Recently, the website of the United States (U.S) Department of Energy’s Y12 National Security Complex suffered security breach. Attackers were allegedly successful in gaining access to one of the databases associated with the website. The website of the security complex is temporarily disabled and information security professionals are investigating the incident. The facility concentrates on storing and maintaining uranium and recycling weapon components. The latest breach is an addition to the barrage of cyber-attacks on major organizations and government bodies. Authorities have not confirmed any breach of sensitive information. Cyber-attacks on critical facilities may lead to unauthorized access and disclosure of sensitive information. Attackers may use extracted information for malicious purposes compromising national security.
Websites are susceptible to SQL injection, cross-site scripting and other vulnerabilities. In this case, attackers reportedly used SQL injection attacks to infiltrate the website. Attackers add a malicious code in the form database query to the strings to modify application input. Cyber-attackers alter the input on the web application form by inserting special characters, terminating and appending text strings before its execution. They may accomplish this by altering the SQL commands. The purpose of the SQL injection attacks is to gain access to databases associated with the target web page. SQL based database systems often support websites. SQL injection attacks attempt to alter the association between website and the associated database systems. The execution of the malicious code allows the attacker to access, alter or destroy information.
Organizations may prevent SQL injection attacks by using appropriate input validation procedures, using stored procedures, escaping user input, using SQL vulnerability patches. They may make use of parameterized queries to prevent use of special characters and allow use of only those SQL statements that are required by the application to avoid exploitation by attackers. Online IT courses may help IT professionals to upgrade their skills in accordance with latest security threats.
Security, confidentiality and timely availability of information are crucial for the continued success of Internet. Security and data breach incidents adversely affect the trust and confidence of customers, investors and stakeholders. Hiring professionals qualified in masters of security science, secure programming certification and IT degree programs may help in timely assessment of threats, identification of security flaws, and initiation of remedial measures.
Negligence and lack of security awareness among the employees may lead to inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information. IT security awareness training programs may help in educating employees on best practices in information security. Online IT degree programs and e-tutorials may help employees in gaining insights on security fundamentals, various security related issues and Internet-based threats.
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EC-Council
Website: http://www.eccuni.us
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 505-341-3228
EC-Council University is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and offers Master of Security Science (MSS) degree to students from various backgrounds such as graduates, IT Professionals, and military students amongst several others. The MSS is offered as a 100% online degree program and allows EC-Council University to reach students from not only the United States, but from all around the world.
EC-Council is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce skills. It is the owner and developer of 16 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT). Its certificate programs are offered in over 60 countries around the world.
EC-Council has trained over 80,000 individuals and certified more than 30,000 members, through more than 450 training partners globally. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the U.S. federal government via the Montgomery GI Bill, Department of Defense via DoD 8570.01-M, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS). EC-Council also operates the global series of Hacker Halted security conferences.
