Word of the Day: counterintelligence

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms |May 29, 2018

counterintelligence Counterintelligence (CI) is the information gathered and actions taken to identify and protect against an adversary's knowledge collection activities or attempts to cause harm through sabotage or other actions. The goal of CI is to ensure information cannot be modified or destroyed by a malicious actor and that only authorized people can access an organization's information. CI is often associated with intelligence agencies, government organizations or the military but businesses also benefit from including CI in their approach to security. In cybersecurity, counterintelligence is used to support the information security triad of Confidentiality, Availability, and Integrity (CIA). Many organizations practice aspects of CI, but refer to it by different names, including data loss prevention (DLP), malware reverse engineering and network forensics.   Counterintelligence activities can be categorized as being either collective, defensive or offensive. Collective CI efforts focus on learning who the adversary is, how they collect information, what attack vectors they are targeting and what tools they are using. Defensive CI efforts focus on securing information and preventing an adversary from stealing or destroying it. Offensive CI activities focus on turning an attack into an opportunity to gain an advantage by using disinformation. While most information technology (IT) security administrators routinely conduct defensive CI and collective CI, the value of using offensive CI is not always understood. With the right implementation, deception technology can be used to improve collective, defensive and offensive CI. Deception technology uses decoys, such as honeypots and virtual honeypots, to misdirect an attack and delay or prevent the attacker from going deeper into the network and reaching the intended target. By observing the tactics, techniques and procedures attackers use in their attack, defenders can gain valuable insight that can be incorporated into their defenses. Quote of the Day "The easiest way to implement a full counterintelligence stack is to use deception technology that misinforms and misleads attackers, thereby preventing them from furthering their attack." - Carolyn Crandall   Trending Terms attack vector disinformation confidentiality, integrity, and availability data loss prevention network forensics deception technology honeypot virtual honeypot   Learning Center EC calls on online platforms to develop common code of practice to tackle 'disinformation' The European Commission says online platforms such as social media and video sites, have not done enough to tackle unethical use, and call on them "to decisively step up their efforts to tackle online disinformation." Election cyberattack proves people are still the biggest flaw Experts said the NSA leak alleging election cyberattacks by Russia prove people are still the biggest cybersecurity flaw. OURSA takes on RSA Conference to highlight diversity After RSA Conference came under fire for a lack of female keynote speakers, infosec professionals formed the Our Security Advocates event, or OURSA. How intelligence data leaks caused collateral damage for infosec Intelligence data leaks, like the recent ones at the NSA and CIA, can cause serious damage for cybersecurity. Here's how. CISO job description: Business function more than IT The CISO job description is always up for debate. Is it moving beyond IT to influence broader security and risk management initiatives? Writing for Business The former bank technician admitted to the identity theft exploit and said he'd had a guilty ________ about it. A. conscious B. conscience Answer     Stay In Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com   Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!   FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2018 TechTarget. All rights reserved.