What is a Cold Boot Attack?

In cryptography, a cold boot attack (or to a lesser extent, a platform reset attack) is a type of side channel attack in which an attacker with physical access to a computer is able to retrieve encryption keys from a running operating system after using a cold reboot to restart the machine from a completely “off” state. The attack relies on the data retention property of DRAM and SRAM to retrieve memory contents which remain readable in the seconds to minutes after power has been removed.

PCI Compliance-Code Review or Web Application Firewall

Payment Card Industry (PCI) – Data Security Standard is standard set based on a consensus based process led by 5 major credit card companies. It is not a government enforced standard and compliance is enforced by the credit companies.

Non-compliance results in higher fees and severe fines in the event of breach. All merchants and service providers collecting and processing credit card transactions are required to comply with the PCI-DSS. Version 1.2 of the standard was released in October 2008.

Section 6.6 of the PCI-DSS requires that for all public-facing applications, new threats and vulnerabilities should be addressed on an on-going basis and ensure that the applications are protected against know attacks.

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James Bond Meets The 7 Layer OSI Model-Technology Demystified

The OSI model describes the flow of data in a network, from the lowest layer (the physical connections) up to the layer containing the user’s applications. Data going to and from the network is passed layer to layer. Each layer is able to communicate with the layer immediately above it and the layer immediately below it. This way, each layer is written as an efficient, streamlined software component. When a layer receives a packet of information, it checks the destination address, and if its own address is not there, it passes the packet to the next layer. Continue reading “James Bond Meets The 7 Layer OSI Model-Technology Demystified”

IT Governance Institute’s New Framework-Risk IT

IT risk is gaining increased attention from executive management, stakeholders and regulators alike. The COBIT framework provides a generally accepted framework for IT but this does not deal with risk management in a comprehensive manner. The ITGI has now remedied this gap with their latest initiative-a framework for IT related risk management. Continue reading “IT Governance Institute’s New Framework-Risk IT”