Network Security Management

This document provides an overview of network security management, including cyber security threats, countermeasures, and incident response. It discusses the importance of education and awareness, regular system updates, two-factor authentication, and security log inspection. The document also covers the steps involved in cyber incident response. Study material and assignments on network security management are available at Desklib.

Running head: NETWORK SECURITY MANAGEMENT 1
Network Security Management
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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................2
2.0 Cyber security landscape/ threats..............................................................................................3
2.1 Internet of Things (IoT) device threats..................................................................................3
2.2 Crypto-jacking and Mobile Malware.....................................................................................3
2.3 Cross-site Scripting threat......................................................................................................4
2.4 Connected cars and Semi-autonomous vehicles....................................................................4
2.5. Shortage of Cybersecurity professionals and cyber-physical attack.....................................4
2.6 Attacks Sponsored by the State..............................................................................................5
2.7 Phishing threat........................................................................................................................5
3.0 Counter measures for Cybercrimes...........................................................................................6
3.1 Cybersecurity Education and Awareness...............................................................................6
3.2 Regular update and patching of network systems..................................................................7
3.3 Two- factor authentication for maximum security................................................................7
3.4 Regular collection of Security logs for inspection.................................................................8
4.0 Cyber Incident Response...........................................................................................................8
4.1 Assemble the Security team...................................................................................................8
4.2 Ascertain the source of the cyber incident.............................................................................9
4.3 Contain the damage and perform a recovery action..............................................................9
4.4 Assessment of the damage and strategies to prevent incidents..............................................9
5.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

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1.0 Introduction
Network security involves both the software and the hardware technologies whereby it is
any activity that has been designed for the protection of the integrity and the usability of one's
data and network. It is the security that is provided to any given network from access that is
unauthorized. Many companies systems that are involved in communications and transactions
that are regular in nature across the globe are vulnerable to cyber-attacks encouraging cyber-
attacker to access data, programs and even systems in an authorized manner. The complexity of
network architecture is seriously being faced by cyber-attackers who are always out to exploit
any available vulnerability (Abomhara, 2015). This has risen an alarm to many government
organizations, businesses and even individual to improve their security so as to protect their
systems from cybercrime or network insecurity. There are many management programs with
policies and its procedures that are put in place to help mitigate network insecurity from thriving
further and spreading in networks. These measures need to be put in place and action to avoid
any form of downtime that can cause a lot of damage and disruption and tarnish the
organization’s reputation.
2.0 Cyber security landscape/ threats
2.1 Internet of Things (IoT) device threats
The cyber security landscape is very dynamic and hackers are constantly looking for
vulnerabilities to exploit in networks that are corporate; meaning that the days of just building a
wall that is defensive to surround a corporate are long gone and something more advanced and
trending is needed for network defense. There are so many Cyber security threats that need
immediate actions of mitigation. For example, the IoT devices threats, whereby many company
networks are adding several solutions like, cameras to monitor security and make maintenance

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the last consideration. Without managing, implementing and updating process of the network,
the IoT device will be vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
2.2 Crypto-jacking and Mobile Malware
Crypto-jacking is another threat to network security. This has been accelerated by the
absence of network segmentation and even backups. One of the biggest threats is the ransom
ware that badly affects the businesses network. It is believed beyond a reasonable doubt that
actors of the threat are employing the previously used ransom ware for data encryption to ransom
resources on the network or even to mine crypto currency. Form the standpoint we can visualize
a great threat that is encouraged by the appliances systems and other resources that can easily be
used to mine crypto currency (Caldwell, 2018). Another cyber security threat is mobile malware.
This is mainly because devices that are associated with mobility are an attack target. Many
organizations that adopt and use the mobile device management have discovered that the
concerns about privacy have limited adoption of their devices hence they end up ignoring this
privacy aspect making any of these devices in the network vulnerable to attacks from
cybercriminals. The old version of some of the mobile devices such as the Android devices
which is quite challenging to get them to control and support those devices since it is still
pointing back to issues of mobiles. This is a threat to an individual and even an organization
network.
2.3 Cross-site Scripting threat
Cross-site scripting is another thing that threatens the security of our networks. This is the
leading type of vulnerability that permit adversaries to make use of an organization or business
website for the execution of codes which are untrusted in the browser of the targeted victim
(Fang et al., 2018). This makes it even easier for the cyber-attackers to make an interaction with

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the victim’s cookie information usually authentication data for the purpose of hijacking the
website in an unauthorized manner without credentials.
2.4 Connected cars and Semi-autonomous vehicles
There are semi-autonomous vehicles and the connected cars being the latest threats to
our network security. The connected cars make use of the sensors onboard for the passenger's
comfort and also for the optimization of its very own operations. This is usually achieved via the
integration of smartphones or embedded integration. It has been observed that the prevalence and
landscape of connected cars are rapidly growing as the years go by. This means good news to
hackers or cybercriminals since it is another golden opportunity for them to carry out the
exploitation of vulnerabilities throughout the networks for their own benefits like accessing and
stealing sensitive information or just harm the system to make the owners suffer.
2.5. Shortage of Cyber security professionals and cyber-physical attack
Another threat to cyber security is the shortage of cyber security professional personnel.
With more advanced threats of cyber security that emanates from all over the world, the shortage
of skilled cyber security personnel is continuously a great threat to our networks. There are
millions of cyber security positions still unfilled around the globe and that is why many networks
will continue being vulnerable to hackers if not controlled with immediate effects (Nobles &
Burrell, 2018). The cyber-physical attack has also proven to be a big threat to network security.
There are high risks that are brought by technology and target systems of transportation and
other electrical grids. These systems are vulnerable to foul play risk that is high-tech.
2.6 Attacks Sponsored by the State
Attacks sponsored by the state are also trending cyber threats. This is when a state makes
use of its cyber skills and knowledge to gain access to other states and conduct an attack on their

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infrastructure, usually critical infrastructure for their own benefit as a state. This proves that
cybercrime is not just an attack by an individual or an organization but also by the entire state.
These attackers that are state-sponsored are increasing in number and statistics has it that in the
near future states will be involved in cyber-attacks that are both defensive and offensive (Osawa,
2017). There is also the Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and Smart Medical Devices which
have become another major threat to the network security across the globe. Most healthcare and
medical industries have adopted the digital era where there are so many privacy concerns, safety
concerns and the threats of cyber security. It is said that as many devices are getting connected to
the healthcare networks, patient’s information is increasingly becoming vulnerable to the cyber-
attackers. The hackers can easily manipulate any data altering the hospitals' procedures by
tampering with the hospital’s network.
2.7 Phishing threat
Phishing getting sophisticated each and every day is yet another threat to the networks
(Arachchilage et al., 2016). Here, a lot of people are fooled into clicking on links that can enable
installation of malware and even exposing information that may be more sensitive to the hackers.
Since this technique is widely known, the hackers have advanced there technique by use of
machine learning by the distribution of convincing texts which are fake hoping that the victims
will compromise the network of their organization. This usually enables the cyber-attackers to
gain access to personal information like the financial information and also to the private
databases.

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3.0 Counter measures for Cybercrimes
3.1 Cyber security Education and Awareness
However, there are different ways of mitigating these cyber-attacks. Many states are quite
aware of these attack and are putting in place strategies and policies to help counter and mitigate
these cybercrimes (Chowdhury, 2016). It is well known that most companies do not look for
cyber breaches proactively; they just wait until something worse happens to their network is
when they realize it. Therefore in the fight against cybercrimes, most states have decided to offer
education and cyber security awareness to all employees. Of all the countermeasures of cyber
insecurity, this is believed to be one of the most effective ones. Employees in different
companies are given education on cyber security in order to prevent any malicious activities
from being conducted in their computers. People are taught to exercise vigilance whenever they
browse websites, they should earn the trust of websites before they enter their personal
information, and they are taught how to flag emails which have attachments that are suspicious.
Through education and cyber security awareness, employees get to know how to recognize these
attacks early before any malice is done in their networks.
3.2 Regular update and patching of network systems
Another effective way to counter and mitigate cybercrimes is by ensuring that all
applications and network systems are patched and updated by applying the latest security
patches. By so doing, cybercriminals will find it hard to gain any access using vulnerabilities that
are known (Lancioni, Hunt & Wood, 2019). Back up and protection of important data is essential
in any company’s network. It is advisable to always protect sensitive data of any company since
it is the most targeted and is vulnerable to hackers. Crucial data should be monitored and those
that are accessed by the employees should not be accessed in an unauthorized manner. All the

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procedures used to lock crucial information need regular double-checking to ensure maximum
security from cybercriminals.
3.3 Two- factor authentication for maximum security
Every company and individuals are advised to protect all accounts that are privileged and
make use of strong passwords to protect their data. It is an individual responsibility to make their
password strong and very unique so that it becomes very difficult for hackers to gain any
malicious access to your account. A password also needs to be changed more often so as to
ensure more security. Companies need to employ the use of two-factor authentication (Potter,
2018). This is a cybercrime mitigation factor that discourages many cybercriminals since through
it one needs an additional step apart from just entering a password before accessing an account.
This means that besides entering the password, one is required to enter a code that may be sent
through your phone for verification. This will truly discourage hacker from maliciously pursuing
our networks.
3.4 Regular collection of Security logs for inspection.
Another countermeasure for cybercrimes in our networks is to carry out an analysis of
suspicious activities by regularly collecting security logs for inspection. Through this, malicious
actions can be identified like logins that may have occurred during non-working hours and be
countered before any worse action is carried out in the network system; and also prevent future
attacks. Companies’ employees should also not be allowed to install any unapproved
applications so as to prevent malware from infecting the system and also making the network
system vulnerable to the cybercriminals to install their access tools for easy access whenever
they want to (Sabillon, 2016). Security control that prevents any software from getting installed
into the system should be put in place and implemented in organizations. Finally, companies and

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even individuals are advised to be unpredictable and deceptive. When one is predictable on the
cybercrimes preventive measures, the attack on their systems can easily be carried out.
Therefore, it is advisable to randomize our daily activities on the network system so as to
discourage the attackers.
4.0 Cyber Incident Response
4.1 Assemble the Security team
However there are times when these cyber-attacks have been attempted and somehow
became successful for the attacker; in such like incidences, cyber incident response is crucial for
guiding the security personnel to manage any data breach. This is done through a well-organized
procedure so as to combat and help return the network to its normal state. Whenever there is a
cyber-incident, the first thing to do is to assemble the security team. This team should have a
leader who will take the responsibility to respond to the incident at hand and to make crucial
decisions.
4.2 Ascertain the source of the cyber incident
The second thing to do is to ascertain the source of the cyber incident, that is, the reason
behind the breach and contain the situation (Lin, 2016). From there they will become aware of
the extent of the cyber incident.
4.3 Contain the damage and perform a recovery action.
Thereafter, the damage is contained and recovery action is performed by deactivating
network accessibility for computers with malware, password resetting for breached computers,
blocking the accounts of the users responsible for the incident and performing a backup on all the
affected network systems.

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4.4 Assessment of the damage and strategies to prevent incidents
The next thing to do is to do an assessment of the damage and its severity. The security
team needs to assess whether the attack is from within or outside and also be able to ascertain the
degree and the seriousness of the incident after which the response team is activated. After that,
the process of notification is begun whereby all the affected parties are notified to help protect
them from any form of confidential data. Finally, strategies are put to help prevent such incidents
from happening in the future again.
5.0 Conclusion
Cyber security trend and future are guaranteed since there is continuous development of
both managed and unmanaged devices in the networks of different enterprises which are
struggling to mitigate these risks. However, the cybercriminals are also out there struggling to
exploit new vulnerabilities brought about by these unmanaged devices that lack in-built security;
or just have little security. Also, as the cyber-attacks continue to evolve, the techniques to
counter them are also advancing. Both the attacker and the victim are working day and night to
gain and to defend respectively. Organizations and individuals need to always keep check of all
there network security so as to prevent cybercrimes.

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References
Abomhara, M. (2015). Cyber security and the internet of things: vulnerabilities, threats, intruders
and attacks. Journal of Cyber Security and Mobility, 4(1), 65-88.
Arachchilage, N. A. G., Love, S., & Beznosov, K. (2016). Phishing threat avoidance behaviour:
An empirical investigation. Computers in Human Behavior, 60, 185-197.
Caldwell, T. (2018). The miners strike–addressing the crypto-currency threat to enterprise
networks. Computer Fraud & Security, 2018(5), 8-14.
Chowdhury, A. (2016, October). Recent cyber security attacks and their mitigation approaches–
an overview. In International conference on applications and techniques in information
security (pp. 54-65). Springer, Singapore.
Fang, Y., Li, Y., Liu, L., & Huang, C. (2018, March). Deepxss: Cross site scripting detection
based on deep learning. In Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on
Computing and Artificial Intelligence (pp. 47-51). ACM.
Lancioni, G., Hunt, S., & Wood, M. D. (2019). U.S. Patent Application No. 10/223,098.
Lin, H. (2016). Attribution of malicious cyber incidents: From soup to nuts. Journal of
International Affairs, 70(1), 75-137.
Nobles, C., & Burrell, D. (2018). The Significance of Professional Associations: Addressing the
Cybersecurity Talent Gap.
Osawa, J. (2017). The Escalation of State Sponsored Cyberattack and National Cyber Security
Affairs: Is Strategic Cyber Deterrence the Key to Solving the Problem?. Asia-Pacific
Review, 24(2), 113-131.

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Potter, K. (2018). Increased Use of Two-Factor Authentication Force New Social Engineering
Tactics (Doctoral dissertation, Utica College).
Sabillon, R., Cano, J., Cavaller Reyes, V., & Serra Ruiz, J. (2016). Cybercrime and
cybercriminals: a comprehensive study. International Journal of Computer Networks and
Communications Security, 2016, 4 (6).