Network Security

 

The benefits of computer networks are great and many, from facilitating the exchange of information to the procurement of goods and services through online markets. However, this interconnectedness also exposes each part of the network to certain risks. Today we will explore some of the more common threats to network security, from their causes to steps we can take to prevent and mitigate the damage they can inflict.

In an earlier discussion, we examined the use of ping and traceroute commands to analyze network performance, but did you know that these same utilities can be used maliciously to cripple a network? The main threat that ping commands pose to a network is the targeted repetition of ping requests toward a particular network node to overwhelm network bandwidth through a Denial of Service or DoS attack. The objective of a DoS attack is to compromise a network node to the point of being unresponsive to legitimate requests by the inundation of malicious echo requests. A Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS is a coordinated form of DoS attack coming from multiple machines, often without each operator’s knowledge using involuntary botnets (Yihunie et al., 2018). DDoS attacks pose a more significant threat to networks since their disruptive force can be multiplied through each infected machine. To successfully mitigate the damage of a DDoS attack, it is necessary to isolate malicious IPs from legitimate network traffic and limit their access to the network. It is also prudent to have contingencies, including access to alternative network bandwidth resources, to compensate for influxes in network traffic.

DDoS attacks are often made possible by another form of network security threat, social engineering. Social engineering attacks are designed to mislead people into granting access to privileged information by manipulating human behavior (Wang et al., 2021). In the example of a DDoS attack, the malicious party may solicit a response from the target by playing on their human nature, such as eliciting sympathy through a pleading email or misrepresenting themselves as a figure of authority, so the mark complies with their request. Once the target grants the access that the malicious party seeks, their personal information may be gathered and exploited, or their computer can be enlisted into a botnet by the malicious party with which they can execute a DDoS attack on another party. Since social engineering attacks rely on the target to voluntarily grant access (albeit usually through deceit), antivirus measures are ineffective in combatting them. Prevention of social engineering attacks requires vigilance and skepticism from the target to identify likely attacks and abstain from interacting with the attack or complying with the requests that it makes. Although security software will not necessarily prevent a social engineering attack, some applications can identify and remove malware that has already infected a system, so if a target falls prey to a social engineering attack, they have opportunities to rectify their error.

Social engineering also plays into our third type of network security threat: password cracking. Phishing is a type of social engineering that convinces a target to click on a link or attachment in an email that leads to malicious software being installed on the target’s computer. The malware can contain password-extracting software, or the attacker can persuade the target to volunteer their credentials under illegitimate pretense (Jancis, 2021). There are many different methods for malicious actors to obtain passwords from their targets, including the various forms of social engineering, brute force attacks, and modified variations of brute force attacks to narrow the guessing parameters based on secondary information such as personal details learned of the target. Brute force attacks try all possible combinations of a password until they hit on the correct password. The most effective methods to reduce the risk of compromised passwords include remaining vigilant of social engineering attacks and maintaining strong passwords and password hygiene. Strong passwords are unique, not used elsewhere, and have a sufficient number and diversity of characters to prevent successful password guessing and brute force attacks.

Malicious actors are indeed adaptive to improving network security measures, so our resolve to maintain network security integrity must remain strong to ward off the ever-evolving forms of attack targeting our networks. It may not be possible to guarantee that networks are impervious to security breaches, but good security hygiene, common sense, and healthy skepticism go a long way toward securing our networks.

 

 

References

Jancis, M. (2021, August 20). Most popular password cracking techniques: learn how to protect your privacy. Cybernews. https://cybernews.com/best-password-managers/password-cracking-techniques/

Wang, Z., Zhu, H. and Sun, L. (2021, 14, January). Social engineering in cybersecurity: effect mechanisms, human vulnerabilities and attack methods. IEEE Access Access, IEEE. 9:11895-11910. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3051633

Yihunie, F., Abdelfattah, E, and Odeh, A. (2018, May 4). Analysis of ping of death DoS and DDoS attacks. 2018 IEEE Long Island Systems, Applications and Technology Conference (LISAT) Systems, Applications and Technology Conference (LISAT), 2018 IEEE Long Island. DOI: 10.1109/LISAT.2018.8378010