Network security
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Network security consists of the provisions made in an underlying computer network infrastructure, policies adopted by the network administrator to protect the network and the network-accessible resources from unauthorized access and the effectiveness (or lack) of these measures combined together.
Network security starts from authenticating any user. Once authenticated, firewall enforces access policies such as what services are allowed to be accessed by the network users. Though effective to prevent unauthorized access, this component fails to check potentially harmful contents such as computer worms being transmitted over the network. An intrusion prevention system (IPS)[1] helps detect and prevent such malware. IPS also monitors for suspicious network traffic for contents, volume and anomalies to protect the network from attacks such as denial of service. Communication between two hosts using the network could be encrypted to maintain privacy. Individual events occurring on the network could be tracked for audit purposes and for a later high level analysis.
Honeypots, essentially decoy network-accessible resources, could be deployed in a network as surveillance and early-warning tools. Techniques used by the attackers that attempt to compromise these decoy resources are studied during and after an attack to keep an eye on new exploitation techniques. Such analysis could be used to further tighten security of the actual network being protected by the honeypot.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Dave Dittrich, Network monitoring/Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), University of Washington.
- ^ Honeypots, Honeynets
- Security of the Internet (The Froehlich/Kent Encyclopedia of Telecommunications vol. 15. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1997, pp. 231-255.)
- Introduction to Network Security, Matt Curtin.
[edit] Books about Network Security
- Self-Defending Networks: The Next Generation of Network Security, Duane DeCapite, Cisco Press, Sep. 8, 2006. ISBN 1587052539
- Security Threat Mitigation and Response: Understanding CS-MARS, Dale Tesch/Greg Abelar, Cisco Press, Sep. 26, 2006. ISBN 1587052601
- Deploying Zone-Based Firewalls, Ivan Pepelnjak, Cisco Press, Oct. 5, 2006. ISBN 1587053101
- Network Security: PRIVATE Communication in a PUBLIC World, Charlie Kaufman | Radia Perlman | Mike Speciner, Prentice-Hall, 2002. ISBN 81-203-2213-4.