Network Assessment: Finding Vulnerabilities and Protecting Against Threats

Network Assessment: Finding Vulnerabilities and Protecting Against Threats

Assessments must be part of an effective network security policy. Threats change and hackers develop new tactics, and a business, with a network used for storing data, needs to stay ahead and protect its data. A network security policy targets all ways data is needed: usability, reliability, integrity, and safety. Hackers and similar online criminals, however, get creative with ways for usurping data: Not just taking a technical approach, a criminal may employ social engineering with your employees or physically enter your facility.

Small and medium-sized businesses are especially vulnerable to outside attacks, and because of this, network assessment to find and address vulnerabilities is necessary. A network security professional typically conducts this assessment and approaches your system like a hacker. Ethical, or "white hat," hacking, however, is only used for finding vulnerabilities not stealing information.

A penetration test is a standard procedure for a network assessment. Also called ethical hacking, penetration testing involves analyzing the perimeter and inside of a network for places an online criminal could enter or go around. Additionally, a network security professional may interview your staff as part of social engineering assessment, conduct a vulnerability scan, examine operating system settings, and analyze past attacks. Overall, the assessment determines how security policies are being implemented and their effectiveness.

Although not all business networks are the same, a network security professional examines the following factors for all:

Passwords

Access control lists and audit logs

Security settings in regards to industry best practices

Elimination of unnecessary applications

Updates for software and operating systems

System backups, including the last update and access

A disaster recovery plan

Cryptographic tools

Custom built applications

Documentation for security code changes

Reviewed records

Previous security incidents

A report is the result of a network assessment. The network security professional identifies all problem areas through summaries, findings, and supporting data and provides solutions for addressing them. Reports are quickly compiled and issued. Because outside threats are always changing, assessments should be done often in order for your company to revise its network security policy and to be compliant with industry best practices like HIPAA for heath care and Sarbanes-Oxley and FFIEC for finance.

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