Recently, Australian government advised resource companies to be more vigilant on cyber-attacks. The advice reportedly came from the Attorney General Robert McClelland, after launching National Cyber Security Awareness Week in Canberra. The alert follows concerns expressed by Don Voelte, the outgoing chief of Woodside Petroleum, an Australian oil and gas company, on increasing cyber threats. Australian companies have been dealing with cyber-attacks emanating from various sources. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton allegedly faced cyber-attacks last year. Cyber-attacks on resource companies may enable attackers to steal confidential information such as business activities, foreign investments and strategies of companies. Earlier, in the month, Australia’s Communication Minister discussed the issue of rising cyber threats with the top executives of 20 resource companies, banking institutions and manufacturers. Concern on rising cyber threats has increased around the world after recent spate of attacks on Sony Companies, and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Computer systems related to government departments and private companies face constant threat of cyber-attacks. Attacks on government bodies help attackers to extract information on government schemes, priorities, policies and strategies. The Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) plays a major role in protecting Australian government systems by providing insights on cyber threats and capabilities to respond to those threats to the government. According to the Attorney General, CSOC also shares threat information with the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT- Australia), which in turn communicates the same with businesses, banks, telecom companies and utility service providers. Australian government launched icode, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) code of practice to help ISPs to improve their security practices, and in turn educate home Internet users on cyber security. Cyber security awareness among Internet users is an important aspect in combating sophisticated cyber threats. The purpose of the National Cyber Security Awareness Week is to communicate the threat landscape to Internet users, government bodies and businesses. The government has also created a website to alert home Internet users on latest threats and remedial measures. With the same objective, the government has issued two editions of a cyber security booklet titled “Protecting Yourself Online: What Everyone Needs to Know”. The booklet enlightens Internet users on latest cyber threat landscape, government initiatives and guidelines. Government bodies and companies may also encourage employees to undertake e-learning and online degree courses to abreast themselves of latest cyber security threats and preventive measures.
The vibrant and frequent cyber-attacks make it necessary for companies and government bodies to initiate proactive steps to strengthen their network and IT security infrastructure. Hiring professionals qualified in masters of security science, computer science degree and security certifications may help in timely assessment of the threats, detection of security flaws, and initiation of corrective measures.
Often, attackers make use of compromised computers and servers to launch attacks. Further, attacks may come from cybercriminals, foreign intelligence agencies, or even rival companies. As such, investigative agencies often find it difficult to attribute an attack to a particular source. Online university degree courses may counter crime professionals in improving their technical knowledge and expertise to deal with ever increasing cybercrime. Sophisticated cyber threats have created demand for cyber warriors specialized in computer forensics, incident management, network administration and IT security certifications.
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EC-Council
Website: http://www.eccuni.us
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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.
