Crackers wishing to enter computer systems without permission are opposed by the security team or system administrators who operate the computerized devices.

System Administrators have tools to counter attacks.

Diligent system administrators can apply “hardening” processes or tools to their devices to improve the system security above its default when installed.

Hardening a system requires periodic maintenance to make sure that custom security settings are not “undone” by patching or other reconfiguration.

A system administrator who suspects their system was compromised can restore a recent backup, removing or undoing any changes made by a cracker.

Exploits in software are patched when discovered or reported by security researchers.

Good system administrators will diligently apply these patches to remove exploitable holes in their system defenses.

Over time, patches “erode” the usability of cracker exploits.

System administrators can use encryption to make eavesdropping on network traffic or reading data much harder or even impossible.

System Administrators may install or create programs of their own to improve the security of their system by detecting and responding to intrusion attempts.

▲ Chronology