Network Security Threats and Measures

This assignment delves into the various threats that can compromise a network's security, such as cybercrime, hacking, and viruses. It discusses the significant damage these threats can inflict by rapidly spreading through systems. The report outlines essential security measures organizations employ to mitigate risks, including firewalls, VPNs, and data backups. A key focus is on how improper firewall configuration can weaken network security and the benefits of implementing DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) and NAT (Network Address Translation) for enhanced protection.

Security Presentation and
Guidebook

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Types of security risk to organisation....................................................................................1
P 2 Organisational security procedures.......................................................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................4
P3 Impact of incorrect IT security configuration........................................................................4
P4 How implementing DMZ and NAT will improve network security.....................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Information Technology (IT) is widely used in business to connect different departments
within a network. It connects different models, processes etc. within a business. Today, even
small organisation is implementing IT system that is helping them to work effectively. IT is also
an important part of re-engineering as it develops process and products to fulfil needs and for
long term growth and development. But a major threat is keeping the network secured from
getting infected. It must be done to keep useful information or data from theft. This assignment
throws light on different types of IT threats that can affect or damage the organisation systems.
Moreover, various procedures that can be followed to protect the security system are analysed. In
another section, it shows the impact on IT security due to incorrect configuration of firewall
policies and virtual private network (VPNs). At last, several solution methods such as
implementing demilitarized zone (DMZ) and network address translation (NAT) in network to
improve security have been analysed in the given assignment (Fennelly, 2016).
LO 1
P1 Types of security risk to organisation
Information Technology is important because it protects and secures the crucial
information and data of the organisation. It also prevents from threats and risk that can affect the
valuable data. Threats potentially damage the organisation’s IT systems and networks. They can
be classified in two categories i.e. accidental and deliberate. Accidental are those hazards that are
caused by human error, malfunctions, etc. while deliberate means hacking, cyber-crime etc.
Further, there are many threats that are discussed below: -
Spam- When email inbox is filled with useless mails, it shows that most of them are fake. Spams
create a bigger problem when it occurs in organisation’s database. It can be harmful as it
contains links that directs you to useless websites. These links when clicked might download
malware or spyware in the system (Stallings and Tahiliani, 2014).
Viruses- It is a malicious code that copies itself in other system. The user is unaware about the
virus that it has infected the machine. If virus attacks a system, it will damage other machines
that are connected in a network. It is spread via emails, messages, intranet etc.

Malware- It contains software like trojans, worms, etc. that enters system without even
realizing. It infects one machine and can easily spread and infect other files that are connected in
a network. They are usually used for financial gain.
Cyber-crime- They are generally used to steal customers' information and data. It is also used to
steal important company and government data. For cyber-crime, special kind of malware are
designed and are being used (Safa, and et..al., 2015). Mostly, it affects the banks to exploit e
banking details while log-in.
Hacktivism- They are done by certain groups to damage the organisation via social media and
websites. It is the most method of attacking a network. For this several hacking tools are
available that makes it easy to hack any network.
Physical threats- These are the natural events that can occur any time. Its examples are fire,
flood, power cut or other natural disaster. Organisations always keep a backup of their data and
information to prevent it from losing. Also, a high technique system is being used to alert before
happening of an event.
Insiders- It consists of employees or people inside the organisation that intentionally exploits or
damage the system. This is a threat that can occur in any department. It allows person to take
advantage to access information of organisation so that he can be gained in financial terms.
Terrorists- They are the people who conduct cyber-attacks. They acquire technical knowledge
from others and then try to infect a network by entering through it. It is done only for financial
purpose.
Espionage- They are the intelligence agencies of country that attack network in order to gain
some useful information. It is done to get some military data or new technology used to develop
weapons (Safa,, Von Solms,and Furnell,, 2016). It can also be used to get employee information
who is working in organisation. These agencies do potential threat by using cyber attacking
software's.

P 2 Organisational security procedures
The useful information or data can be protected from getting been attacked. For this
organisation can make strong security systems or procedures. It will help them to prevent their
network from any damage. There are different tools used to secure the network. These are: -
The first and foremost thing that can be done establishing a firewall that will help in
limiting the access of network. It will be beneficial for employees as well as organisation to
share data in secured manner. Firewall restricts the range of network and prevent useless traffic
from entering it. It is also useful in providing security to server. Installing and maintaining anti-
virus in all machines will help in scanning and clearing viruses regularly (Sommestad, and et..al.,
2014). Moreover, it will prevent other system from getting infected by detecting the virus. It
leads to effective working of network and sharing of data.
Maintaining encrypting devices so that sensitive data and files can be properly scanned
and then decrypted. It will enable system to work efficiently and reducing the risk of getting
damaged. Moreover, utilising Virtual Private Network (VPN) in a network will help in securing
the communication between various locations. By using VPN, a private network can be created
that ensures proper security of data. Organisation can regularly back up their data in data base to
recover in case of theft or lost. It is essential to back up data so that it can be used in the future in
case of hardware failure or security breach. A clear policy should be made for employees
regarding the use of internet or accessing various websites. If this policy is implemented
employees will not be able to use internet during their working hours. Thus, it will ensure
security of data. The physical security of network should be maintained to check the proper
functioning of each system that is linked to a network. Further, using tools like access control
lists (ACL), VLAN, jump servers, etc. will allow access to system to be tightly controlled and
logged. Securing sensitive business information very strongly and effectively can be done (
Ahmad, ., Maynard,. and Park, 2014).

LO 2
P3 Impact of incorrect IT security configuration
Firewall policies should be made and implemented in appropriate manner. It must be
ensured that these policies are working properly by testing it in a network. Otherwise, it can lead
to major hazards there by affecting the network. Firewall policies shows the flow of network and
keep the track of each session. If there are continuous changes in firewall policies then there will
definitely be impact on the network. It will be because the flow of information will be changed
and there are chances data getting leaked. If wrong systems are installed or their configuration do
not match then the network will not work properly (Siponen., Mahmood, and Pahnila, 2014)
Moreover, there are chances of getting hacked or cyber-crime. Organisation should make
changes in firewall policies to ensure their data safety but it must be done with various IT
professionals.
Lack of proper configuration-many business thinks firewall as wastage of time and energy. But it
is the most important element in a network as it helps in keeping the flow of information. Lack
of firewall configuration will lead to major IT threats. There will be chances of getting hacked or
cyber-crime through which useful data can be accessed by hackers or terrorists.
Using third party VPN can lead to increase in network latency. This means that it will increase
in loading time of pages or websites. It indicates that the average time of responding the user
request is increased due to distance between them. This can lead to some other party getting
involved in between the distance and accessing the information of user. The person can also
transfer the data packets to some other location. If inserting a VPN is increasing latency, it
means that it is not matching the configuration of network. For example- while accessing
accounts from any location through VPN service can lead to steal the information.
P4 How implementing DMZ and NAT will improve network security
It is important to support the network of a business in order to share information and data
effectively without any problem. A properly secured network will prevent it from any hazard or
external damage (Ab Rahman, and Choo, 2015). Thus, for improving network security various
equipment can be used. These are discussed below: -

Demilitarized Zone- It is tool that separates from public network and differs from Local Area
Network (LAN). It is a technology that protects internal and sensitive data from any malicious
attacks. It is connected with servers and have its own IP address. A DMZ divides and splits the
network in two parts taking one or more devices in firewall. It betters protects the internal
devices by removing the outer devices. Example- internet connected to router, router is having a
firewall, firewall is installed within a DMZ and at last there is internet protected wall. It shows
that a request made from system will first go to firewall which is installed within DMZ, then
firewall will forward it to router, and at last router will respond it by connecting it to internet. In
this way DMZ will improve network security.
Static IP- It contains an internet protocol address that is needed by an external device to
remember. It is generally known as virtual private network. This is generally used in wide area
network (WAN) that provides network security and protection. Organisation uses it to set
different IP address to each system so that it becomes difficult to track the address (Layton,
2016).
For example- (Internet, outer network)
\
1.2.3.4 (external IP)
\
[NAT device]
\
192.168.1.1 (internal private IP address)
\
192.168.1.2 (PC of Sam ) 192.168.1.3 (Alex laptop)
It is shown that request is sent from two PCs' that are having different IP address. These PC's are
connected with private network that contains common IP address. This private network is having

a NAT device. Now NAT device will send request to internet which is made by private network.
In this way a static IP address works, protecting the network from any damage.
Network address translation- It is process where a firewall is used to assign public address in a
network. It is implemented to limit the number of IP address in an organisation. It uses a large
group of numbers to form an IP address. It limits the access of a network with the help of routers.
The routers easily route the traffic with no problem. So, in order to access outside the network,
public address is important for computers. The users rarely know about NAT has occurred or
not. For example- a system makes an outside request to internet so routers within network will
send it to firewall. Firewall will identify its IP address and then forward it to internet using its
own address (Pathan, 2016). The response is returned in the same way so it appears to user that
they are directly connected with site. Therefore, all users interact with same public address.
Thus, only one address is required for hundreds of users. Moreover, NAT can be used to access
selective area outside the network. Firewall keeps details of various resources like port, packets,
etc. it is called keeping tracks of states.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from this report that a network can be infected by various threats such as
cyber-crime, hacking, viruses etc. These threats do major damage to network by quickly
spreading through one system. So, in order to protect network, various security measures like
establishing a firewall, using VPN, backing up of data etc. are being taken by organisation which
is shown in the given assignment. Moreover, how IT security is affected by using incorrect
configuration firewall policies is discussed. Thus, by implementing DMZ, NAT etc. the network
security can be improved.

REFERENCES:
Books and Journals:
Ab Rahman, N.H. and Choo, K.K.R., 2015. A survey of information security incident handling
in the cloud. Computers & Security.49. pp.45-69.
Ahmad, A., Maynard, S.B. and Park, S., 2014. Information security strategies: towards an
organizational multi-strategy perspective. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing.25(2).pp.357-
370.
Fennelly, L., 2016. Effective physical security. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Layton, T.P., 2016. Information Security: Design, implementation, measurement, and
compliance. CRC Press.
Pathan, A.S.K. ed., 2016. Security of self-organizing networks: MANET, WSN, WMN, VANET.
CRC press.
Safa, and et..al., 2015. Information security conscious care behaviour formation in
organizations. Computers & Security. 53.pp.65-78.
Safa, N.S., Von Solms, R. and Furnell, S., 2016. Information security policy compliance model
in organizations. computers & security.56. pp.70-82.
Siponen, M., Mahmood, M.A. and Pahnila, S., 2014. Employees’ adherence to information
security policies: An exploratory field study. Information & management.51(2). pp.217-224.
Sommestad, and et..al., 2014. Variables influencing information security policy compliance: a
systematic review of quantitative studies. Information Management & Computer
Security.22(1). pp.42-75.
Stallings, W. and Tahiliani, M.P., 2014. Cryptography and network security: principles and
practice (Vol. 6). London: Pearson.

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