Wannacry a Cyber Security Issue

Despite the growth of technology displaying definite significant to the society, it has been subjected to many challenges with the most conspicuous challenge being the cyber security issue. To be in a position of defining how cyber security has negatively affected the technology industry, it serves great importance mentioning that cyber security is a set of methods made up of technologies, processes, and practices designed to safeguard networks, programs and data from attacks and damages from viruses or access by unauthorized access. The process of ensuring cyber security needs coordinated efforts from interested stakeholders in an information system within an organization.

In the course of providing a secure information system, the traditional approach concentrated most of it efforts in seeing to it that the most vital system components are protected against the biggest identified threat. Through enhancing the security details of critical components in an information system, information systems components that are thought less important are left unsecured thus exposing them to the attack by viruses.

[2: ICGS3 (Conference), Hamid Jahankhani, Carlile of Berriew, Babak Akhgar, Amie Taal, Ali G. Hessami, and Amin Hosseinian-Far. 2015. Global security, safety and sustainability: tomorrow’s challenges of cyber security: 10th International Conference, ICGS3 2015, London, UK, September 15-17, 2015. Proceedings. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23276-8.]

In many organizations, the information technology department installs antivirus to protect their organization crucial information from attack by viruses putting less attention on ways in which the whole operating system can be protected from virus attacks. Addressing the issue of operating system attacks by viruses, Wannacry can be viewed as a cyber security issue in that it affects the Windows operating system. The most conspicuous event that qualifies the Wannacry as a cyber safety issue is that the virus first harmful effects were felt after it attacked over one hundred and fifty regions around the world. A notion that saw to it some people giving the incident the name the begging of a new era that was marked with hackers being in a position of gaining access to other users weak spots in online security.

Further prove that Wannacry is a cyber security issue is proven by the fact that the major virus target was Microsoft’s Windows operating system utilizing a malicious software ransomware. Making use of the mentioned virus, Wannacry blocked users from entry to computers system and demanded that the affected user make some payments through crypto media of exchange known as bitcoin. Together with locking down users from accessing important files from their computers in many parts of Europe, Asia and fewer parts of North America, a well-known electronic company from Japan Known as Hitachi claimed that they experienced hard times in the process of operating their emails. Some of the complaints raised by the company are that it was not possible for them to send or receive electronic mails, opening attached files a problem that the Hitachi Company attributed to the Wannacry attack.

[3: Abbasi, Kamran. “”Beware of geeks bearing gifts.”” (2017): j2390.]

As noted in the introduction paragraph, a cyber security issue is any occurrence that compensates the proper flow of data processing in an information system. Through taking advantage of the Windows operating system exploit called Eterbal Blue, Wannacry ruins the functionality of the software system a perspective that qualifies Wannacry as a cyber security issue. By inhibiting users from accessing their files unless they make a certain payment via the bitcoin currency, Wannacry rendered the users to a situation in which they could not operate their laptops effectively.

Also, Eternal Blue which takes advantage of Microsoft patched in security update MS 17-010 made hackers conversant with using Wannacry virus thus could gain access to remote computers users and install programs with malicious effects on a given user computer thus locking down the users from accessing their stored information. For a user to in a position of obtaining his or her stored information, the user was required to make some payments to a certain site.

[4: Urquhart, Lachlan, and Derek McAuley. “”Cybersecurity Implications of the Industrial Internet of Things.”” (2017).]

Accessing personal information without the authority of the person in question renders the user whose information have been accessed to a situation in which individuals privacy is exposed. Since Wannacry virus enabled the act, it is a fact Wannacry qualifies a cyber security issue. Even though the ruins associated with Wannacry attacks were maintained after the ransomware attacks with remediation plans, it serves great importance for organizations dealing with information technology to set an effective means of mitigating chances of cyber security. The best way in which information Technology Company can figure out the issues of cyber security is through enhancing awareness of using the Internet safely in a whole in an organization.

[5: Taddeo, Mariarosaria. “”Cyber Conflicts and Political Power in Information Societies.”” Minds and Machines (2017): 1-4.]

Following the Wannacry attack, it was proven beyond reasonable doubts that any business organization despite the complexity of its system subjected to a risk factor of a cyber attack that in one way or the other compensates the overall functionality of the group in question. As defined in the introduction section of this discussion a cyber security issue is an intentional act that jeopardizes the typical workflow within an organization.

On the other hand, cyber security entails the actions aimed at ensuring that malicious users who might harm the way in which computer users carry out their data processing activities safeguard information system from access. Facts provided in the essay give a clear reference to the way in which Wannacry attack caused mishaps on different sections regions across the world.

[6: Information Systems Audit and Control Association. 2013. Transforming cybersecurity: using COBIT 5. Rolling Meadows, Ill: ISACA.] [7: Wang, Wenye, and Zhuo Lu. “”Cyber security in the Smart Grid: Survey and challenges.”” Computer Networks 57, no. 5 (2013): 1344-1371.]

The first notable effect that Wannacry displayed the traits of a cyber security issue is that it barricaded computers users from accessing their files. As the discussion highlights, for a user to be in a position of accessing individual’s data, the user in question was required to pay some cash a definite site that he or she would receive an electronic mail. In addition to denying users access to their information, through making use of Wannacry, malicious users gained access of other people information thus exposing their privacy. In the process of ensuring data security is arrived at in a given institution, cyber security ensures that malicious users cannot access personal information.

This notion is however compensated after Wannacry comes in play. By allowing malicious users gain access of personal Wannacry has proven a cyber security issue. Despite the fact that Wannacry acting as a cyber security issue, through the application of some of some specific measures organization can mitigate chances of Wannacry and other cyber security issues. For instance ensuring all information system components are safe safeguarded from cases of attack by viruses or access by unauthorized users. In addition to initiating security measures to all elements of information system, the organization in question should see to it that computer users are taken through awareness training to that will help them mitigate chances of unsafe use of internet

[8: Yan, Ye, Yi Qian, Hamid Sharif, and David Tipper. “”A Survey on Cyber Security for Smart Grid Communications.”” IEEE Communications Surveys and tutorials 14, no. 4 (2012): 998-1010.]

Bibliography

Abbasi, Kamran. “”Beware of geeks bearing gifts.”” (2017): j2390.ICGS3 (Conference), Hamid Jahankhani, Carlile of Berriew, Babak Akhgar, Amie Taal, Ali G. Hessami, and Amin Hosseinian-Far. 2015. Global security, safety and sustainability: tomorrow’s challenges of cyber security : 10th International Conference, ICGS3 2015, London, UK, September 15-17, 2015.

Proceedings. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319- 23276-8.Information Systems Audit and Control Association. 2013. Transforming cybersecurity: using COBIT 5. Rolling Meadows, Ill: ISACA.Taddeo, Mariarosaria.

Cyber Conflicts and Political Power in Information Societies. Minds and Machines (2017): 1-4.Urquhart, Lachlan, and Derek McAuley. “”Cybersecurity Implications of the Industrial Internet of Things.”” (2017).

Wang, Wenye, and Zhuo Lu. “”Cyber security in the Smart Grid: Survey and challenges.”” Computer Networks 57, no. 5 (2013): 1344-1371.

Yan, Ye, Yi Qian, Hamid Sharif, and David Tipper. A Survey on Cyber Security for Smart Grid Communications. IEEE Communications Surveys and tutorials 14, no. 4 (2012): 998- 1010.

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