CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.O BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The ongoing dilemma of
digital age is balancing convenience against security. Security is a system
safeguards for protecting information technology against disasters, system
failure, and an unauthorized access that can result in damage, loss or
exposure. There are several reports of spammers, crawlers and hackers who break
into people’s privacy to gain illegal access to their data. This has posed
greater challenges on people who use database, transact online, and internet
users. Information is a valuable and costly asset that must be presented,
controlled and planned just like other valuable assets within an organization.
This work is designed to provide a security mechanism using a computerized data
encryption system, readable data is altered into unreadable form to prevent
unauthorized access. Encryption is able to use powerful mathematical concept to
create coded message that is virtually impossible to break. It is easy to
encrypt a message on a simple personal computer so that the biggest computer in
the world could not decipher without spending for more time on the problem that
exists in the life span of the entire universe.
There are two basic forms of
encryption; private key encryption and public key encryption, the same secret
key is used by the sender and receiver to encrypt and decrypt message. Public
key encryption also known as asymmetric key encryption uses two different keys
at once, a combination of a private key and public key, the private key is
known only to your personal computer, while the public key is given by your
computer to any computer that wants to communicate securely with it. To decode
an encrypted message, a computer must use the public key, provided by the
originating computer, and its own private key.
1.1
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Security is currently a
widespread and growing concern that affects all areas of the society, in the
same manner data and information security has become one of the most pressing
challenges confronting all kinds of present day organizations owing to their
rapid adoption of information technology (IT) in the entirety of their
activities. This development has made data and information to a larger extend
vulnerable to unauthorized users, spammers, crawlers and hackers who break into
people’s and organization’s privacy. This has no doubt posed greater challenges
on people who use database, share files and other resources on computer networks.
1.2
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives of this work are as follows:
·
Reduce stress,
time consumption and cost of operation involved in a manual security system.
·
Develop a
software system that will restrict unauthorized access to data files on systems.
·
Suggest security
techniques which can create conducive working atmosphere for organizations that
are having their data threatened.
·
Enhance key
sharing mechanism that allows users to share and have access to files security.
1.3
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study serves as a
contribution towards improving information, data and information security on
computerized information systems especially for organizations where data is
transferred from one point to another. It will contribute in solving the problems
of insecurity on both network for individual computers on a network. It also
enhances the ability to support customers by providing secured and accurate
access to all information. In the same manner, it will benefit those who
transact online.
1.4
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
This work is only concerned
with security of information (encryption and decryption) for firms and
individuals. It does not consider the firms policies and other issues.
1.5
JUSTIFICATION OF THE NEW SYSTEM
With regards to existing
system, it is important for organization to develop a new system. This system
will be designed with security as its watchword. It will be able to check
access to the system. It will provide improved system efficiency, the
unintentional distortion of data will be avoided and fraudulent practices and
defaulters will be checked.
1.6
DEFINITION OF TERMS
·
Data: data is
the raw fact or observation, typically about physical entity or business
transactions. Technically, data is the raw form of information stored as
columns and rows in our databases, network servers and personal computers.
·
Data security:
This is the practice of keeping data protected from corruption and unauthorized
access. The focus behind data security
is to ensure privacy while protecting personal or corporate data.
·
Information:
This refers to data that has been processed in such a way to be meaningful to
the person who receives it.
·
Cryptography:
This is the science of scrambling data.
·
Encryption:
encryption is the conversion of data into a form that cannot be easily
understood by an unauthorized people.
·
Decryption:
Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data back into its original
form, so it can be understood.
·
Cipher text:
this is the encrypted data; it is also called a cipher.
·
Decipher text:
This is the decrypted data; it is also called a plain text.