in challenging college-preparatory courses as the most important part of a college application. Sure, extracurricular activities, interviews, and essays can play a meaningful role in the admissions process at selective schools with holistic admissions, but none of those qualitative measures can overcome a weak academic record. Success in AP courses shows colleges that you are prepared to tackle college-level work. Your grade in the course matters, of course, but it is the exam that allows colleges to see how you compare to students from other high schools. If you get 4s and 5s on your AP exams, colleges have a good sense that they are admitting a student who has the skills to succeed in college. On the flip side, 1s and 2s on the exam can show that you didnt master the subject matter at a college level. So while success on AP exams certainly improves your chances of getting into college, low scores can hurt you. Luckily, the reporting of AP exam scores is typically optional on college applications, so you may not need to share a low score with the admissions folks. AP courses you take senior year represent another issue. Colleges will be pleased to see that you are taking challenging courses, but you wont have your AP exam grades from senior year until long after college applications are due. Still, take those senior year exams seriously—they can still have a lot of benefit with course placement. What AP Score Do You Need for College Credit? Now for the bad news: Although the College Board defines a 2 as possibly qualified to receive college credit, almost no college will accept a score of 2. In fact, most selective colleges will not accept a 3 for college credit. In the majority of cases, a student who scores a 4 or 5 will receive college credit. In rare cases, a school may require a 5. This is particularly true at schools that demand true proficiency in a subject, such as calculus in a strong engineering program. The exact guidelines vary from college to college, and they often vary from department to department within a college. At Hamilton College, for example, a student can receive credit for a 3 in Latin, but a 5 is required in Economics. More  Score and Placement Info for AP To learn about AP scores in specific subject areas, follow the links below, For each subject, you can learn placement information and see what percentage of students earn scores of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Biology  |  Calculus AB  |  Calculus BC  |  Chemistry  |  English Language  |  English Literature  |  European History  |  Physics 1  |  Psychology  |  Spanish Language  |  Statistics  |  U.S. Government  |  U.S. History  |  World History A Final Word About Advanced Placement Advanced Placement classes can strengthen your application, but they are not essential. Colleges want to see that you have challenged yourself academically, but AP is not the only way to do so. Other options include completing an IB curriculum, taking Honors classes, or completing dual enrollment classes through a college. Also keep in mind that the admissions folks will be looking to see what courses your high school offers. If you go to a small or struggling school, you may have very few AP options. As a result, the admissions officers will not expect you to have many AP classes on your transcript. If, however, you are at a high school that offers a dozen AP classes and youve taken none of them, that will be a strike against you.