Tech Topic Connection

 My chosen tech topic is phishing and email spam. Phishing and email spams connect to the fundamentals of information technology covered in this course. During week 4 we learned about network management and security and the various threats that computers can be attacked through and from. Phishing and email spams is one of the biggest cyber-attacks that happen very often. Phishing and email spam are directly related to the fields of information technology because they exploit the technology and systems that these fields have developed. In the early days of computers, the main function was to perform calculations and process data more efficiently than humans. Eventually technology advanced to the creation of networks and internet, this opened up possibilities for communication including email, which is a fundamental tool for personal and professional communication. Phishing and email spam exploit the major hardware components of a modern computer system. The. CPU, memory, storage, dislplay, and OS all play roles in how these malicious activities are carried out and how attackers can achieve their objectives. Phishing and email spam use programming languages like Javascript, python, and. HTML. These programs execute through email, web browsers, stealing. Information, and. Spreading malware. Social Engineering Toolkit is a useful toolset that can be used for phishing and social engineering attacks. This tool kit is completely written in python and comes with a great set of features. Sending mass emails, phishing websites and payload creation are some of the features that are worth noting. Let us understand how SET can be used to conduct a simple phishing attack. (Srinivas, 2020). The role of application software in email spam and phishing is crucial. Attackers exploit email clients and browsers to deliver malicious and fake sites; they use programming scripts to mass distribute spam and malware deployment. To counter these threats, security software and spam filters analyze and block emails—threats before they reach users. Email integrates machine learning to detect machine learning, while web browsers use anti-phishing tools to warn against malicious sites. Multi-factor authentication and encryption further protect email communications and user data. Email clients and database management systems are crucial in countering email spam and phishing. Application software such as spam filters and antivirus programs analyze incoming emails for suspicious content. These programs use databases of known spam and phishing signatures to identify and block threats. Machine learning algorithms within these applications can improve over time by learning from new spam and phishing attempts, enhancing their detection accuracy. Network architecture, management, and security are fundamental in combating email spam and phishing. Effective network architecture includes robust email servers with spam filters and firewalls to block malicious traffic. Network management involves monitoring and maintaining systems to detect threats and respond quickly. Security measures like encryption and multi-factor authentication- users must be careful and update their phone numbers when changed to avoid losing access to their accounts. Regular software updates will help protect sensitive user data from phishing attacks. VPN are another way to protect your data and information. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, provides an encrypted tunnel for all your online activities. It disguises your original identity and location and allows you to connect with the world through secured remote servers. This eliminates the chance of spying and snooping, and cybercriminals cannot access your information and identity. (Alexandra, 2022). All these things together help create a secure environment that will help reduce the occurrence of future attacks.

                                    Refrences:

Srinivas. (2020, December 22). Email-based attacks with Python: Phishing, email bombing and more | Infosec. Www.infosecinstitute.com. https://www.infosecinstitute.com/resources/secure-coding/email-based-attacks-with-python-phishing-email-bombing-and-more/

Alexandra, S. (2023, April 18). What is Phishing and How to Prevent It. GlobalSign. https://www.globalsign.com/en/blog/what-is-phishing