Lesson video

Hello, I'm Mrs. Jones and I'm really pleased that you're here today.

Today we're going to look at protecting networks from security threats.

So let's get started.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit "Introduction to cybersecurity." Today's lesson is called "Protecting networks from security threats." And by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to compare threats to the security of a computer system and suggest protective actions to take.

There are two keywords to today's lesson.

Cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity is the protection of computer systems from threats.

And firewall.

Firewall is a security system that monitors and controls network communication.

There are two sections to today's lesson.

"Compare security threats" and "Describe how systems and networks can be protected." So let's start with "Compare security threats." A cyber threat is something that can harm your computer or gives access to your personal data.

It is a weakness that can be found and exploited.

Cybersecurity is the protection of computer systems or networks from existing and new cyber threats.

Laura asks, "What does a school need to protect from cyber attacks?" And Andeep answers, "They need to protect anything stored digitally.

For example, pupils and teachers' personal information, passwords and photos." A school may complete a risk analysis to assess likely threats to their digitally stored data, such as hackers, malware, phishing, accidents and mistakes, natural disasters, and social engineering.

After identifying potential risks, the school looks at vulnerabilities.

For example, are passwords easy to guess? Is software up to date? Do people click links from unknown senders? After identifying threats and vulnerabilities, the school considers how likely it is to happen and what would be the impact if the threats succeeded.

A risk analysis matrix is used to assess cybersecurity threats.

It lets you compare threats against each other.

On the left, you have probability, going up from rare to almost certain.

And across you have impact, going from minimal to disaster.

Laura asks, "Where is the threat of a hacker gaining unauthorised access to a school system placed?" And Andeep answers, "It depends.

First, think about how likely it is for your school to be hacked.

Then think about what impact that would have on your school if it occurred." And Laura asks, "So you can decide where it fits on the risk analysis matrix?" And Andeep says, "Yes, each school is different.

The position depends on the school identifying what vulnerabilities can be exploited." Let's have a quick check.

What can a company use to analyse and compare cybersecurity threats? Is it A, a risk graph; B, a risk analysis; or C, a threat analysis? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll go through it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer is a risk analysis.

Well done if you got that correct.

So when that threat was looked at, this school placed the hacker threat as moderate probability and the impact as disaster.

They chose where it fit in that risk analysis matrix.

Let's have a look at an activity.

A school has asked you to complete a risk assessment for cybersecurity threats.

The school is in a rural setting in England.

They allow pupils and teachers to use email, create their own passwords, and teachers can download any new content or software.

Both teachers and pupils can use USB devices to load and store files.

The school staff and pupils have been taught recently about phishing and not clicking links in emails.

On your worksheet, you have a risk matrix and you need to decide where you would place these threats, these risks on that matrix from the scenario given.

The risks you have are hackers, malware, phishing, accidental mistakes, natural disasters, and social engineering.

It's your decision where you would place them on the risk matrix, and you need to add whether it's low, medium, high, or very high on the right-hand column.

Pause the video to use your worksheet and then we'll go through the possible answers.

Let's have a look at the answers.

Remember that your answers may be different.

In this example, hackers have been placed as very high, malware as very high, phishing as high, accidental mistakes as high, natural disasters as low, and social engineering as medium.

Well done if you've got similar or the same.

Let's move on to the next section, "Describe how systems and networks can be protected." Companies and organisations follow the CIA Triad.

It is a core principle in cybersecurity.

And there are three sections to this triad.

Confidentiality, protecting data from unauthorised access.

Integrity, ensuring data remains accurate and unaltered.

And availability, ensuring data or systems are accessible when needed.

You can never make a system 100% secure against attackers, but you can put measures in place to make it difficult for the attackers so they are more likely to give up and find an easier target.

Regular training is important for anyone who uses the system to reduce mistakes.

For example, knowing password rules and not to click on suspicious links.

A firewall checks incoming and outgoing network traffic.

It scans the data to make sure it doesn't contain anything malicious, and then it follows the rules set by the network.

For example, a learner tries to use a website full of free games.

The rules of the network are set to disallow this, and the firewall stops the learner from accessing the website.

Firewalls use rule-based filtering.

Data packets are examined against the rules to decide if they can go in or out of the network.

A firewall inspects IP addresses, port numbers and protocols.

Anti-malware is software that scans any file that is able to execute code.

Anti-malware has a list of definitions, sequences of code, that are known to be malicious.

If the code in your file matches the definitions, then the files are quarantined.

Auto-updates are where software automatically checks for available updates.

If an update is available, the software will either alert the user or instal it automatically.

This software is often included with an operating system.

Let's have a quick check.

True or false? A firewall scans all incoming and outgoing network traffic.

Pause the video to consider if that is true or false.

Let's check your answer.

The answer is true.

It scans the data to make sure it doesn't contain anything malicious and that it follows the rules set by the network.

User authentication helps keep systems safe from unauthorised access, and this includes secure passwords and maximum number of sign in attempts before an account is locked.

CAPTCHA, which is identifying specific images in a given array, or type in what you see in a distorted view.

Using biometrics, which is fingerprint or facial recognition.

And two-factor authentication.

A number is sent to a separate device or email.

And all these help prove that it is you that's logging in.

Aisha asks, "Can you give different users different access rights?" And Jun answers, "Yes, you can give some users access to specific network drives, set permissions on files to read or write only, and restrict access to printers, software, or websites." Sam asks, "Do you choose one security measure to protect the system or network?" And Alex answers, "No.

You choose as many as you need to protect a system or network.

The more security measures there are, the better the protection will be." Izzy asks, "Does using security measures stop all cyber attacks? And Sofia answers, "No.

New threats and advanced techniques are always being developed and can sometimes bypass even the best defences." Let's have a quick check.

Which of the following are examples of user authentication? Is it A, biometrics; B, secure passwords; or C, software auto-updates? There's more than one answer.

Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll go through them.

Let's have a look at your answer.

The answers were A, biometrics, and B, secure passwords.

Well done if you got that correct.

You'll need your worksheet for this activity.

The first section is to identify how a school could protect their systems against each threat in the table below, and there are two threats.

On the left, you have hackers and malware, and on the right you need to add the security measures that could be put in place.

Pause the video, use your worksheet, and then we'll go through the answers.

Let's have a look at the answers.

For hackers, the security measures are firewall, two-factor authentication, secure passwords, biometrics, and maximum number of login attempts.

And malware, the security measures are anti-malware and firewall.

Well done if you got that correct.

For the second section of this activity, you'll need your worksheet.

Your school needs to check its cybersecurity.

What key areas should they focus on to protect their computers and network from cyber threats? Pause the video, use your worksheet, and then we'll go through the answers.

Let's have a look at the answer.

They should ensure the firewall is active and anti-malware software is installed.

Always make sure software updates are completed.

Check who has access to what on the systems and consider restricting access.

Ensure secure passwords are being used and restrict the number of login attempts.

Look at adding two-factor authentication or biometrics as an extra layer of security for users accessing accounts.

Well done if you got that correct.

In summary, cybersecurity is how you protect computer systems from cyber threats.

You can identify risks by completing a risk analysis and put in place ways to protect the systems and network.

There are lots of ways to protect systems and networks, including firewalls, which scan all incoming and outgoing network traffic for threats.

Being aware of security threats, cybersecurity threats, and security measures can help to stop cyber attacks.