The Little Geeni

Network security is vitally important for most business systems. Whilst email viruses and denial-of-service attacks (DoS attack) may cause us headaches on our home systems, for businesses, these sorts of attacks can cripple a network for days – costing businesses hundreds of millions each year in lost revenue.

Keeping a network secure to prevent this type of malicious attack is usually of paramount importance for network administrators, and while most invest heavily in some forms of security measures there is often vulnerabilities inadvertently left exposed.

Firewalls are the best place to begin when you are trying to develop a secure network. A firewall can be implemented in either hardware or software, or most commonly a combination of both. Firewalls are used to prevent unauthorized users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially local intranets. All traffic entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified criteria.

Anti-virus software works in two ways. Firstly it acts similarly to a firewall by blocking anything that is identified in its database as possibly malicious (viruses, Trojans, spyware etc). Secondly Anti-virus software is used to detect, and remove existing malware on a network or workstation.

One of the most over-looked aspects of network security is time synchronization. Network administrators either fail to realise the importance of synchronization between all devices on a network. Failing to synchronize a network is often a common security issue. Not only can malicious users take advantage of computers running at different times but if a network is struck by an attack, identifying and rectifying the problem can be near impossible if every device is running on a different time.

Even when a network administrator is aware of the importance of time synchronization they often make a common security mistake when attempting to synchronize their network. Instead of investing in a dedicated time server that receives a secure source of UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) externally from their network using atomic clock sources like GPS, some network administrators opt to use a shortcut and use a source of Internet time.

There are two major security issues in using the Internet as a time server. Firstly, to allow the time code through the network a UDP port (123) has to be left open in the firewall. This can be taken advantage of by malicious users who can use this open port as an entrance to the network. Secondly, the inbuilt security measure used by the time protocol NTP, known as authentication, doesn’t work across the Internet which means that NTP has no guarantee the time signal is coming from where it is supposed to.

To ensure your network is secure isn’t it time you invested in an external dedicated NTP time server?

Computer Security –Beginners, Guide, Keeping, Network, Secure

Network security auditing is one of the first steps in truly securing your computer or network environment. The purpose of network & security audits is to make sure that a company has followed the necessary steps for protecting its data. These audits usually involve a set of periodic, pro-active compliance and assurance procedures that help in the assessment of the security of the IT infrastructure of your organization.

The network & security audits encompass security architecture, security policy, and vulnerability assessment of  your information network. Many a time, these audits are performed by ethical hackers employed by the auditing companies on entire networks to assess the potential network vulnerabilities of your IT infrastructure. The ethical hacking team usually stimulates an attack without interrupting and damaging your crucial network services. This not only tests the network, but also the awareness and response of your company staff based on the assessment.

The professionals undertaking network & security audits create a detailed report of vulnerabilities and loopholes in your network security system, and also propose best practices for your network environment. The establishment of clear security policies and procedures would help you in better protection of your company’s information network by advising employees of expected conduct with regard to the proprietary information and use of company equipment.

Often, the term penetration test is used interchangeably with network & security audits. However, it is important to understand that both are not the same thing. Penetration Testing involves a very narrowly focused attempt to identify the security lapses in a critical resource like a firewall or Web server. Penetration testers usually look at one service on a network resource with minimum inside information.

On the other hand, network & security audits are systematic and measurable technical assessment of your organization’s security policy on a larger scale. The network auditors often work with the complete knowledge of the organization, sometimes even with inside information, for thorough understanding of the resources to be audited.

The network security auditors undertake their work through personal interviews, detailed examination of your operating system settings, vulnerability scans, proper analyses of network shares, and historical data. Their primary concern is how the security policies of your company, which form the foundation of an effective security strategy of any company, are actually used.

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Computer Security Audits, Environment, Network, Secure, Security