Network Security and Different Ways to Secure Networks Essay

Network Security and Different Ways to Secure Networks - Essay Example The researcher states that assigning a password and an ID to a network is often called one-factor authentication while the two-factor authentication has often been identified when the account or network is secured by a security-token for e.g. an ATM Card or a mobile phone; and the three-factor authentication is distinguished by the use of the security measures such as a fingerprint or a retinal scan (de Jong et al, nd). It can be further secured by a firewall so that it could only be available to specific users of that network. Most of these utilities are being used by banks, armed forces, and, intelligence agencies etc. The Need for Network Security In practice, network security is an important part of many networks at homes, at public places, at colleges and universities and at various offices such as banks, stock exchanges, all kinds of multinational firms and other businesses, law enforcement agencies and even the Government offices and departments where important information is stored. The level of security needed and indeed, in use, varies from network to network and it depends on things such as the sensitivity of the data, the structure of the network, the size of the network and the threats to the network. A home user, for example, may not need to employ the same in-depth means of securing the network as, for example, a large multinational bank would. The reason for that is that there’s less sensitive data on a home network, there are fewer threats and there is not much at risk compared to the network of a bank. Now let’s take a look at the history of network security. The need for network security has been around since the time computers have existed, although this need was further emphasized after one of the most famous computer hackers of the world, Kevin Mitnick was arrested and convicted in 1995. Even before that, there were reported crimes related to computers and networks. The requirement for networks and networked computers to be s ecured was further enhanced after the Internet was made publically available in the 1990s. And gradually, in order to protect against loss of intellectual property, monetary loss, loss of sensitive customer data, invasions into personal privacy, disruptions to the working networks of large multinational firms and banks etc, further ways to secure the networks are being implemented. There are various ways in which the security of a network can be breached. In broader terms, the attacks can be categorized in two forms first one is a passive attack in which the hacker disturbs the travelling of data using the same network and in active attack the hacker uses different commands to change the network’s normal working. Both these attacks can have various forms. Some examples are Wiretapping, Idle scan, Port scanning, a Denial of Service attack, spoofing, ARP poisoning, smurf attack, heap overflow and SQL injection. Further to that, other forms of attacks such as Trojan Horses, Viru ses, Worms or Logic Bombs are also sometimes used. Ways to Secure Networks Securing a network depends on the type of network structure in place and the level of security which needs to be implemented.