Advanced Cybersecurity Threat Analysis and Mitigation
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
1002
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by jamieteh
INTE1002 Digital Risk Management
Information Security
Assessment Task 1
Advanced Cybersecurity Threat Analysis
and Mitigation
Word Count: 952
In an era where the education sector integrates the use of technology and digital platforms in learning, educational institutions may be an appealing target to cybercriminals. This is due to the stores of sensitive data, intellectual property and personal data on staff, parents and students (Gurinaviciute 2024). The table below shows potential threats and vulnerabilities, its
advanced mitigation strategies, impact analysis and future-proofing cybersecurity for Eastern Suburbs Primary School while considering the budget constraints for a relatively small K-6 school. Threat Identification
MITRE ATT&CK Tactic
Vulnerability Assessment
Advanced Mitigation
Strategies
Impact Analysis
Future-proofing Cybersecurity
Cyberbullying
- The use of digital media by an individual to harass, intimidate or humiliate to inflict harm onto
others (Tokunaga 2010)
Impact
- Unmonitored student Internet access
- Lack of control over student activities on school-issued tablets
- Use web filtering software to restrict access to social media platforms and other inappropriate online content during school hours (Vicks 2013)
- Implement AI-driven
content filtering and monitoring to detect, flag and block inappropriate content in real-time
- Utilize AI to intercept and block harassment and bullying content (Ige and Adewale 2022)
- Emotional and psychological impact on victims
of cyberbullying
- Impacts well-
being and academic performance of victims
- Tarnish school’s reputation and loss of trust from parents and community
- Disrupts school operations
- Potential legal liabilities
- Students, parents and staff are vulnerable to emotional, physical or financial harm if sensitive data is used
- Compromised records can lead to identity theft, financial fraud and privacy violations
- Compromised integrity of school’s online presence
- Could result in - Educate students
on responsible internet usage
- Establish clear guidelines and consequences of cyberbullying
- Encourage open communications among students, teachers and parents regarding cyberbullying incidents
Data Breach
- When sensitive
information held
by school is accessed and used by an unauthorized party
Initial Access
- Outdated PHP and SQL within outdated website
- Security patches not up to date
- Unsecured WiFi
- Update website’s backend technologies by leveraging open-
source alternatives to proprietary software
- Use AI to detect anomalies and respond to suspicious access patterns
- Implement free web application firewalls (WAFs) to monitor and filter HTTP traffic
for potential threats (F5 n.d.)
- Implement Zero Trust architecture to enforce strict access to
student records like - Periodic maintenance and updates for website
- Regular security
audits to assess existing security controls and identify potential weaknesses in the
WiFi network
multi-factor authentication (MFA) for parent portal access
- Use latest security protocol, WPA3, to encrypt and secure WiFi network
legal repercussions
- The most urgent vulnerabilities that are essential to address are the unsecured WiFi network, the outdated website and the unsecured
parent portal Phishing
- Attempts by cybercriminals to trick users to obtain sensitive information
Initial Access
- Lack of education of cyberthreats among students, parents and staff members
- Inadequate email security measures
- Security TLS encryption between email servers
- Use AI-driven email filtering to scan and flag suspicious emails before they reach recipients (Sennovate n.d.)
- Encourage students, parents and staff to participate in cybersecurity awareness sessions to learn to recognize phishing attacks
Internet of Things (IoT) Device Exploitation
- Vulnerabilities within school devices can be used to compromise IT infrastructure and the data it contains
Initial Access and Execution
- School-
issued tablets that are taken home, lab computers and laptops could be exploited due to lack of security controls
- Ensure security updates and patches on these devices are constantly installed
- Use open-source endpoint security solutions for essential security features
- Implement Zero Trust architecture like multi-factor authentication (MFA) for access to school devices
- Implement over-
the-air (OTA) updates to streamline update process
- Use basic Mobile Device Management (MDM) practices to enhance device
security in the long term
Ransomware Attack
- Encrypting school’s data and demanding payment in exchange for decryption key
Initial Access and Execution
- Unsecured WiFi
- Unmonitored school-issued tablets and devices
- Lack of advanced threat detection
- Unsecured endpoints
- Outdated software
- Use latest security protocol, WPA3, to encrypt and secure WiFi network
- Utilize free ransomware detection tools
- Network segmentation using low-cost router and firewall configurations
to isolate critical systems (Alshaikh et al. 2020)
- Back up data on a regular basis to the cloud or an external drive that
is disconnected when not in use
- Provide training for employees to recognize common attack vectors used to deliver malware or initiate ransomware attack
- Incident response planning
for future attacks
Malware Infections
- Infiltration of Execution and Persistence
- Deploy free antimalware software and endpoint detection
- Implement free web
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
malicious software onto school’s IT infrastructure
application firewalls (WAFs)
- Deploy open-source network-based intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to monitor network traffic
Denial of service (DoS) or
Distributed denial-of-
Service (DDoS) Attack
- Overwhelming
school’s network with traffic, leading to a crash or slowing down
Impact
- Vulnerable IT
infrastructure
- Public-facing
servers not protected with firewalls and intrusion detection systems
- Unsecure WiFi
- Implement free web application firewalls (WAFs)
- Deploy open-source network-based intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to monitor network traffic
- Use latest security protocol, WPA3, to encrypt and secure WiFi network
- Implement bandwidth throttling and rate-limiting mechanisms at the network perimeter to mitigate impact of DDoS attacks on school services
- Use cloud-based protection to redirect traffic to filter out malicious traffic during an attack (Jili and Xiao 2020)
- Deploy a zero trust network architecture that verifies and authenticates all network traffic, devices and users (Shepherd 2022)
- Conduct periodic security assessments and vulnerability scans to identify weaknesses in the
school’s network infrastructure
- Provide basic security awareness and incident response training for staff members
References
Alshaikh H, Ramadan N and Hefny HA (2020) ‘Ransomware prevention and mitigation techniques’, International Journal of Computer Applications
, 117(400):31-39, doi:10.5120/ijca2020919899.
F5 (n.d.) What is a Web Application Firewall (WAF)?
, F5 website, accessed 28 March 2024. https://www.f5.com/glossary/web-application-firewall-waf
Gurinaviciute J (11 March 2024) ‘What cybersecurity threats does the education sector face?’, Forbes
, accessed 27 March 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2024/03/11/what-cybersecurity-threats-does-
the-education-sector-face/?sh=4f0f676b4b90
Ige T and Adewale S (2022) ‘AI powered anti-cyber bullying system using machine learning algorithm of multinomial naïve bayes and optimized linear support vector machine’, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications
, 13(5):5-9, doi:10.14569/IJACSA.2022.0130502.
Jili T and Xiao N (2020) ‘DDoS detection and protection based on cloud computing platform’, Journal of Physics: Conference Series
, doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1621/1/012005
Sennovate (n.d.) The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Detecting Phishing Attacks
, Sennovate website, accessed 27 March 2024. https://sennovate.com/the-role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-
detecting-phishing-attacks/
Shepherd C (2022) Zero trust architecture: framework and case study [graduate thesis], Boise
State University, accessed 27 March 2024. https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1000&context=cyber_gradproj
Tokunaga RS (2010) ‘Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization’, Computers in Human Behavior
, 26(3):277-287, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014.
Vicks ME (2013) An examination of internet filtering and safety policy trends and issues in south carolina’s k-12 public schools
[doctoral dissertation], Nova Southeastern University, accessed 26 March 2024. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1328&context=gscis_etd