Security

Another IT Quote of the Week: Dr. Stephen Hawking

2 years ago

by Scott Coughlin in Human Resources, Information Age, Information Assurance, Information Technology, Quotations, Security

Dr. Stephen Hawking is a genius and his thinking on all topics is worth pause and reflection. His ability to explain the complexities of science at an understandable level has always amazed me. This man is no insightful that we are giving him a second IT Quote of the Week spot!

I like Information Age quotations. I find some of them very inspirational and like to carry a new one around about every week. I thought that i could share mine with you from time to time.

Here is my quote of the day:

“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.”

Dr. Stephen Hawking

You can learn more about our quote source at Wikipedia.

So how do you think that this relates to Information Technology? How do you think that it could be important to Information Technology Professionals?

Do you like quotations? Do you collect them, too? What did you think of when you read this one? Do you agree or disagree with it? Please comment below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for March 18, 2010 by Scott Coughlin.

Image credit: geocentrism.com

Quote Source: DevTopics

Technorati Tags: quote,Technology,Information Technology,Human Resources,Security,Information Assurance

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What are Zero Day Attacks?

2 years ago

by Scott Coughlin in Information Age, Information Assurance, Information Technology, IT Vocabulary Builder, Security

Yesterday, I heard four different people use the term “Zero Day Attack”. Strangely, only two were in the information technology business. I figured that it was time to explicitly discuss its meaning.

The Information Technology (IT) Vocabulary Builder series aims to deliver a very concise summary of a currently relevant topic to Information Professionals. It is done mostly by collecting a small number of highly relevant web links to save you the time of combing through search results yourself.

So, what exactly is a “Zero Day Attack”?

This is how Wikipedia defines it:

“A zero-day (or zero-hour or day zero) attack or threat is a computer threat that tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities that are unknown to others, undisclosed to the software developer, or for which no security fix is available. Zero-day exploits (actual code that can use a security hole to carry out an attack) are used or shared by attackers before the software developer knows about the vulnerability.

The term derives from the age of the exploit. When a developer becomes aware of a security hole, there is a race to close it before attackers discover it or the vulnerability becomes public. A "zero day" attack occurs on or before the first or "zeroth" day of developer awareness, meaning the developer has not had any opportunity to distribute a security fix to users of the software.”

Please understand that I am not condoning, approving, or commenting on the morality of this issue, just pointing out a popular word that should be understood by all Information Technology Professionals.

Here are some other great sites that discuss this issue:

I hope that helps you. Enjoy the new word!

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for March 16, 2010 ©Scott Coughlin.

Image Credit: The Toilette Paper Entrepreneur

Technorati Tags: Security,Information Age,Information Technology,Information Assurance,vocabulary

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What is a Hacktivist?

2 years ago

by Scott Coughlin in Human Resources, Information Age, Information Assurance, Information Technology, IT Vocabulary Builder, Security

I came upon the word, Hacktivism, today, and I honestly had never heard it used before outside of the news. I surmised that it must be starting to be mainstreamed.

This is how Wikipedia defines it:

“Hacktivism (a portmanteau of hack and activism) is "the nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools in pursuit of political ends. These tools include web site defacements, redirects, denial-of-service attacks, information theft, web site parodies, virtual sit-ins, virtual sabotage, and software development."^[1] It is often understood as the writing of code to promote political ideology – promoting expressive politics, free speech, human rights, or information ethics. Acts of hacktivism are carried out in the belief that proper use of code will be able to produce similar results to those produced by regular activism or civil disobedience.”

Please understand that I am not condoning, approving, or commenting on the morality of this issue, just pointing out a new word that should be understood by all Information Technology Professionals.

Here are some other great sites that discuss this issue: