Cameron Tackett
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Life is something that is taken for granted. However, we often think about our current life and living the way we want. We forget that the afterlife is eternal and our earthly lives are just a spec on the scale of that timeline. Thankfully, this is something that God prepares us for. Constantly giving us words of encouragement, and wisdom to live our lives with. It is nothing short of awe inspiring. Being able to rely on God through my troubles and trying to keep constant focus on what matters and the end goal are crucial to developing your own personal relationship with God.
Isabelle,
Great summary of the usual software/hardware that make up the SoHo router. It is still mind boggling to me that all of that tech can be combined into one little box. And they are only getting smaller!
Also, great again by listing the extra ways that SoHo routers can be utilized with VPN’s and static IP’s. Those functions are great for a medium level/advanced user. Being able to use the functions to not only increase security potentially, but to get access to things you may not be able to access. For example, using a VPN to watch Netflix series that are in different countries where it may not be available where you are.
Misty, Great initial start of your post with mentioning that most have Wi-Fi. I would say that is one of the most important aspects on a consumer level. Especially for a personal home, let alone business applicability. I also like the end of your post a lot. With mentioning that the settings can be changed and configured from anywhere. This is great, funny story about this. My wife (who is not technically inclined at all). Was having issues, and being able to log into the router and see what was going on. Was a great tool to use to insure that she was able to do her school work as well. As she does not have a PC and her laptop has no Ethernet port (which I find odd). Over all great post.
Misty,
Great post. I enjoyed reading both of your examples of both digital and physical possible vulnerabilities. In particular I liked your Example of using strong passwords. I think many times, myself included. We all use the same password, and rarely ever stray from patterns. Which makes it significantly easier to take ahold of multiple devices. Let alone the one they want. I have personally had this happen when I was younger, and eventually had my personal banking app get locked due to an unnoticed access from turkey. Just a small example, and it is interesting I have not found one password locker application that I can actually say I trust.
Is there any suggestions you could give on ways to keep your passwords together?
Caleb,
I definitely didn’t even think of USB skimming, That made me think of things like ATM or Gas pump skimmers, which actually happened in our home gas station. Estimated the stole roughly 275 thousand dollars. A bit off topic, but I think its a fair comparison and similar situations.
The Malicious mobile apps, is something I have to do very often with my son. While I have parental controls and other things to minimize what he can do. I can still see a lot of ways it could still be infected. For example, my wife not realizing as much as I do about the tech world, and allowing a download of something that shouldn’t have been.
Overall I really like the way you summarized everything into main points. I think you made a great post.
SoHo routers, are found in smaller offices/home environments. They often combine the tasks of routing, Wi-Fi, Switches (Ethernet ports), firewalls, among other things. All of these tasks are handled by these devices, and are critical for any sort of internet access or data sharing by local devices to the internet. Each specific part of a SoHo router is important. The routing, ensures that the data goes or is received where it it supposed to be. Wi-Fi is key to accessing the internet as a whole, Switches are required to connect your devices to the internet through hard wire. Firewalls, ensure that no unauthorized access or at least make it less possible for attackers to gain access to your device/network. All of these functions are key to a safe, secure, compatible, and stable connection.
Just as I mentioned in last weeks discussion. One of the largest issues with anyone who is using a device on public Wi-Fi. It can lead to so many different attacks on your devices. I would strongly advise anyone to NEVER use public Wi-Fi or any sort of open connection.
The second problem I can see is back-door vulnerabilities in the device itself. These could be prevented by ensuring your device is up to date, and regular security updates are being applied to your device. I would say checking once a week, is a good place to start. Depending on what kind of device and how popular or large the brand is the regularity in updates can vary.
The third largest issue I see is, theft. Leaving a Mobile device out and about with no password protection or some sort of log in function is very dangerous. Imagine how much personal data/apps could be accessed. Such as, banking apps, email, etc. The easiest and simplest way I can see to prevent this would be to apply at the very least a 4 digit pin to your device to even be accessed. While biometrics are great. I have seen a fair share of articles recently with apple products being specifically targeted because they suffer from vulnerabilities in the biometric readers.
Isabelle,
Just as Teisha said, many companies I have worked for in the past also used some sort of RFID tags. For example, only certain employees could access certain areas. For example, the warehouse held firearms for distribution to the stores. Thus only the people tasked with being in the cage. Were allowed into it. Along with other previsions such as CCTV and who knows how many other instances of protection that went with it. Since it was regularly inspected and audited by the ATF. So combining physical and digital security. They go hand in hand it is hard to simply have one or the other and believe your data/facility is safe.
Caleb,
Much like my post, you also pointed out that in the tech world. We often highlight mostly digital forms of protection. I recently saw a video (if it was real or not I do not know). However, it got me thinking. A man made a fake name badge and walked right into an office printing room posing as a repair man. He then took the internal drives of the office fax/printing machine, and thus took who knows how much sensitive data right out the door. Without anyone know the wiser. As I said, I am unsure if this is real or not or where it even came from. I still think it teaches a great lesson.
Misty,
Along with Teisha, I also thought about passwords being a key point. It seems so simple, and yet I think that is where we go wrong. It makes it so much easier to just make everything the same password. I recently did an audit on every single password saved to my computer, and discovered that I had over 150 different accounts. Almost 50% of them used the same password, and who knows which of them have been accessed without my knowledge due to that. So always being cautions and finding ways to keep track of them is key. Great talking point on that subject.
God bless!
Caleb,
I like the way you summarized in the first paragraph “small oversights”. That is paramount in my opinion to network safety. There are so many steps to take to ensure you are doing everything you can, and even then someone may still “crack the network”. So taking every precaution we can to ensure we are using every tool at our disposal is so important.
I also really liked your ending statement. All we can do is be prepared. However, I also believe that remembering your first plan will eventually fail. So what do we do when something does go wrong? Is just as important.
I was raised as a Christian. However, because my family (mainly Grandparents) were so strict about it as a child and young adult. I developed a lot of distain/aggravation for the church. It was not until I met a man who had been at the very bottom of life. He shared the stories of how he found God in the most desperate of times of addiction and suicide and eventually turned into a preacher. He is/was the most real and genuine person I have ever met to this day. He answered questions I had with sincerity and I always knew that he had first hand experience with nearly every question I asked of him. He was the person that showed me that faith is not only going to church every Sunday. It is how we live every single day of our lives. As you can partake in “church” even if it is you and only other. Now, I am not saying that Sunday service is a bad thing. However, I know for myself. I find it hard to truly develop a personal relationship with Jesus if I am surrounded by “Church Face” Christians. Which unfortunately is what many of the individuals that went to our local were. They put on a mask every single time they went to church and had a very Hollier than thou complex about them. My mentor told me “Church is meant to be a hospital for the broken and weak. Not a place to show off how much [closer] you think you are to God than others”. Those words have stuck with me ever since.
Physical security devices are great. Not only can they prevent network attacks, but real physical threats as well. Firstly, any sort of name badge or outside verification system is great. These mostly fall under the RFID. If I have to scan a name badge or card to get into an area. The odds of any unauthorized entrance is greatly reduced.
The second instance of external security that I can think of would be any type of surveillance. Such as, CCTV and audio monitoring. For one it acts as a deterrent and in the event that their is a breach. Can be a great way to see who/what caused the breach.
Thirdly, I would say are any sort of locking server rack or cabinet. This would make theft or any other sort of tampering with the device very limited even if it was able to be accessed by someone who shouldn’t
The first thing that comes to mind in vulnerability is user error. It is always astounding me how many people it is okay to click or open anything they see. I have heard so many stories of people having ransomware or spyware put on their PC’s or even mobile devices because of spam emails or text messages. The easiest way to curve these issues would in my opinion be to educate those who are less tech savvy. For example, my grandmother is a great person to compare this to. As she actually fell victim to a malware infection of her laptop because she was clicking on random links in her email. Now at the time she was very new to everything and wanted a Facebook account. So being able to tell her not to click on things that she does not know or knows very little about was a great solution.
Another example I can think of is. Using public Wi-Fi. For example, the free public Wi-Fi at McDonalds or any other place is a horrible place to be. Unless you take the proper precautions. Use a VPN being one possible type. Or just DO NOT use public Wi-Fi for anything.
The third thing that comes to mind is not updating your security/OS in general. Attackers are always coming up with new ways to infect a system/server. So staying on top of any sort of update is paramount to some of the best preventative measures you could take.
Hello James,
I chose server virtualization, as you replied to my post. It is a great cost effective way. Considering you have the initial hardware to set it up. (and servers can be crazy expensive) If a server is not on site I can definitely see issues with this being an issue if for some reason your third party or hosting server falls under attack. I think it is interesting to think about how one vulnerability could lead to massive infections of how ever many workstations/PC’s are connected to the server.
VDI is interesting, I have never relied heavily on it as much. However, I can definitely see where it could be a painful thing to use. Especially if your inputs have to travel far. Bandwidth is for sure an issue I can see. I would love to hear more about it.
God Bless, and good luck!
