Digital security
Encyclopedia
'Digital Security' gives individuals the freedom to embrace the digital lifestyle – to confidently engage in everyday interactions across all digital devices. Digital security affects all aspects of the digital lifestyle, which, among others, comprises computers and the internet, telecommunications, financial transactions, transportation, healthcare, and secure access.
involves the protection of a computer's internet account and files from intrusion by an outside user. Internet users today are very familiar with companies like Symantec
(Norton Anti-Virus) and McAfee
that provide them with internet security products to guard against computer viruses, as well as to provide secure firewalls
and protection against spyware
.
Organizations like the Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a not-for-profit organization that helps enterprises reduce the risk of business and e-commerce disruptions resulting from inadequate technical security controls, and provides enterprises with resources for measuring information security status and making rational security
investment decisions. The fact that an organization like CIS exists today is proof of the importance of maintaining adequate internet security.
Another example of secure smart card
technology usage is the Microsoft .NET card framework. This is a software framework that is available with several Microsoft Windows
operating systems. It includes a large library of coded This article is basically an ad. Or rather, it is a company white paper promoting a particular company. I removed the link to the company. It needs to actually DEFINE "digital security" in its first sentence.
solutions to prevent common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. At Microsoft’s Heroes Happen Here event in February 2008 the inbuilt .NET smart card technology that operates the current Microsoft Windows server was showcased.
(Subscriber Identity Module) card, a device that is embedded in most of the world’s cellular devices before any service can be obtained. The SIM card is just the beginning of this digitally secure environment.
Recent developments in SCWS (Smart Card Web Servers) are pushing the boundaries of mobile technology. Tests are being conducted in secure OTA (over-the-air) payment and credit card information from and to a mobile phone. The link between the bank doing the paying and the person’s mobile device needs to be secure.
Combination SIM/DVD devices are being developed through Smart Video Card technology which embeds a DVD-compliant optical disc
into the card body of a regular SIM card.
Other telecommunication developments involving digital security include mobile signatures, which use the embedded SIM card to generate a legally binding electronic signature
.
This article is basically an ad. Or rather, it is a company white paper promoting a particular company. I removed the link to the company. It needs to actually DEFINE "digital security" in its first sentence.
security. Due to rapid advancements in online digital security, those concerns have been alleviated to a large extent.
VeriSign
, Inc. has emerged as the world’s trusted guarantor of ensuring that the entire infrastructure services of the internet are secure. Billions of times each day, its SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) as well as its successor TLS (Transport Layer Security
), identity and authentication services, and domain name
services allow companies and consumers all over the world to engage in trusted communications and commerce. Several versions of SSL and TLS are commonly used today in applications such as web browsing, e-mail, internet faxing, instant messaging
, and VoIP (voice-over-IP).
The credit card companies Visa
and MasterCard
cooperated to develop the secure EMV
chip which is embedded in credit cards. Further developments include the Chip Authentication Program
where banks give customers hand-held card readers to perform online secure transactions. The combination of improved internet security and improved credit card security has led to an explosion in online shopping.
Other developments in this arena include the development of technology such as Instant Issuance which has enabled shopping mall kiosks acting on behalf of banks to issue on-the-spot credit cards to interested customers.
Banks continue to make improvements to their digital
security software
in order to facilitate online banking
. Susan Orr, in a recent interview in ABA Banking Journal, explains: “Because regulators have been insisting on better perimeter controls as well as controls on key infrastructure and application areas, like internet banking …, most banks have those systems protected fairly well. Most are also ‘virus savvy,’ and This article is basically an ad. Or rather, it is a company white paper promoting a particular company. I removed the link to the company. It needs to actually DEFINE "digital security" in its first sentence.
are trying to catch up on other malware
trends, such as blended threats (e.g. virus worms or Trojans with embedded html
files).
agencies.
Most modern passports are now ePassports
, containing an embedded microchip
that stores a digitized photograph and personal information such as name, gender, and date of birth. In addition, more and more countries are introducing facial recognition technology to reduce identity-related fraud
. The introduction of the ePassport has assisted border officials in verifying the identity of the passport holder, thus allowing for quicker passenger processing. Plans are under way in several countries, including the US, the UK, and Australia
to introduce SmartGate kiosks with both retina and fingerprint recognition technology.
Additionally, e-Drivers’ licenses are being developed using the same technology. For example, Mexico’s licensing authority (ICV) has used a smart card platform to issue the first e-Drivers’ licenses to the city of Monterrey
, in the state of Nuevo León
.
The airline industry has witnessed the virtual demise of traditional paper tickets and the advent of more user-friendly electronic tickets (e-tickets). Their popularity has been made possible due to advances in online credit card transactions in partnership with the airlines. Long-distance bus companies are also switching over to e-ticketing transactions today. It will not be long before all tickets for any purpose will be in an electronic format.
Shipping companies have adopted RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology as an efficient, digitally secure, tracking device. Unlike a barcode
, RFID can be read up to 20 feet away, which makes this tracking method much more efficient and user-friendly. RFID has revolutionized well-known shipping companies like FedEx
and UPS
.
companies use the internet to provide enhanced products and services. More and more of these organizations are using the web to increase customer satisfaction, improve patient care, boost service revenues, and lower costs.
Health care companies like Humana
are leaders today in eHealth
; Humana partners with WebMD
, Oracle Corporation
, EDS
, Microsoft
, and TriZetto to enable its members to take a stakeholder approach to their health care, as well as to provide an overview of a wider and wider range of health care plans. Patient records are increasingly being placed on secure in-house networks, alleviating the need for extra storage space. Health care patients are more at ease with this electronic system precisely because their trust in digitally secure networks has increased.
, are all leaders in utilizing secure controlled access technology for any of their buildings. However, the use of this form of technology is spreading into the entrepreneurial world. More and more companies are taking advantage of the development of digitally secure controlled access technology. GE's ACUVision, for example, offers a single panel platform for access control, alarm monitoring and digital recording.
New approaches offer the best of both worlds by combining network DVR
capabilities with intelligent access control and alarm monitoring panel functionality into a single IP
solution. Systems now combine digital video monitoring/recording/playback, access control
and intrusion detection
functionality in a single panel solution. With these integrated digital video recording and access control platforms, security officers can display live and stored video associated with alarm conditions and cardholder activity.
Computers and the Internet
Internet securityInternet security
Internet security is a branch of computer security specifically related to the Internet. Its objective is to establish rules and measures to use against attacks over the Internet. The Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information leading to a high risk of intrusion or fraud,...
involves the protection of a computer's internet account and files from intrusion by an outside user. Internet users today are very familiar with companies like Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
(Norton Anti-Virus) and McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
that provide them with internet security products to guard against computer viruses, as well as to provide secure firewalls
Firewall (computing)
A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....
and protection against spyware
Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...
.
Organizations like the Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a not-for-profit organization that helps enterprises reduce the risk of business and e-commerce disruptions resulting from inadequate technical security controls, and provides enterprises with resources for measuring information security status and making rational security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
investment decisions. The fact that an organization like CIS exists today is proof of the importance of maintaining adequate internet security.
Another example of secure smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
technology usage is the Microsoft .NET card framework. This is a software framework that is available with several Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems. It includes a large library of coded This article is basically an ad. Or rather, it is a company white paper promoting a particular company. I removed the link to the company. It needs to actually DEFINE "digital security" in its first sentence.
solutions to prevent common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. At Microsoft’s Heroes Happen Here event in February 2008 the inbuilt .NET smart card technology that operates the current Microsoft Windows server was showcased.
Telecommunications
Perhaps the most widely known digitally secure telecommunication device is the SIMSubscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
(Subscriber Identity Module) card, a device that is embedded in most of the world’s cellular devices before any service can be obtained. The SIM card is just the beginning of this digitally secure environment.
Recent developments in SCWS (Smart Card Web Servers) are pushing the boundaries of mobile technology. Tests are being conducted in secure OTA (over-the-air) payment and credit card information from and to a mobile phone. The link between the bank doing the paying and the person’s mobile device needs to be secure.
Combination SIM/DVD devices are being developed through Smart Video Card technology which embeds a DVD-compliant optical disc
Optical disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...
into the card body of a regular SIM card.
Other telecommunication developments involving digital security include mobile signatures, which use the embedded SIM card to generate a legally binding electronic signature
Electronic signature
An electronic signature, or e-signature, is any electronic means that indicates either that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message, or more broadly that the person who claims to have written a message is the one who wrote it . By comparison, a signature is a stylized script...
.
This article is basically an ad. Or rather, it is a company white paper promoting a particular company. I removed the link to the company. It needs to actually DEFINE "digital security" in its first sentence.
Financial Transactions & Retail
The UCLA Internet Report: Surveying the Digital Future (2000) found that the privacy of personal data created barriers to online sales and that more than nine out of 10 internet users (were) somewhat or very concerned about credit cardCredit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
security. Due to rapid advancements in online digital security, those concerns have been alleviated to a large extent.
VeriSign
VeriSign
Verisign, Inc. is an American company based in Dulles, Virginia that operates a diverse array of network infrastructure, including two of the Internet's thirteen root nameservers, the authoritative registry for the .com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains and the .cc and .tv country-code...
, Inc. has emerged as the world’s trusted guarantor of ensuring that the entire infrastructure services of the internet are secure. Billions of times each day, its SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) as well as its successor TLS (Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
), identity and authentication services, and domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
services allow companies and consumers all over the world to engage in trusted communications and commerce. Several versions of SSL and TLS are commonly used today in applications such as web browsing, e-mail, internet faxing, instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, and VoIP (voice-over-IP).
The credit card companies Visa
Visa Debit
Visa Debit is a major debit card issued by Visa in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other nations of the European Union. Prior to October 2004, the debit card was known as Visa Delta. Since June 2009, the major banks in the UK have begun issuing Visa Debit. Barclays, Bank of...
and MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
cooperated to develop the secure EMV
EMV
EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA, a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards and IC card capable point of sale terminals and automated teller machines , for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.It is a joint effort between Europay, MasterCard and...
chip which is embedded in credit cards. Further developments include the Chip Authentication Program
Chip Authentication Program
thumb|right|250px|A GemAlto EZIO CAP Device Whitelabeled as Barclays PINSentryThe Chip Authentication Program is a MasterCard initiative and technical specification for using EMV banking smartcards for authenticating users and transactions in online and telephone banking. It was also adopted by...
where banks give customers hand-held card readers to perform online secure transactions. The combination of improved internet security and improved credit card security has led to an explosion in online shopping.
Other developments in this arena include the development of technology such as Instant Issuance which has enabled shopping mall kiosks acting on behalf of banks to issue on-the-spot credit cards to interested customers.
Banks continue to make improvements to their digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
security software
Security software
Security software is a generic term referring to any computer program or library whose purpose is to secure a computer system or computer network. Types of security software include:* Antivirus software* Anti keylogger* Cryptographic software...
in order to facilitate online banking
Online banking
Online banking allows customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual bank, credit union or building society.-Features:...
. Susan Orr, in a recent interview in ABA Banking Journal, explains: “Because regulators have been insisting on better perimeter controls as well as controls on key infrastructure and application areas, like internet banking …, most banks have those systems protected fairly well. Most are also ‘virus savvy,’ and This article is basically an ad. Or rather, it is a company white paper promoting a particular company. I removed the link to the company. It needs to actually DEFINE "digital security" in its first sentence.
are trying to catch up on other malware
Malware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
trends, such as blended threats (e.g. virus worms or Trojans with embedded html
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
files).
Travel and Transportation
The post 9/11 world has necessitated the rapid development of enhanced digital security for the traveling public in order to satisfy the enhanced entry requirements for more and more international border controlBorder control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
agencies.
Most modern passports are now ePassports
Biometric passport
A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport or ePassport, is a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travelers...
, containing an embedded microchip
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
that stores a digitized photograph and personal information such as name, gender, and date of birth. In addition, more and more countries are introducing facial recognition technology to reduce identity-related fraud
Identity fraud
Identity fraud may occur when someone steals personal information, opens credit card accounts in the victim's name without permission, and charges merchandise to those accounts. Conversely, identity fraud does not occur when a credit card is simply stolen. Stealing one’s credit card may be consumer...
. The introduction of the ePassport has assisted border officials in verifying the identity of the passport holder, thus allowing for quicker passenger processing. Plans are under way in several countries, including the US, the UK, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to introduce SmartGate kiosks with both retina and fingerprint recognition technology.
Additionally, e-Drivers’ licenses are being developed using the same technology. For example, Mexico’s licensing authority (ICV) has used a smart card platform to issue the first e-Drivers’ licenses to the city of Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, in the state of Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
.
The airline industry has witnessed the virtual demise of traditional paper tickets and the advent of more user-friendly electronic tickets (e-tickets). Their popularity has been made possible due to advances in online credit card transactions in partnership with the airlines. Long-distance bus companies are also switching over to e-ticketing transactions today. It will not be long before all tickets for any purpose will be in an electronic format.
Shipping companies have adopted RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology as an efficient, digitally secure, tracking device. Unlike a barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
, RFID can be read up to 20 feet away, which makes this tracking method much more efficient and user-friendly. RFID has revolutionized well-known shipping companies like FedEx
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
and UPS
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
.
Health care
Today, all health-care providers and health insuranceHealth insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
companies use the internet to provide enhanced products and services. More and more of these organizations are using the web to increase customer satisfaction, improve patient care, boost service revenues, and lower costs.
Health care companies like Humana
Humana
Humana Inc. , founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base of over 11.5 million in the United States, the company is the largest Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and has a...
are leaders today in eHealth
EHealth
eHealth is a relatively recent term for healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication, dating back to at least 1999...
; Humana partners with WebMD
WebMD
WebMD is an American corporation which provides health information services. It was founded in 1996 by Jim Clark and Pavan Nigam as Healthscape, later Healtheon, and then acquired WebMD in 1999 to form Healtheon/WebMD...
, Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, EDS
EDS
- Education :* Educational specialist , a terminal academic degree in the U.S.* Episcopal Divinity School, an Episcopal Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts* Evansville Day School, an independent college-prep school in Evansville, Indiana- Politics :...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and TriZetto to enable its members to take a stakeholder approach to their health care, as well as to provide an overview of a wider and wider range of health care plans. Patient records are increasingly being placed on secure in-house networks, alleviating the need for extra storage space. Health care patients are more at ease with this electronic system precisely because their trust in digitally secure networks has increased.
Secure Access
The FBI, CIA, and PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, are all leaders in utilizing secure controlled access technology for any of their buildings. However, the use of this form of technology is spreading into the entrepreneurial world. More and more companies are taking advantage of the development of digitally secure controlled access technology. GE's ACUVision, for example, offers a single panel platform for access control, alarm monitoring and digital recording.
New approaches offer the best of both worlds by combining network DVR
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
capabilities with intelligent access control and alarm monitoring panel functionality into a single IP
Image processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
solution. Systems now combine digital video monitoring/recording/playback, access control
Access control
Access control refers to exerting control over who can interact with a resource. Often but not always, this involves an authority, who does the controlling. The resource can be a given building, group of buildings, or computer-based information system...
and intrusion detection
Intrusion detection
In Information Security, intrusion detection is the act of detecting actions that attempt to compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of a resource. When Intrusion detection takes a preventive measure without direct human intervention, then it becomes an Intrusion-prevention...
functionality in a single panel solution. With these integrated digital video recording and access control platforms, security officers can display live and stored video associated with alarm conditions and cardholder activity.
External links
- Online shopping tips from the Better Business Bureau
- OnGuardOnline.gov - practical tips from the U.S. government and the technology industry to help online users secure their computers, be on guard against online fraud, and protect personal information
- Tips on securing your online transactions
- Consumer resource for information on wide-ranging digital security questions
- Center for Internet Security
- Microsoft Security
- Smart Card Alliance - industry association