I have heard people talking about computer security like it is something you add on to a program at the end, like maybe asking for a password or something. Or maybe it is a software package or subscription that you buy. Install it and your computer is secure, right? Wrong. Oh, for sure, there are products that can help by scanning for and blocking some malware, but nothing blocks all computer security threats.
Secure Against What?
No computer security solutions make sense unless they are in the context of a good threat model. What is a good threat model? It is one in which you accurately predict what threatens to interfere with your computer equipment doing what it is supposed to do or causing it to do what it should not do.
What could possibly go wrong?
- Failure to function for any reason
- Unauthorized disclosure of data
- Corruption or loss of data
- Loss of connectivity
- Unauthorized control of the device
- Theft of your identity and/or money
What could cause any of these things to go wrong?
- Hardware failure due to wear or physical damage
- Electrical damage due to power surge or electromagnetic overload (i.e. lighning, EMP, poor power regulation, etc.)
- Malware (malicious software, including viruses, information stealers, ransomeware, extortion attempts, etc.)
- Cons and scams attacking the authorized users, tricking them into granting access to unauthorized parties
- Physical disasters (storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, war, etc.)
- Operator error (oops!)
- Network attacks (fake WiFi that routes through untrusted computers, denial of service attacks, DNS poisoning, etc.)
- Financial attacks
- Utility failures (especially electricity providers and ISPs)
- Brute force password attacks and credential stuffing
What can we do about all of these things?
- Pray.
- User education and awareness is the most important thing, because without that, nothing else is effective.
- Never run an unknown program on your device. This includes pasting any commands into a command prompt.
- Good versioned backups, including some offline and some offsite.
- Replace hardware items that are known to wear out, like hard disks and SSDs, before they actually fail.
- Keep software (and especially operating systems) updated with security updates.
- Use good malware prevention software.
- Limit the number of people with access to security-sensitive data.
- Use strong, unique passwords for each application. Use a good password manager to keep track of them.
- Disable passwords where it makes sense to do so.
- Encrypt hard drives and SSDs on portable devices.
- Lock your devices with good passwords/pins/biometrics.
- Enable two-factor authentication where practical.
- Stay alert. Don’t be paranoid or always assume malice, but be aware that we live in a sin-ridden world. Don’t be gullible.
- Never leave things like WiFi routers with the default password.
- Plan for what to do when there is a failure.
- Lock down your credit reports, because your SSN and other personal information has probably already been hacked.
- Don’t overshare on social media.
Any questions?