Reference no: EM132922099
Question: Reply to the post below. Of the NSA's ten First Principles of Cybersecurity, "information hiding" is listed as the seventh. Information hiding is fairly straightforward and it's applications and uses are numerous. Information hiding is the tactic of keeping only pertinent information accessible while keeping secure information inaccessible.
This can be accomplished by compiling data in a stack that only allows the information on top to be viewable or modifiable, encapsulating data or sets of instructions into a single unmodifiable entity and more nefariously hiding data in plain site layered into something like an image. These methods for hiding data prevent both intentional and unintentional modification to critical data important for the operational quality of the computer and its programs. By stacking data there may be layers under the viewable stack that can be made accessible with the proper passwords or credentials. This prevents someone from seeing or modifying data that they are not qualified to interact with. Encapsulating data is similar, but takes away the ability to access the data within it all together.
This technique is also used to make programming cleaner and more efficient. Hiding data in plain site is often used maliciously to sneak data onto someones computer without them realizing it. Hidden imperceptibly in the immense amount of data for an image could be instructions to allow attacks. This method could also be used to share secure information and add an extra layer of security, but is less commonly used for this purpose. Regardless of how information hiding is deployed, the value it has to cybersecurity is huge.
It would seem obvious that you would not want to put all of your cards on the table for everyone to see. By compiling and encapsulating data you are able to do just that. Data hiding keeps the user from being overwhelmed by the intricacies of the data and/or accidentally modifying something that is crucial to the basic operation of the program. By employing data hiding, one can feel more secure about the accessibility of their data. Rather than making every detail of data available, it can be hidden behind or within other forms of data and made inaccessible.
This can create a head ache for someone trying to re-write a program, but is crucial to maintaining secure data and consistent operation especially if an attacker gets a hold of it.
Reference: Hale M. L., Gandhi R., Morrison B. B. (2018). Introduction to Cybersecurity First Principles. Nebraska GenCyber.