Information Security
Unauthorized Access

Abstract
Security is an enduring issue in Information Technology and can be hard to deal with at times with all of the diverse areas that it affects along with impacts that it can have on a corporation from day one. Unethical actions cause a huge risk on all aspects of security and needs to be well maintained. A deep leap into information security related to unauthorized access will be discussed by going into greater detail in different fields of security and why it is such a high priority in any company big or small. When thinking about the different security issues that occur there are many that people may not be aware of, but the ones that will be discussed to explore ethical situations are Unauthorized Access related to software, hardware, network, internet web mining, IT freedom and hacking. This paper examines how each unauthorized access should be handled and provides examples of each related area of security.

Security – Unauthorized Access Unauthorized access is known as the act of gaining access to a network, system, application, health information, or other resource without permission. In today’s world unauthorized access is a common thing, but not many people know that it happened and it goes unseen unless you have software to catch such an act. Of course there are some acts of unauthorized access like viruses that are common and come from emails, attachments, downloads applications, and come mainly from PC users not knowing what is legit or not. The types of unauthorized access that are discussed in this paper are Hardware, network, software, freedom in the IT world, web/data mining, and hacking. From a hardware standpoint unauthorized access can come in a form of a rogue access point, which has the capability of having unauthorized users steal information. Wireless networks that are not properly setup open up loop holes for outsiders to intrude and gain network access, which is capable of deploying a virus or gaining confidential information. Another area that has a unique situation is the IT department having the freedom to access any file in any location if proper security isn’t provided. On a personal level there is a lot of personal information that is capable of being access just by signing up for a social network on the internet and is done so by companies that use a web mining technique. Hacking comes in a form of good and bad depending on how you use its strength and can help companies that struggle with security, but can also hurt companies if not prepared. All of these issues will be discussed in further detail throughout the paper.

Unauthorized access can become a security threat when hardware comes into play. When thinking of how hardware can have unauthorized access it starts with a router. A router is capable of gaining access to a network just by plugging into the network jack and creating your own wireless password and SSID. This is what we called having a rouge access point, which is something that if not properly prepared for can easily provide someone access to an internal network allowing them to setup shop and not even be detected. When you think about what all can they do, it is a bit overwhelming because once into the network, they can start initiating key loggers, password crackers, viruses, spyware, and many more all from their computer. When thinking about this ethically really the only way for a router to get setup in a company is for someone who works there to bring it in and set it up thinking that they are doing nothing wrong. Maybe the company only offers wireless to certain employees so he decided to bring wireless in himself for his department and didn’t tell the IT staff. Ethically this is not the right thing to do because it opens up an avenue for outside hackers. If their password isn’t setup or isn’t strong enough an outside intruder can