Research Guides: Cybersecurity Research Guide: Introduction

Introduction

This guide is designed to help cybersecurity students with library resources for papers, presentations, and research needs. Navigate this guide by using the content bars at the top of the page.

Getting Started:

In today's interconnected world, cybersecurity is a foundational element in protecting sensitive data, digital assets, and personal privacy. As threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, a solid understanding of cybersecurity principles, threats, and solutions is essential for students, researchers, and professionals in every field. This guide is designed to help you explore the complex landscape of cybersecurity by providing organized access to trusted books, scholarly articles, databases, reputable websites, and practical tutorials.

7 key cybersecurity concepts, their importance, and brief descriptions:

Concept	Importance	Brief Description
CIA Triad	Core foundation of cybersecurity	Confidentiality: Ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorized to view it. It protects a variety of data from unauthorized access Integrity: Ensuring data has not been tampered with. It is critical for trust in systems. Availability: ensuring that systems and data are accessible when needed. Downtime can disrupt operations and cause financial and reputable loss.
Cyberattacks	Understanding threats helps in defense strategy	Various malicious activities like malware, phishing, ransomware aimed at damaging, stealing, or disrupting data and systems.
Identification, Authentication, Authorization, Accountability (IAAA)	Manages access control	Processes to confirm user identity, verify credentials, grant access rights, and track user actions. Identification: This involves uniquely identifying a user or entity, often through a username, account number, or ID. It establishes who is trying to access a system or resource. Authentication: This process verifies the identity of the user or entity by validating credentials such as passwords, biometric data, or security tokens. It ensures that the person or system attempting to access a resource is truly who they claim to be. Authorization: Once identified and authenticated, authorization determines what actions or resources the user is permitted to access. This is often defined by roles or access control policies, ensuring that individuals only have access to the data and systems they need to perform their job. Accountability: Ensuring that user actions can be traced back to the individual responsible. This is achieved through logging, auditing, and monitoring, making sure that every action within the system is recorded and attributed to the correct user. Accountability helps detect and prevent misuse and enables investigation in case of security incidents.
Operating Systems Security	OS vulnerabilities are common attack targets	Understanding unique security features and patching for Windows, macOS, Linux to protect systems from attacks.
Cryptography	Essential for securing data and communications	Uses codes and encryption algorithms to protect information confidentiality and verify data integrity.
Threat and Vulnerability Management	Reduces risk by identifying weaknesses	Detection and mitigation of software flaws, unpatched systems, and known attack methods to prevent exploits.
Incident Response	Critical for minimizing damage after attacks	Procedures to detect, contain, and recover from cybersecurity incidents efficiently.