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Social Media demographics

1. 1, Facebook, 2, YouTube, 3, Whatsapp

2. Facebook works by allowing people to connect through its website reaction feature, YouTube is a video-sharing site where people upload videos. Whatsapp is a messaging app in the same vein as iMessage.

3. Demographics are the type of people who can use your website or app and people to appeal to  

4. The majority of Facebook users are in the 25-34 years old, same with YouTube and WhatsApp.

5. Facebook users spend on average 35 minutes per day on the app, for YouTube 45 minutes, for WhatsApp 38 minutes.

6. The fastest growing social media platform in 2023 is TikTok and I believe that is because of the easy to watch short-form content.

7. The majority of users for these site are visiting them through mobile devices

An example of bad behavior online is the TrueUSD (TUSD, TrueCoin) data breach.

The incident happened on July 13, 2023 the entities that were involved were TrueCoin (the entity that owns TrueUSD), and a security team from one of their third-party vendors.

This started when the security team of a third-party vendor of TrueCoin detected suspicious activity. The alert showed unusual account modifications by a compromised support vendor associated with TrueCoins operations. From what I can find there were no financial damages but this incident did cause damage to TrueCoin’s reputation as people were too scared to trust them with their crypto and their money which can inadvertently cause financial damage to TrueCoin as it can make people not invest in them as TrustCoin has not told who the affected users of the data breach are. So far the criminals have not been found so therefore they have not been held accountable for the crime this can pose a problem since they have not been found and held accountable they can attack more companies and people’s data. A lesson that can be learned from this is that we should be careful where we put our banking information and money as well as making sure that we can trust the companies who hold that information.

Types of cyber security threats and how to deal with them.

For this assignment, I have been tasked with being in the shoes of a CIO or IT supervisor of a company, and I have to identify 5 sources/types of potential digital threats to the organization; identify at least 5 digital processes, systems, and/or functions your company has in place; and to make a strategy (5 recommendations) for the company to adopt in order to be more safe.

The 5 sources/types of digital threats:

1. Trojans: trojans are a type of malicious code that poses as a safe program in a download. These can look like a normal file or program (e.g. games, word documents, etc). When downloaded these programs can take control of the person’s device, and can spread itself to different contacts on the person’s computer.

1. Ransomware: Ransomware is when a person or organization is denied access to their systems or data due to encryptions. It is usually installed through a malicious email with it as an attachment which is opened and downloaded. Attackers will usually demand a ramson be paid in order for a decryption key to be provided to restore access. However, there is no guarantee that they will give a key or that the key will work.

1. Spyware: Spyware is a type of malware that is downloaded to a person’s computer without their knowledge and gains access to a person’s data, including sensitive information like passwords and payment details.

1. DDoS: A Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is when a person hacks someone’s computer and installs malware allowing the attacker to remotely control the system. These devices are called bots or zombies in order to get personal information out of it, they then can release it to the public. A DDoS attack can also be used as a means of disruption of a targeted sever by overwhelming the server resulting in limiting normal traftie

1. Crypto-jacking: crypto-jacking is a malicious download that installs software to a person’s computer. Once installed, the program uses the computer resources to mine cryptocurrency on said person’s computer.

The 5 types of digital processes that are in place (how they can be exploited):

1. Anti-virus: a good anti-virus can easily block or delete malicious programs and files off of a hard drive or a database. A problem with anti-virus is that some files can bypass it and sometimes the anti-virus can detect safe files as potential viruses.

1. Backup servers: backup servers are used to collect backup data in case of a ransomware attack. They manage and store files and data allowing data to be restored if needed. One downside to backup servers is that they are expensive to run and manage since they are just like any server. Also, they can be hacked and held for ransom just like a regular server.

1. Block unsafe sites: Administrators can block known sites that are not safe for employees to go to. A downside is that it does not work for customers. Also, unknown sites which are not safe will not be blocked.

1.  Block unknown software: restrictions can be used to stop access to downloading any unknown software. This will stop malicious software and programs from getting company and customer data, the downside to this is that safe programs could be blocked as well.

1. Keep all of our software up to date: this ensures that software will be running at its full potential and at optimal speed. This will keep the systems running safely, blocking the newest threats. The downside would be that more recent software can cost a significant amount of money.

My 5 recommendations:

1. Invest in a DDoS protection program: one way to protect against DDoS attacks on the company is by investing in a trusted DDoS protection company with a reliable DDoS protection program. A good protection program will provide routine updates to look for newer threats as well as established attacks.

1. Make sure the anti-virus software is trusted: some anti-virus software should not always be trusted or is effective. To make sure that we get the best out of an anti-virus we should. Purchase a reliable and trusted software which gives frequent updates.

1. Check ads on our site: by checking all the ads that go through the site we can block ones that look like scams.

1. Check firewall month: by checking on our firewall monthly we are able to block any suspicious programs. Routine maintenance and inspection allows for the firewall to remain effective

Not allow attachments from outside the company: all attachments must be quarantined and reviewed to ensure that they do not contain malicious materials.

The tutorials that I have chose were ones to help fix the black screen after a restart and log-in.

1. The first source that I used was from Microsoft support, which from what I could find was made this year. The company making this tutorial is Microsoft and they do have authority over this subject as they are a computer software company and one of the biggest. I can tell that they are an authority because they have other reliable tutorials, and they are the products software company. They want you to have a good understanding of the software which they have released. There does not seem to be any gatekeeping mechanisms. The information is very easy to follow and laid out in an easy format. I will use this tutorial in the future as I have a Windows machine that does this sometimes. 

1. The second source that I used was from HP, which was made on August 19, 2022. HP does have authority over this subject as they are a computer hardware company and should know about computer problems affecting their products, and how to fix them. There does not seem to be any gatekeeping mechanisms for this site. The information is put out in a nice orderly fashion and goes into detail on trouble shouting what might be the problem including how to fix it from both the hardware and software aspects. I feel this source is somewhat easy to follow. I might use this in the future especially if I have my own PC instead of a laptop.

1. The third source I referenced was AVG, which was produced on May 19, 2023. AVG is a cybersecurity company and is not a software or hardware developer so they are not a great authority on this subject. They don’t seem to have any gatekeeping mechanisms for this site. The information was not laid out in as good and orderly fashion as the first two, but it is still able to be read with useful information. The quality of the information is good since it goes into great detail as to what could be the problem. I will probably not use this in the future as it will not be as helpful.

Sources

Microsoft: Troubleshooting black or blank screens in Windows – Microsoft Support

HP: How to Fix a Black Screen on Your Computer < Tech Takes – HP.com Malaysia

AVG: How to Fix Windows 10 and 11 Black Screen Issues Before or After Logging In