Concepts of Network Security
Concepts of Network Security
The first thing to understand about network security is that it's all about preventing unauthorized users from accessing a network. This is different from information security, which protects against things like automated malware such as viruses. The second thing to understand is that securing your network has to take into account that intrusions can either be in the digital space, or the "human space." Your best methods for protecting your network will still fail if Hal, the friendly night janitor, lets somebody into the building without swiping their card, or Gladys the receptionist writes down her password on a Post-It stuck to her monitor in full view of the visitor's lobby!
There are four basic rules of thumb to network security:
1. If a door doesn't need to be open, close it.
2. If someone doesn't need to know something, don't share it with them.
3. Redundant measures are a good thing.
4. There is no such thing as a perfectly secure network!
Methods of access control come in levels. For instance, simply requiring a username and password would be a level-one control. Adding the requirement to have a physical object is a level-two control; for instance, to make a debit-card purchase you need both the plastic card to swipe and a PIN number to punch in. Adding a third level might be something in the biometric range - for example, voice-recognition, fingerprint-scanning, retinal scanning, and so on.
Further access control may include:
* Encryption. This is standard in most digital security now. For wireless devices, you should seek out the strongest encryption protocol available for a device.
* Firewalls. These are software systems which control access to a network, only allowing a "whitelist" of devices or ports which are authorized.
* Secured software. A system administrator should be keeping all software systems up to date with the latest patches. Anti-intrusion software is an essential part of this department. One should also be proactive; scan industry news for daily exploits discovered and what can be done to protect against them.
* Network analyzers. These "network sniffers" monitor and log the traffic on the network, raising a red flag at any unusual accesses or traffic patterns.
* Security services. These might be security guards who assist in controlling physical access to a site. They might check badges, assign passes, scan property being carried in and out of the facility, and otherwise control access.
* Education of employees or other users of a network.
Filed Under: Featured • Security Technology • The Internetz
