What Is Network Security?

Sai Info solution provide the Project Development & Training. We Develop Project for BE/ME/PHD. Network security is any activity designed to protect the usability and integrity of your network and data. It includes both hardware and software technologies. Effective network security manages access to the network. It targets a variety of threats and stops them from entering or spreading on your network.In this modern era, organizations greatly rely on computer networks to share information throughout the organization in an efficient and productive manner. Organizational computer networks are now becoming large and ubiquitous. Assuming that each staff member has a dedicated workstation, a large scale company would have few thousands workstations and many server on the network.

It is likely that these workstations may not be centrally managed, nor would they have perimeter protection. They may have a variety of operating systems, hardware, software, and protocols, with different level of cyber awareness among users. Now imagine, these thousands of workstations on company network are directly connected to the Internet. This sort of unsecured network becomes a target for an attack which holds valuable information and displays vulnerabilities.

In this blogs, we describe the major vulnerabilities of the network and significance of network security. In subsequent blogs, we will discuss the methods to achieve the same.

Vulnerabilities & Attacks

The common vulnerability that exists in both wired and wireless networks is an “unauthorized access” to a network. An attacker can connect his device to a network though unsecure hub/switch port. In this regard, wireless network are considered less secure than wired network, because wireless network can be easily accessed without any physical connection.

After accessing, an attacker can exploit this vulnerability to launch attacks such as −

·        Sniffing the packet data to steal valuable information.

·        Denial of service to legitimate users on a network by flooding the network medium with spurious packets.

·        Spoofing physical identities (MAC) of legitimate hosts and then stealing data or further launching a ‘man-in-the-middle’ attack.

Achieving Network Security

Ensuring network security may appear to be very simple. The goals to be achieved seems to be straightforward. But in reality, the mechanisms used to achieve these goals are highly complex, and understanding them involves sound reasoning.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in its recommendation on security architecture X.800, has defined certain mechanisms to bring the standardization in methods to achieve network security. Some of these mechanisms are −

·        En-cipherment − This mechanism provides data confidentiality services by transforming data into not-readable forms for the unauthorized persons. This mechanism uses encryption-decryption algorithm with secret keys.

·        Digital signatures − This mechanism is the electronic equivalent of ordinary signatures in electronic data. It provides authenticity of the data.

·        Access control − This mechanism is used to provide access control services. These mechanisms may use the identification and authentication of an entity to determine and enforce the access rights of the entity.

How does network security work?

Network security combines multiple layers of defenses at the edge and in the network. Each network security layer implements policies and controls. Authorized users gain access to network resources, but malicious actors are blocked from carrying out exploits and threats.

How do I benefit from network security?

Digitization has transformed our world. How we live, work, play, and learn have all changed. Every organization that wants to deliver the services that customers and employees demand must protect its network. Network security also helps you protect proprietary information from attack. Ultimately it protects your reputation.

Types of network security

Access control

Not every user should have access to your network. To keep out potential attackers, you need to recognize each user and each device. Then you can enforce your security policies. You can block noncompliant endpoint devices or give them only limited access. This process is network access control (NAC).

Antivirus and antimalware software

"Malware," short for "malicious software," includes viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, and spyware. Sometimes malware will infect a network but lie dormant for days or even weeks. The best antimalware programs not only scan for malware upon entry, but also continuously track files afterward to find anomalies, remove malware, and fix damage.

Application security

Any software you use to run your business needs to be protected, whether your IT staff builds it or whether you buy it. Unfortunately, any application may contain holes, or vulnerabilities, that attackers can use to infiltrate your network. Application security encompasses the hardware, software, and processes you use to close those holes.

Behavioral analytics

To detect abnormal network behavior, you must know what normal behavior looks like. Behavioral analytics tools automatically discern activities that deviate from the norm. Your security team can then better identify indicators of compromise that pose a potential problem and quickly remediate threats.

Data loss prevention

Organizations must make sure that their staff does not send sensitive information outside the network. Data loss prevention, or DLP, technologies can stop people from uploading, forwarding, or even printing critical information in an unsafe manner.

Email security

Email gateways are the number one threat vector for a security breach. Attackers use personal information and social engineering tactics to build sophisticated phishing campaigns to deceive recipients and send them to sites serving up malware. An email security application blocks incoming attacks and controls outbound messages to prevent the loss of sensitive data.

Firewalls

Firewalls put up a barrier between your trusted internal network and untrusted outside networks, such as the Internet. They use a set of defined rules to allow or block traffic. A firewall can be hardware, software, or both. Cisco offers unified threat management (UTM) devices and threat-focused next-generation firewalls.

Intrusion prevention systems

An intrusion prevention system (IPS) scans network traffic to actively block attacks. Cisco Next-Generation IPS (NGIPS) appliances do this by correlating huge amounts of global threat intelligence to not only block malicious activity but also track the progression of suspect files and malware across the network to prevent the spread of outbreaks and reinfection.

Mobile device security

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting mobile devices and apps. Within the next 3 years, 90 percent of IT organizations may support corporate applications on personal mobile devices. Of course, you need to control which devices can access your network. You will also need to configure their connections to keep network traffic private.

Network segmentation

Software-defined segmentation puts network traffic into different classifications and makes enforcing security policies easier. Ideally, the classifications are based on endpoint identity, not mere IP addresses. You can assign access rights based on role, location, and more so that the right level of access is given to the right people and suspicious devices are contained and remediated.

Security information and event management

SIEM products pull together the information that your security staff needs to identify and respond to threats. These products come in various forms, including physical and virtual appliances and server software.

VPN

A virtual private network encrypts the connection from an endpoint to a network, often over the Internet. Typically, a remote-access VPN uses IPsec or Secure Sockets Layer to authenticate the communication between device and network.

Web security

A web security solution will control your staff’s web use, block web-based threats, and deny access to malicious websites. It will protect your web gateway on site or in the cloud. "Web security" also refers to the steps you take to protect your own website.

Wireless security

Wireless networks are not as secure as wired ones. Without stringent security measures, installing a wireless LAN can be like putting Ethernet ports everywhere, including the parking lot. To prevent an exploit from taking hold, you need products specifically designed to protect a wireless network.

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