Example Of A Research On It Threats Essay

<Author’s Name>
<Institutional Affiliation>
Computer hacking is one of the most common IT threats in the arena of technological advancement. Computer hacking is an act of unauthorized access or intrusion to a computer network of an individual, public, private or the government. Cyber criminals, or the individuals who utilizes the computer and other sophisticated technologies, disputes the security set-up of any computer network that interests them and intrude using their knowledge and technical skills in programming and writing of scripts. According to studies, the behavior of these hackers has connection to their curiosity, compulsive manners, and addictive behavior or even disorders such Asperger syndrome and inability to understand social signals .
Hacking or any other computer crimes cause huge monetary impact to an organization and even the economy . Cybercrime cost an amount of over $400 billion in 2014 worldwide . Furthermore, ignoring this threat will not only damage public or private company but also the government and individuals. Identity theft is one of the most common cybercrime issues where hackers steal the personal or financial information of an individual. Recent developments also revealed that the government is also victims of cybercrime. A controversial hacking incident by a system administrator from United Kingdom managed to get through the computers of NASA and the United States military network. The illegal access and unauthorized deletion and copying of files by Gary Mckinnon, the accused hacker, cost the government of United States $700,000 to fix damages and put back the operation of this network to normal .
A well-planned information security strategy should remain in place in order to proactively guard and determine if there are potential threats to an organization’s network. Primarily, an organization must train and educate its employees with regard to social engineering and how to protect themselves against other social network probable IT threats. Awareness of what is happening is very crucial as people are the most accessible target with regard to this. An organization must have well-defined information security policy especially concerning strict password regulations. Furthermore, an organization must also define its email and web content security in order to refrain from getting caught with malicious software and attacks .

Works Cited

Ahmad, A. (2012). Type of Security Threats and its Prevention. International Journal of Computer Technology & Applications, vol. 3, issue 2, 750-752.
Campbell, Q., & Kennedy, D. (2009). Computer Security Handbook. New York: John Wileys & Sons.
Center for Strategic and International Studies. (2013). The Economic Impact of Cybercrime and Cyber Espionage. California: McAffee.
Nakashima, E., & Peterson, A. (2014, June 9). Cybercrime and espionage costs. Retrieved from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/report-cybercrime-and-espionage-costs-445-billion-annually/2014/06/08/8995291c-ecce-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html
Seamark, M. (2012, December 14). Gary Mckinnon 'tearful with joy' after top prosecutor confirms that the computer hacker will face no further charges. Retrieved from Main Oline: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2248209/Gary-McKinnon-face-charges-hacking.html