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Malicious Attacks and Threats

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Malicious Attacks and Threats As the lead Information Systems Security Engineer it is my job to ensure that the ongoing threat of malicious attacks and vulnerabilities to the organizations computer network are kept to a minimum so that highly sensitive data will continue to remain protected. However, recent reports from the CIO suggest that there has been a small amount of malicious activity reported on the network. The CIO is requesting I look into the current network infrastructure and make necessary changes to the network so that the system remains free from the threat and vulnerability of future malicious activity that would impact the organizations network. Attacks on computer systems and networks occur by the billions every year and are on a dramatic increase. Many organizations have invested vast amounts of money in computer networks, only to find out that although it is providing means of improving the efficiency and productivity of the organization it also exposes the organization to possible malicious attacks and threats. Such attacks have been the most challenging issue for a majority of Information System Security Engineers where they utilize the necessary resources to protect the network from these vulnerabilities. The greatest overall threat to computer systems and their information comes from humans, through actions that are either malicious or ignorant. When the action is malicious, some motivation or goal is generally behind the attack. For instance, the goal could be to disrupt normal business operations, thereby denying data availability and production. In 2011, Symantec has reported blocking over 5.5 billion malicious attacks on various networks. This was an increase in malicious attacks of up to eighty one percent from 2010. Symantec has also reported that the malware software has risen to about 405 million and the

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