The network is down

--Originally published at Don't Trust Humans, Trust Computers

Do you remember you life before the internet? where you had to go outside to socialize with people, and laugh to your uncle’s bad jokes instead of memes. Yeah a pretty scary scenario that is in the past. Luckily we live in an era where the internet has become a major part of our lives, but how does the internet can reach SO many people? Well, that’s because the internet is just a HUGE network, where everybody is connected to. That network is a network that is formed out of other networks, and those other networks are formed out of OTHER networks and so on and so on. This networks are made of various components, like: computers, servers, routers, hubs, switches, cables, and other items. All this components are key elements so a network can function properly, along with the right configuration in each item that need it. So this are VERY important and need to be secure from any type of attack or incident that might happen, or else the network can have some problems. That why network security is essential.

Network-security-trends.png

As cisco states “Network security refers to any activity designed to protect the usability and integrity of your network and data. It includes both hardware and software technologies”.  Network security include many types like:

  • Access control.
  • Antivirus and antimalware software.
  • Application security.
  • Behavioral analytics.
  • Data loss prevention.
  • Firewalls.
  • Mobile device security
  • Wireless security and many more.

Networks are in constant a threat some of the most notorious threats they have are DoS. DoS stand for Denial of Service, and what it does is basically send more request than a machine can handle. The purpose of this attacks is to take down a service a server is giving. This are a very common attack a network can receive and there

some methods to countermeasure this problem like:

  • Filter the packets that enter into your network.
  • Keep the OS of your component up-to-date
  • Take care of your server, and watch their capacity.

Another common attack networks receive are unauthorized access attacks. The principle of this attacks is to gain access to a machine that the administrator of a network doesn’t want anyone to access it. With this kind of access, a person external to the network can cause a lot of damage. He/she can execute commands that can put in risk the network. Certainly when something like this happens there is a confidentiality breach. The people that gain unauthorized access can do data diddling, which is changing data in the machine but one data at a time. This means that from time to time, this person changes information in the machine not in an immediate way. Or he/she can do the exact opposite and delete or change data immediately causing chaos in the network. Some advice to this problem are:

  • Have a backup of your data, plenty of them.
  • Don’t put information where is not suppose to be.
  • Update the OS of the machine, when necessary.
  • Have the staff prepare with some security practices.

Stay safe

A.C.


Referencias

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/what-is-network-security.html

http://www.interhack.net/pubs/network-security/