Example

 LMC Cyber Consulting is a medium-sized company which provides cyber services for a range of finance companies across the UK. It has faced many cyber threats in recent years which has led to unauthorized access to financial data. 

Overview of the current issues: 

There have been many issues that have been brought to attention whilst going through the control documents of which are: 

Outdated operating systems 

They are running a Windows 7 and Office 2007 which are outdated and incompatible with other newer software's which affects the way data is transferred 

the policies of the company haven't changed for years and have not been updated to meet the growth of the company this makes the company inefficient and this makes the company make it harder for employee to do their job and this will impact the business because it will drive up the cost because how long basic takes take and will decrease the profit of the business. 

The operating system is a windows server from 2008 and is outdated. This will cause a range of problems such as security vulnerabilities. This makes them more open and makes it easier for cybercriminals to steal data or cause harm to the business. 

Also due to the business not being up to date with passwords that means they aren't up to the same level as hackers and they should update their systems to the latest patch and this makes sure there are no known vulnerabilities in their system that can be exploited by hackers and they have a zero day bug and this will deter cyber criminals from even trying to attempt to hack the business. 

Usernames and passwords 

The passwords of the business's employees are weak and basic “Password1” is an extremely easy password and is easy to guess due to its popularity and instead the company should have strong passwords that are long and have a range of different symbols and characteristics and each employee's password should be different. Because this has not been done it makes the company vulnerable to cybercriminals and this can result in things such as a ransomware attack or the stealing of the businesses data. 

VPN Service 

The company has 10 licenses for VPN services, which is limited as it restricts people from accessing them. Users have also reported that whilst they connect to the office via the VPN, they are unable to as VPN services as they are in use by other users. Also the VPN is not encrypted other than for two devices this makes the business really vulnerable to cybercriminals because once that data is intercepted by them it can be understood due to it not being encrypted this means if the company does have encryption that will mean only the end user can understand the data and no third party can gain access and even if they do they can't make use out of it unless they have the encryption key. Therefore, they should increase access to the services from 10 to 20 users so that all users can navigate safely and from home, which will increase the employees' work rate as well. 

Staff Training  

It is also evident according to the documents that staff only undergo training once and never after. There are videos also tend to focus on 2014 security threats which means that staff are only trained to know and how to prevent cyberthreats from 2014 this is bad because that means that the staff don't know about new threats because there are many more sophisticated attacks since 2014 and staff training should be constantly updated so staff know about new and emerging threats. 

Network topology 

The business has not updated its rules and policies for a long time and the business has expanded its number of employees and now this has caused problems for the business because this makes the business less adapted and less efficient. 

Network configuration 

This is one of the areas that are vulnerable because of the way the business is structured, and this can be exploited and used for the advantage of cybercriminals because of the way the policies are of the business, and they haven't changed and adapted even though there has been growth in the size of the amount of employees. If the business improves its rules and policies to match the number of employees that will make the business more efficient and make it easier for the employees to do their job. 

TEST PLAN 

ISSUES	TEST DATES	PROPOSED TEST	EXPECTED OUTCOME
File server has an older OS system	06/01/2025	Should upgrade the OS system to Window server 2022	This will make the boot time much faster, smoother multitasking, and it will be compatible with the domain controller OS
User Desktops have an older OS system	06/01/2025	Upgrade the OS system to Windows 10	This will make the boot time much faster, smoother multitasking, and it will be compatible with the domain controller OS
All users have the same access levels	06/01/2025	Apply user access levels depending on their role in the business	Employees have access to their limited files depending on their role in the organization
Staff has been made aware of 2014 security threats and sat training once in their work time	06/01/2025	Regular training with up-to-date threats	This would make them aware of new threats and teach them how to prevent them
All admins have weak and same passwords	06/01/2025	They should allow or provide users with strong passwords	This will reduce the likelihood of brute force attacks and make sure that the users do not access other users accounts as everyone has different passwords
There is no encryption provided to administrators and other users	06/01/2025	Apply IPSec encryption to all user's account	This would make data transmission much safer and ensure that users data is always kept safe

 

The purpose of this test plan is to support our IT users and to find the root cause of the issues within the LMC Cyber Consulting. 

TESTING  

TESTS	PURPOSE	EXPECTED OUTCOME	ACTUAL OUTCOME
Pen testing	To find any vulnerability in the system	If any vulnerability is found, we quickly fix them	TBD
Black Box testing	Evaluate the functionality, security, performance, and other aspects of an application with no knowledge of a system's internals	We will be able to identify any bugs and issues with the system	TBD
White box testing	Provides the tester with complete knowledge of the application being tested, including access to source code and design documents.	We will be able to identify any bugs and issues with the system	TBD
Usability testing	To understand how real users interact with your website and make changes based on the results.	We will learn the user end to end experience, and we will find how to improve their experience	TBD

 

Conclusion 

This cyber security fault-finding investigation has highlighted critical vulnerabilities and associated threats within the organization's network. By adding all the recommended security measures and testing that were discussed, the company can strengthen its defense and minimize any external threats and cyber-attacks. Regular security assessments, user training, and regular monitoring are crucial to maintaining a secure IT environment within the company and ensuring all users with online safety