Cyber security, and especially cyber threats, are becoming more and important for the shipping industry, which gets affected as well. In order to help understand some of the basic terminology of cyber-security, the Korean Register of Shipping presents three key cyber terms.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)
SSL is the standard security technology for creating an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link makes sure that all data passed between the web server and browsers are private and integral.
SSL is an industry standard and is used by millions of websites to protect their online transactions with their customers. In order to create an SSL connection a web server needs an SSL Certificate. While the SSL Certificate application process is taking place, the Certification Authority will validate the details and issue an SSL Certificate containing the operator’s details, enabling him/her to use SSL. The web server will then match the issued SSL Certificate to the Private Key. The web server will also be able to establish an encrypted link between the website and the customer’s web browser.
Man in the middle attack (MITM)
This is an attack where the attacker secretly relays and possibly changes the communication between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other. An example of a MITM attack is active eavesdropping, in which the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them to make them believe they are talking directly to each other over a private connection, when in reality the entire conversation is controlled by the attacker.
The attacker must be able to intercept all relevant messages passing between the two victims and inject new ones. This is direct in many circumstances; for example, an attacker within reception range of an unencrypted wireless access point (Wi-Fi) could insert themselves as a man-in-the-middle.
Sandbox
Sandbox is a security mechanism for separating running programs, usually in order to mitigate system failures or software vulnerabilities from spreading. It is often used to execute untested or untrusted programs or code, potentially from unverified or untrusted third parties, suppliers, users or websites, without risking harm to the host machine or operating system. A sandbox typically provides a tightly controlled set of resources for guest programs to run in, such as scratch space on disk and memory.
