Network Security: Role of the Network Administrator

Despite the presence of network security devices such as firewalls and other security appliances, today's corporate networks are still vulnerable to both internal and external attacks by hackers intent on creating havoc. By proactively

In today’s IT world every organization has a responsibility to protect the information and sensitive data they have. Protecting data is not only responsibility of security and IT staff but every individual is involved in protecting the information. The risks to information security are not digital only, but it involves technology, people and process that an organization may have. These threats may represent the problems that are associated to complex and expensive solution, but doing nothing about these risks is not the solution.

This information should be protected by others for potential by some hacker threats,they can read and change the contents of the message and information and exploit this information for personal benefit[17] .

Information security enabled by technology must include the means of lowering the impact of intentional and unintentional errors entering the system and to prevent unauthorized internally or externally accessing the system  actions to reduce risk data validation, pre-numbered forms, and reviews for duplications. It is crucial that the mission plan include the provision of a disaster recovery and business continuity plan. On the other hand, there is much more intrusion activity today than ever before. Obviously, there is an increased concern for attacks through companies’ network in an effort to either commit malice or affect the integrity of an organization’s most valuable resource. Therefore, it is important that companies do not get complacent in their IT infrastructure security. The fact of the matter, there is no perfect system; however, it behooves organizations to protect their information by way of reducing threats and vulnerabilities. Moreover, Whitman and Mattord (2010) said it best, “because of businesses and technology have become more fluid, the concept of computer security has been replaced by the concept of information security. Companies

2 Since the security is weak it can cause problems if the sensitive data is leaked out of the company in any way.

I am hired as an Information Security Engineer for a videogame development company. The organization network structure is given in the diagram. I was notified that malicious activities are taking place in the network structure. They can effect protection of the intellectual property and highly sensitive data maintained by the organization. I am assigned to resolve these issues that arise in the network structure. In this document I will analyze and assess potential malicious attacks and threats that may be carried out against the network along with potential vulnerabilities that may exist in the documented network. Also I will tell the potential impact of all malicious attacks & threats and identified vulnerabilities to the network and

As technology and the Internet continue to exponentially grow, unscrupulous individuals continue to create new security risks for organizational privacy, confidentiality and data integrity. Because almost all network-based services and applications pose some level of security risk, personal and business information must protected through enhanced security systems and controls. Managed IT service providers often offer the highest levels of security that protect assets, maintain integrity, ensure availability and ensure confidentiality.

While analyzing the network for vulnerabilities, risks, threats and ways to secure the network, the below information are my findings.

A hacker is a person who breaks into computers, usually by gaining access to administrative controls. There are several types of hackers. The black hat is someone who breaks computer security without authorization or uses technology for credit card fraud, identity theft, and piracy. A security exploit takes advantage of a known security weakness. These are very common in website/domain hacking. A packet sniffer is an application that captures data packets, which can be used to capture passwords and other data in transit over the network. A spoofing attack involves one program, system, or website by pretending to be the real trusted program, system or website and then stealing your usernames and passwords. A keylogger is a tool designed to record every keystroke on an affected machine stealing user's passwords.

IT projects can be many times a daunting task to both the contracted IT Company and the clients. With some short deadlines, there is usually a small window of opportunity to present skills and produce positive results. As a network administrator, the pressure to deliver top notch and a robust system is a priority. U.S. industry Inc is just a young company that has both the quality and skills and knowledge to produce excellent work considering previous contracts that have been undertaken by the company. The US government department aims to expand its network infrastructure to enlarge the capacity and enable it provide quality services.

Malicious attacks can come in many forms but generally speaking attacks fall into one of four categories Fabrications which deception is involved to trick users, Interceptions which involve eavesdropping on transmissions and unauthorized redirecting of those transmissions, Interruptions which causes a break in communication and a blockage of data transmission, and Modifications which alters the data in transmissions (Kim & Solomon, 2012). Attacks such as Brute-force attacks, Dictionary threats, Address spoofing, Hijacking, Replay attacks, Man-in-the-middle attacks, Masquerading, Social engineering, Phishing, Phreaking, and Pharming are all examples of attacks that can have damaging effects on a computer network or system (Kim & Solomon, 2012).

Network security has become more important to personal computers users and many big businesses. Network security is made up of policies provided by the network administrator to prevent unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network accessible resources. It starts with authenticating, this is commonly with a username and a password. Because just one detail is

Safety of information is the most valuable asset in any organization particular those who provide financial service to others. Threats can come from a variety of sources such as human threats, natural disasters and technical threats. By identifying the potential threats to the network, security measure can be taken to combat these threats, eliminate them or reduce the likelihood and impact if they should occur.

The three specific potential malicious attacks and threats that could be carried out against the network and organization are malicious attack, malicious, and the risk, threats, and vulnerabilities that is carried out against the network and organization. Malicious Attack is an attempt to forcefully abuse or take advantage of someone 's computer, whether through computer viruses, social engineering, phishing, or other types of social engineering. Malicious Attack have four general categories of attacks on computer systems and networks. The first it have to fabrications and that involve the creation of some deception in order to trick unsuspecting users. (Kim, D., & Solomon, M., 2012). That is like when you get a call on you home phone from Windows text support, when you give them your information and the information on your router. That mean you got trick by an unsuspecting users known as a scammer. Next it is interceptions and that involves eavesdropping on transmissions and redirecting them for unauthorized use. (Kim, D., & Solomon, M., 2012) Any wireless network using a username and password to allow entrance into a local network is susceptible to interception and traffic monitoring attacks. Then it is interruptions and it cause a break in a communications channel, which blocks the transmission of data. (Kim, D., & Solomon, M., 2012) Like when you online and you trying to get information offline and it take a long time to load up.

Users: This can include social engineering threats, misconfiguration of equipment, and inside threats where employees steal or leak information intentionally.