Role of Software Security in Maintaining Cyber Safety - Essay Example

? Role of Software Security in Maintaining Cyber Safety Role of Software Security in Maintaining Cyber Safety Introduction The issueof cyber security is becoming increasingly serious because of knowledge explosion in the field of information technology (Gollmann, 2010). The world has become a global village and therefore, every nation has an appreciable level of access to the internet. The entire countries do not adopted a favorable approach towards internet. The internet is being consistently used as a playground by the hackers and they are known to attack websites in order to seek enjoyment and fun. The number of cyber crimes is growing exceptionally on an annual basis and because of this reason; the internet is becoming more and more unsafe. The level of hacker’s intellect is growing as he or she is gathering more knowledge and information about the art and science of hacking (Xu, Hu, & Zhang, 2013). The companies on the other hand, restricted their exposure to the vast universe of internet by inventing intranet. The intranet is an infrastructure that helps an organization in creating a network within the network of networks. The private network’s identity and access is restricted to employees only. The employees have to login with a specific and unique username and their activities are strictly monitored as well. The modern technique of intranet is also not working because the hackers have devised methods that can locate and identify the networks. Once the network is located then the hackers use the information to hack the central computer and therefore, the entire network starts to play in the hands of evil geniuses. The era of antivirus is also coming to an end. The antivirus programs are famous for providing the hackers a plain ground. The viruses are nowadays programmed to alter the binary coding of the antivirus and in this way; the protector of the system becomes its worst enemy. The hackers managed to follow the technique of Aids virus. The virus does not cause any type of illness but kill the immune system of the human body. Consequently, the viruses of other diseases move in and finish the job. The intelligent hackers eliminate the defense system of the network and then, other harmful programs move in and render the entire network inoperable. The technical staff becomes helpless in front of the multiple attacks and therefore, has to purge all data in the network (Sukwong & Kim, 2011). The modern hackers and technical teams at various data centers of the world are suspected to be engaged in a never ending battle. The war is fought like a game of chess and whole game-plan is based on striking and counterstriking. In most number of cases, the objective of hackers is fulfilled. The hackers always like to cause hindrance in the operationality of the network and it is fulfilled with the help of causing sufficient doubt in the minds of technical teams. The technical teams cannot afford to take any threat lightly and therefore, if they believe that the game is getting out their hands then they have to shunt the network before finding a bug. The networks are insecure and this is a common belief. The sales of antivirus programs are declining and this is the depiction of decreasing public trust on leading names in the industry of internet security. Additionally, the latest internet browsers are programmed to detect any suspicious product or webpage. All of the viruses and other harmful programs are known to come from the internet in the global village of the 21st century. The best defense is prevention and therefore, the modern programmers have decided to put a blockade in the way of viruses by planting a smaller and efficient antivirus program within the fabric of browsers (Singh, Moshchuk, Wang, & Lee, 2010). The users are notified as soon as the suspicious activity has been detected. The browsers are designed to block the potentially harmful events from happening until and unless the user allows them to take place. In this manner, the virtually nothing can go on without the prior acknowledgement from the users. The modern internet security measures are killing the evil in the bud. They do not allow the problematic programming to enter in the boundaries of the network. The individual computers are blessed with the ability to run a recovery subroutine in case something goes wrong. The contemporary versions of all operating systems are featuring a very powerful firewall mechanism that is designed to detect minute deviations in the programming (Ningbo, Tao, & Fei, 2012) whereas; it is identified as a reflexive defense system that has the profound tendency to take corrective measures when necessary. The windows firewall is sufficiently powerful to initiate system recovery and restore the computer to the state that was present prior to the incident. The whole idea is to automate threat management while, minimizing the need to reinstall windows after every attack. The modern antivirus tools are lighter and faster and because of these attributes, the individuals and companies can take a sigh of relief as they are well equipped to take on the security challenges of the internet. The outdated technology of antivirus was found to be causing the systems to slow down in the name of security sweeps. The trend of telecommuting and strict deadlines placed a premium on high spend performance of computers and handhelds. As a response to changing customer needs and preferences, the companies empowered internet browsers to take on the role of traditional antivirus. The extension of operating system’s period of intactness is commendable and can also be taken as an effective evidence of success of sensitive and intelligent browsers. The hackers on the other hand, are facing significant problems in terms of finding the way into the networks. The browsers place barriers and after that the firewall mechanism kicks in and restore the network to normal status. The hackers are simply locked out of each and every operational network in the world. The companies and individuals need a faster internet and computer. These needs compelled the product developers to design lighter and faster apps. The viruses on the other side are believed to heavier than the regular and legitimate programs and therefore, are easily detectable. The application of intranet along with intelligent browsers assisted the common man and companies to enjoy growing sense of safety during surfing the internet. Few years back, all of the lead companies were seeking state of the art antivirus programs that were based on the obsolete idea of reactive management. The antivirus programs were designed to detect malware within a specific system or network. However, the entry points of the networks were loosely guarded and therefore, the damage has been done by the time, antivirus became aware of the problems. The internet security professionals then, decided to strengthen the browsers’ ability to detect and take corrective measures towards neutralizing a threat. The concept of central server indeed assisted the malware developers in terms of putting their software to use. The central server approach towards network security is being considered outdated and obsolete by the senior network administrators. Nevertheless, the networks operating in the developing parts of the world do not have the required financial muscle that is needed to make a switch and therefore, the ratio of security breaches are much more higher in the abovementioned geographical location. The modern network security is conceptualized in order to minimize the security threats that have the power and ability to ruin people’s private lives. The financial institutions on the other hand, are engaged in linking customer services with mobile networks in order to keep their clientele apprised about their account activity (Beck & Zhan, 2010). Moreover, the leading email servers of the world are also providing two step security verification, so that the customer can feel more at home while, using the web services. The multinationals operating in China are more than interested in protecting their networks with the help of advance methods. In the past, the networks were protected by eliminating data packets from all other subordinate machines and these datasets were stored in the central machine. The typology of centralization helped the hackers because they were required to target one machine and the entire network gets hacked. The problem was rectified with the help of empowering each and every system with modern browser that has the capacity to scan the downloaded products. Additionally, the linkages with mobile and cellular networks should be commended due to their power to provide the users with increased sense of security on the web. The online security research firms are working regarding provision of information about latest security threats on annual basis. The users are getting more and more sensitive towards neutralization of online threats and therefore, they are demonstrating careful online behavior in all parts of the world. The software security is the best and effective way of ensuring online security because each program is designed in such a way that it can detect the malware by themselves. The browsers run an initial scan before allowing the download and then, the indigenous firewall runs its own version of the investigation. The investigation by the browsers and local firewall effectively minimizes the probability of a virus attack. The malware attacks that are reported in the current times are mainly caused by not practicing due diligence from the users. Nowadays, everything is performed on an individual computer with the consent of the user. The developing nations are the most significant victims of the online security breaches because of their marginal level of computer literacy. The people in developing nations are also notorious for downloading pirated software. The pirated software is known to have malware packed in their binary code and that is why, they are considered an active threat to the online security. The malicious programming remains dormant and gets activated once the program is being used for prolonged period of time. The infrastructure of online security has been sufficiently perfected and the current problem lies with the user behavior. The users are needed to be educated in terms of following the instructions of browsers. The citizens of advanced nations are exhibiting due care by not downloading torrents and they prefer to purchase the content from online stores. The human element is having a vital role in increasing the probability of an attack. The individuals who are not well educated in computer sciences tend to keep the system running without properly running restore option when needed. The online infrastructure is being performing adequately provided that users demonstrate careful behavior and attitudes towards security notifications and take proper course of action. The online security providers have successfully integrated the antivirus programs within the fabric of modern browsers which are believed to be the gateway of individual computer’s link with the internet. The abovementioned reality helped the security providers in taking concrete measures towards ensuring browser security. The switching of financial institutions to the intranet and internet means that the online world is safer to operate even the most sensitive matters of humanity. The intelligence agencies are working through electronic means. Thusly, it can be established that humanity is moving in the direction of transforming a unified world in every aspect. The humanity is going to forget its differences and conflicts as the physical distances will diminish to the level of nonexistence in the near future. The humans are causing online security problems by not following the careful approach towards surfing and downloading content from the internet. The people of developed nations are significantly indulged in the usage of substandard e-merchandise and therefore, have painted a bull’s eye on their backs for hackers to target. The hackers are famous for targeting personal computers and handhelds for fun most of the time and because of this reason, the poor orientation towards internet security has caused the users to suffer a lot in the past few years. The lack of information about security measures is the vital cause for threats to aggravate on the internet. The governments all over the world are strongly suggested to enhance public awareness about the subject matter of this paper. The users can save themselves from malwares by being careful on the net whereas, if they cannot do that then, they have to blame themselves only. Findings The key findings of the study are as follows: - The online security has been observed to get better over the past few years The antivirus programs’ demand has been reducing as the software protection got better The browsers have been blessed with the ability to detect malware The concept of central server has lost its cohesion over the passage of time as the central machine was easy to hack and then, all of the network becomes a toy in the hands of cyber criminals The users are informed about the ongoing downloads and therefore, the users are recommended to take proper action against notifications The citizens of developing nations have a poor orientation towards technology and therefore, they are the prime target of hackers The human error is considered as the leading cause of cyber crimes in current times The governments are suggested to inform people about threats on the internet The online security is better than ever before because financial institutions are managing their relations with customers on the internet The leading email service providers are assisting the users in increasing security by integrating login with cellular networks The users of developed nations have been successfully following the careful way of browsing and therefore, have successfully managed to minimize the frequency and intensity of cyber attacks Conclusion This paper has reviewed and analyzed the role of software security in ensuring peace on the internet. The latest browsers and operating systems are programmed to detect the malware and customers are not relying on antivirus programs. The antivirus programs are notorious for their heaviness and therefore cause significant level of hindrance for effective operationality of the network. The human error is also a significant cause of hacking as in developing parts of the world, the people’s orientation towards online security and therefore, they are the prime targets for the hackers in the modern era of the 21st century. The governments are strongly recommended to take initiative in terms of growing public awareness about the featured topic. The use of antivirus has been ill-advised as they provide a playground for the hackers. The viruses change the binary coding of the software and in this way, the antivirus turns into a virus within itself. The role and value of software security has been appreciated a great deal because modern browsers are safeguarding the boundaries of the networks and computers by killing the evil in the bud. Additionally, human error must be minimized with promoting proper shutdown whereas, the proper response to browser notifications can further assist the users in further improving security. The role of internet security providers must be appreciated for performing longitudinal studies in order to pinpoint the leading causes of hacking and during the process; they discovered that browsers are the main entrance route for the viruses. References Beck, K., & Zhan, J. (2010). Phishing in Finance. Future Information Technology pp. 1-5 Gollmann, D. (2010). Computer security. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics Vol 2 (5) , pp. 544–554. Ningbo, L., Tao, D., & Fei, C. (2012). Research and Design of the Mixed Firewall Based on the Filtering Technology. Computational and Information Sciences pp. 1116 - 1119. Singh, K., Moshchuk, A., Wang, H., & Lee, W. (2010). On the Incoherencies in Web Browser Access Control Policies. Security and Privacy Vol 20 (1) , pp.463 - 478. Sukwong, O., & Kim, H. (2011). Commercial Antivirus Software Effectiveness: An Empirical Study. Computer Vol 44 no. 3 , pp. 63-70. Xu, Z., Hu, O., & Zhang, C. (2013). Why computer talents become computer hackers. Communications of the ACM Vol 56 (4) , pp.64-74. Read More