Home > Articles > Security > General Security and Privacy

This chapter is from the book

New Team Member Profile

There was a time when requirements for becoming a member of the Cisco PSIRT team included, apart from sound security acumen and knowledge, things such as “works 24 hours a day, leaps over tall buildings, and is capable of stopping a running train.” Shirts with the letter “S” were given when you joined the team, but we had to bring our own cape. That was the humorous side of the requirements, but reality, as everyone knows, is much stranger than fiction.

Computer security is not just a job; it is a way of life and a special state of mind. When most people see a new device or an application, they think: “Nice features. How can I use them?” Security-inclined people think: “How can protection be circumvented, and how can someone misuse a feature?” That is what immediately separate security-oriented people from others. Working in the computer security arena requires dedication, an open mind, and knowledge. One comforting thing for people who would like to work in an IRT but are afraid they would not be given the chance because they lack knowledge and experience is that these things are important but are not paramount. You can learn facts, but you cannot “learn” lateral thinking and security acumen.

When hiring, the IRT should look at the way a candidate thinks about problems, the way the problem is approached, and how quickly new information is used to reevaluate it. Often a candidate might be asked some trick questions that are completely unrelated to security, or even computers, just to assess how the candidate thinks. If candidates have the right qualities, they can learn the details afterward. It is always much easier to memorize simple facts such as “/etc/shadow file contains passwords” than to understand reasons why passwords have been moved from /etc/password and placed in this other file.

Obviously, having the knowledge is good and, all things being equal, candidates with more knowledge and experience will probably have an advantage over inexperienced ones. Therefore, for all prospective IRT members, keep on learning and be curious.

Apart from security acumen, a good candidate must also posses the following skills:

  • Good technical skills. Understand operating systems, networks, cryptography, a few programming languages (for example, Perl, C, and Java), and how all these elements interoperate.
  • Have good interpersonal skills.
  • Do not panic easily.
  • Form a mental image of an incident based on sketchy information and make decisions.

Strong Technical Skills

Good understanding does not mean knowing all the details, but it does mean knowing salient details, why things are set up that way, and where to look for full details. Here are two examples of what would be a minimum of knowledge on two topics:

  • Microsoft Windows configuration parameters: Microsoft Windows stores configuration details in the Registry, which is divided into hives. Each Registry hive is further divided into keys, subkeys, and values. A tool Reg.exe is used to edit the Registry. Further details are on the Microsoft website.

  • Border Gateway Protocol (BGP): Transfers routing information in the Internet. The routing information is used by individual routers to make decision where to route a particular packet given its destination. More information about BGP can be found on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Cisco websites.

In both examples, it is sufficient to know the basic principles about how things are related and what their function is in the overall scheme. Knowing where to look for more information, or who to ask, is also required. Good team members must be able to learn new things fast, and “fast” means in a matter of a few hours. Understanding malware written in a programming language that you never have seen before should slow you down only for how long it takes to locate and download a reference manual for that language.

Effective Interpersonal Skills

Handling incidents requires good interpersonal skills. Electronic mail is used a lot in the communication with other teams, but it is not known for its capability to transfer subtleties. People can interpret the same sentence differently depending on the way it is said and the tone that was used, but none of that can be conveyed by email. Often people who exchange emails are using a common language (English, most of the time) that is not the native tongue for either of them. Adding cultural differences into the mix can make the communication challenges even more demanding. To improve the understanding of the case, you should always consider picking up the telephone and calling the other party.

There are, however, some potential drawbacks when talking to a member of the other IRT. When non-native speakers are involved, there may be disparity on how well the other party mastered the spoken versus written language. Some people might have an excellent command of a written language but a mediocre, if not bad, command of the spoken language. That can happen if the person does not have a sufficient opportunity to practice talking and listening to a foreign language but spends a lot of time reading it. Even if a person is good at speaking a foreign language, it is still a question of the accent. That can occasionally cause problems even for native speakers when one, or both, sides have a heavy local accent. As you can see, there are ample opportunities for misunderstanding, so the members of an IRT must be able to handle the situation well.

One situation that can arise when handling a live incident is that a person reporting the incident says offensive things or becomes abusive. In most cases, when that happens, that kind of behavior is not normal for the reporter but is the consequence of the attack. The attacked person might feel that he is not understood and that the IRT member is taking the situation too lightly, so the reporter might become agitated. The IRT member must be able to recognize when such a behavior is the result of panic and when it is not and adjust the approach accordingly.

Does Not Panic Easily

Occasionally a team needs to handle an ongoing incident. The party from the other side is being attacked right now, its business is disrupted, and it is losing money or sensitive information is being siphoned off. It is understandable if that person is not calm but agitated and panicked. For IRT members, it is important to know how to handle that situation. First, the team members must not be easily agitated herself but have a steady temper. They also must work to calm the person on the phone to get the information on what is happening.

Forms an Incident’s Image

When handling live incidents, the IRT member must be able to quickly form a picture of what is going on. To assess the situation, decide on possible ways to deal with the situation and recommend actions, which must be done in real time with only partial information. Sometimes the information is partial because the person reporting the incident forgot to provide it, and sometimes because she genuinely does not know it.

Apart from creating a picture, the IRT member must be able to make decisions autonomously and confidently. Someone who is indecisive cannot provide effective help during an ongoing incident.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020