A fire drill for cyber attacks
A school has a fire plan. Everyone knows the risks. Doors are fitted and checked. Alarms ring. There is a drill to get out, and a plan to restart lessons.
A computer system needs the same five steps for cyber attacks.
They are the minimum standard for how a system is designed and run.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Function | One of the five jobs: identify, protect, detect, respond, recover. |
| Operating system | The main software of a computer, such as Windows or macOS. |
| Identify | Find out what you have and what could go wrong. |
| Protect | Put controls in place to lower the risk. |
| Detect | Spot a security problem when it happens. |
| Respond | Act to stop the harm spreading. |
| Recover | Get systems and data working again, and learn from it. |
| Attack surface | All the places where an attacker could try to get in. |
| Legacy system | An old system that is still used but no longer well supported. |
| Risk assessment | Checking what could go wrong, how likely it is and how bad it would be. |
| Network | Computers and devices linked so they can share data. |
| Firewall | A gate that lets some traffic in or out and blocks the rest. |
| Encryption | Scrambling data so only a person with the right key can read it. |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can explain the five functions, give the actions that belong to each, and say how they shape a network design.
Starter: models
Have a go
Starter: models
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Cycle 1: identify
Identify means know the risks to the network, its users and its devices. Three actions:
- Assign a cyber security lead: one person is in charge.
- Do risk assessments of each system, to see which risks are most serious.
- Write down the settings of each device, and the plan for each threat and weak point.
Cycle 2: protect
Protect means use controls that lower the risk. Eight actions:
- Install anti-virus and a firewall.
- Reduce the attack surface: turn off what is not needed.
- Use trusted and supported operating systems and programs.
- Decommission weak and legacy systems.
- Run regular security audits and checks for weak points.
- Encrypt data at rest and in transit.
- Give users the minimum access they need.
- Give staff cyber security training.
Check: identify and protect
Have a go
Check: identify and protect
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.