Digital skills for adults - Course 1- English FF
Physical safety
Most modern digital devices that we use have a compact size that makes them particularly vulnerable to theft, and accidental loss or damage on devices. In case that device gets stolen or you lose the device, thieves or people who find the device could get access to devise data and other sensitive information such as e-bank accounts, and social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Losing a digital device is usually a huge pain for the device owner, but it can impact people and organizations whose data may be compromised by the theft.
Physical damage to the device could lead to complete loss of the device and data on the device. The main goal of physical security is to control who has access to the device and the proper user of the device.
What are the consequences:
Substantial financial losses if thieves access saved e-bank account or some online platform m account for sending and receiving money.
Data that can be found on the device, can threaten user privacy, unwanted access to data on the device can give sensitive information such as a home address, phone number, etc.
Sensitive data on a device or access to a social platform account saved on the device can damage device user reputation.
Risk of legal implication if a device has sensitive documents (firm documents or intellectual protected documents).
Complete loss of data that was on the device.
Loss of device and financial losses due to damage on the device.
Protecting systems
The main threat to digital device systems is malware that can be found today everywhere.
Malware is a combination of the words "malicious" and "software." It is often used as a catchall term for threats such as viruses, spyware, adware, and other software installed without a user's consent or knowledge.
Some of the ways that a digital device can be infected with malware can be by visiting the website and downloading infected files from the Internet, USB memory, and CD-DVD discs.
Malware is still a major problem worldwide, but the nature of malware is changing. Here are some of the biggest insights into how malware is evolving in 2021.
https://www.comparitech.com/antivirus/malware-statistics-facts/
Some categories of malware are:
Viruses are a kind of self-replicating software that can slow down or cripple systems and destroy or modify data.
Spyware is malware software that spies users' activity on a digital device in order to steal passwords, online banking credentials, and other personal information. It is created to save all typed data on the device sends it back to a cyber thief.
Adware displays annoying pop-up ads.
Scareware imitates antivirus or anti-spyware software, saying a computer has been infected, then encourages users to download (and pay for) a fake security solution. The downloaded software is usually spyware.
Botnets are networks of infected devices used for illegal activities, such as sending spam emails or "denial of service" attacks to other users.
What are the risks?
Data on the device can get corrupted some of the malware is designed to make data unusable
Using malware attackers can get some sensitive data like bank accounts or social platforms accounts that can be stored on the device. That can lead to financial loss and damage user reputation.
The device user can become a victim of fraud; malware can mislead users to enter credit cards which can lead to financial losses
Malware can be designed to impact device performance significantly.
The digital device can start to do illegal activities such as sending spam emails with malicious content. (this often happens with emails or message apps)
