Network security is an umbrella term to describesecurity controls,policies, processes and practices adopted to prevent, detect and monitorunauthorized access,misuse, modification, or denial of acomputer network and network-accessible resources.[1] Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by thenetwork administrator. Users choose or are assigned an ID and password or other authenticating information that allows them access to information and programs within their authority. Network security covers a variety of computer networks, both public and private, that are used in everyday jobs: conducting transactions and communications among businesses,government agencies and individuals. Networks can be private, such as within a company, and others which might be open to public access. Network security is involved in organizations, enterprises, and other types of institutions. It does as its title explains: it secures the network, as well as protecting and overseeing operations being done. The most common and simple way of protecting a network resource is by assigning it a unique name and a corresponding password.
Network security starts withauthentication, commonly with a username and apassword. Since this requires just one detail authenticating the user name—i.e., the password—this is sometimes termed one-factor authentication. Withtwo-factor authentication, something the user 'has' is also used (e.g., asecurity token or 'dongle', anATM card, or amobile phone); and with three-factor authentication, something the user 'is' is also used (e.g., afingerprint orretinal scan).
Once authenticated, afirewall enforces access policies such as what services are allowed to be accessed by the network users.[2][3] Though effective to prevent unauthorized access, this component may fail to check potentially harmful content such ascomputer worms orTrojans being transmitted over the network.Anti-virus software or anintrusion prevention system (IPS)[4] help detect and inhibit the action of suchmalware. Ananomaly-based intrusion detection system may also monitor the network like wiresharktraffic and may be logged for audit purposes and for later high-level analysis. Newer systems combining unsupervisedmachine learning with full network traffic analysis can detect active network attackers from malicious insiders or targeted external attackers that have compromised a user machine or account.[5]
Communication between two hosts using a network may be encrypted to maintain security and privacy.
Honeypots, essentiallydecoy network-accessible resources, may be deployed in a network assurveillance and early-warning tools, as the honeypots are not normally accessed for legitimate purposes. Honeypots are placed at a point in the network where they appear vulnerable and undefended, but they Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator. Users choose or are assigned an ID ...are actually isolated and monitored.[6] Techniques used by the attackers that attempt to compromise these decoy resources are studied during and after an attack to keep an eye on newexploitation techniques. Such analysis may be used to further tighten security of the actual network being protected by the honeypot. A honeypot can also direct an attacker's attention away from legitimate servers. A honeypot encourages attackers to spend their time and energy on the decoy server while distracting their attention from the data on the real server. Similar to a honeypot, ahoneynet is a network set up with intentional vulnerabilities. Its purpose is also to invite attacks so that the attacker's methods can be studied and that information can be used to increase network security. A honeynet typically contains one or more honeypots.[7]
Previous research on network security was mostly about using tools to secure transactions and information flow, and how well users knew about and used these tools. However, more recently, the discussion has expanded to considerinformation security in the broader context of thedigital economy and society. This indicates that it's not just about individual users and tools; it's also about the larger culture of information security in our digital world.[8]
Security management for networks is different for all kinds of situations. A home or small office may only require basic security while large businesses may require high-maintenance and advanced software and hardware to prevent malicious attacks fromhacking andspamming. In order to minimize susceptibility to malicious attacks from external threats to the network, corporations often employ tools which carry out network security verifications].Andersson and Reimers (2014) found that employees often do not see themselves as part of their organization's information security effort and often take actions that impede organizational changes.[9]
Networks are subject toattacks from malicious sources. Attacks can be from two categories: "Passive" when a network intruder intercepts data traveling through the network, and "Active" in which an intruder initiates commands to disrupt the network's normal operation or to conduct reconnaissance and lateral movements to find and gain access to assets available via the network.[10]
Types of attacks include:[11]
