Report outlining good security practices for email

1. Create a report outlining good security practices for email and discuss the technology used to protect users from spam, phishing, and attachments.

Email is used for exchange information or data with the electronic medium. Email is one most targeting area of hackers. Thus, it becomes imperative to apply additional security practices to ensure the security of the email. Good security practices for email are given below:

• Do not open the suspicious email.
• Make use of SSL servers for communication purpose.
• Make use of spam filtering.
• Apply passwords for data protection.

Techniques to avoid attacks:

1. Password alteration: Hackers are getting better in breaching the passwords, thus change the passwords after regular intervals of time. Most importantly make sure you do not use the same password for the rest of the sites of apps.
2. Updates: Timely update the system, as the updates bring more security features against the attacks like phishing, spam,
3. Fake emails: Hackers sent a bogus email to the user’s account that is not an email but a type of virus. When a user downloads and opens the email, the virus blocks the user access over the system and transfer the access to the hacker. Therefore, do not open the suspicious emails.
4. Two-factor authentication: It is the security process and provides two-step authentications of the user. It is highly recommended to prevent the account form hacking.

2. Research and discuss several hardware encryption devices. What are advantages and disadvantages of using a hardware device vs. software encryption?

The encryption is mainly carried over the software by the hardware-based encryption devices. For example, hardware security module or Trusted platform module provides better security as compared to software encryption. It is possible that hardware-based encryption may utilize more than one encryption standards to encrypt and decrypt the data (Brecht, 2015).

1. Advantages of hardware-based encryption: The hardware-based encryption is much more reliable and faster as compare to software-based encryption. It makes use of multiple data encryption standards. Moreover, after encryption, it stores the whole data over the computer disk which is considering to be the safest storage location.
2. Disadvantages of hardware ware-based encryption: The hardware-based encryption is not easy to implement as it requires an expert to implement. It is not flexible as compare to the software-based
3. Advantages of software-based encryption: The software-based encryption can be implemented over the several types of media. It requires less implementation cost for the small application environment. It also makes use of computer’s other resources to encrypt the data (Brecht, 2015).
4. Disadvantages of software ware-based encryption: The software-based encryption does not offer an as much secure environment as the hardware-based encryption is providing. Another disadvantage of software encryption is, it suffers from performance issues and is more susceptible to snooping and hacking. It also makes use of limited standards to encrypt and decrypt the data (Brecht, 2015).
5. Compare and contrast the privacy policies of popular social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat. Explain which social media services provide the highest amount of personal privacy.

While using social media sites, privacy is the primary concern. The social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat providing us a great deal to use and they will protect our privacy. The Facebook offers two-factor authentication for the security of the account. It also offers the feature of “App passwords.” The twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram also follow the feature of two-factor authentication as it safeguards the user account from hacking (Bennett, 2014).

All the social media platforms also differ from each other on the bases of security features they provide. The Instagram provides password protection security by linking the account with Facebook. With this feature the user needs to protect Facebook account, Instagram will automatically get secure. On the other hand, the Facebook sends the alert messages on the user’s number to aware the user about the activities which are taking place on his or her Facebook account (Bennett, 2014). Snapchat has introduced “Quick add” section, under this section multiple people can see your picture. If the user blocks that section then no strange will able to see your stories and pictures. Mass block feature is introduced by the Instagram to block the massive amount of accounts. It also uses encryption techniques to secure the data.

Among all the social media platforms we discussed, Snapchat is the most secure one. The reason is, in the Snapchat, the user will get the friends who are in his or her contact list. This means the pictures or stories the user post, are only visible to his or her close friend no stranger can visit their account. Moreover, with “Quick add” section the user can also block the unwanted people.

4. Explain mobile device security best practices such as smartphones and laptops.

The mobile device security is one of the biggest concern of device producer and the mobile device owner. Most of the industries which introduce mobile devices, decrease the potential security vulnerabilities that were present in mobile devices in earlier days. Moreover, the undeniable fact is that the mobile devices are now more cost-effective and come with several features. Following are some mobile device security best practices:

1. Secure the communication: Securing the communication, which is made via the mobile device is an essential part of security. Experts suggest that mobile device communication must be secure by applying encryption over the communication. This will safeguard the confidential communication as the encryption encodes the data (Chickowski, 2009).
2. Mobile security audits: Once in a year, the mobile devices producing companies, hire a security testing organization to conduct security audits over the mobile devices to make sure about the security features.
3. Antimalware software: Malware threats are the most sophisticated threats in the world of mobile and electronic devices. The user of the device is strongly recommended to install antimalware software. Because of this the intimal and most straightforward step for mobile device security. If the user wants to use a mobile device to access the Internet that he or she should install and update anti-malware software in the device (Chickowski, 2009).

 References

Brecht, D. (2015, June 23). Tales from the Crypt: Hardware vs. Software. Retrieved from https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/tales-crypt-hardware-software/

Chickowski, E. (2009). 10 Best Practices for Mobile Device Security. Retrieved from http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/10-Best-Practices-for-Mobile-Device-Security

Bennett, S. (2014, September 17). Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat – Social Media Cheat Sheet [INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/digital/social-media-user-cheat-sheet/