Network Security

Network Security

1. Network Prevention Methods

   • Anti-Malware Software
     • Antivirus or anti-virus software (often abbreviated as AV), sometimes known as anti-malware software, is computer software used to prevent, detect and remove malicious software. Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the name.
   • Firewalls
     • protect (a network or system) from unauthorized access with a firewall. A part of a computer system or network which is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication
   • User Access Levels
     • Part of an access control procedure for computer systems, which allows a system administrator to set up a hierarchy of users. Thus, the low level users can access only a limited set of information, whereas the highest level users can access the most sensitive data on the system. Also called access rights.
   • Password Strength Checker
     • A password strength meter is an indicator, either in graphical or text form, of the strength of a password as entered by a user. ... Meters have rules they use to assign points for password hardening measures such as including a full combination of symbols, numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters
   • Data Encryption
     • The translation of data into a secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain text ; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text
   • Storage Device Virus Scanning
     • NetApp antivirus scanning integration protects data on our storage devices by killing malware at the source. ... NetApp antivirus scanning integration can detect and prevent the spread of malicious virus code on storage networks before your data is compromised
   • Penetration Testing
     • Penetration testing (also called pen testing) is the practice of testing a computer system, network or Web application to find vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit
   • Networking Forensics
     • Network forensics is a sub-branch of digital forensics relating to the monitoring and analysis of computer network traffic for the purposes of information gathering, legal evidence, or intrusion detection. Unlike other areas of digital forensics, network investigations deal with volatile and dynamic information
   • Network Security Polocies
     • A network security policy, or NSP, is a generic document that outlines rules for computer network access, determines how policies are enforced and lays out some of the basic architecture of the company security/ network security environment. The document itself is usually several pages long and written by a committee

2. Network Vulnerabilities and risks

   • Malware
     • stands for malicious software it can be prevented by installing a Trojan Horse into disks
   • Brute Force Attack
     • Brute force is a trial and error method used by application programs to decode encrypted data such as passwords or Data Encryption Standard keys, through exhaustive effort rather than employing intellectual strategies
   • Message Tampering
     • When packets travel across a network, they are susceptible to being read, altered, or “hijacked.” Hijacking occurs when a hostile party intercepts a network traffic session and poses as one of the session endpoints. An attacker monitors data streams to or from a target, in order to gather sensitive information
   • Data Interception
     • Data theft is a term used to describe when information is illegally copied or taken from a business or other individual. Commonly, this information is user information such as passwords, social security numbers, credit card information, other personal information, or other confidential corporate information
   • Packet Sniffing/Eavedropping
     • Sniffing is the electronic form of eavesdropping on the communications that computers have across networks. In the original networks deployed, the equipment tying machines together allowed every machine on the network to see the traffic of others. These repeaters and hubs, while very successful for getting machines connected, allowed an attacker easy access to all traffic on the network by only needing to connect to one point to see the entire network's traffic.
   • SQL Injection
     • An SQL injection is a computer attack in which malicious code is embedded in a poorly-designed application and then passed to the backend database. The malicious data then produces database query results or actions that should never have been executed
   • Denial of Service
     • an interruption in an authorised user's access to a computer network, typically one caused with malicious intent.
   • Man in the Middle
     • In cryptography and computer security, a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM) is an attack where the attacker secretly relays and possibly alters the communication between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other.
   • Social Engineering
     • (in the context of information security) the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes
   • Phishing
     • Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
   • Trojan Horse
     • a program designed to breach the security of a computer system while ostensibly performing some innocuous function.