What are Network device security features?

Certification: Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching - Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing and Switching

The network device security is the adoption of the policies and provisions taken by the network administrator to monitor and prevent the unauthorized visit and access, modification, misuse, or the denial of network of computer and the accessible resources of the network. The network device security needs an authorization to access the data present in the network, which is usually controlled by network administrator. The users are allowed to choose or assign a user id and a password or some other information that are required for their authentication to allow them to access the data. Network device security comprises a range of networks both public and private, used to conduct everyday jobs like communications and transactions in business, government sector and individuals. The networks can be used privately such as in a company or might be opened for public use. Network device security is mainly present in enterprises, organizations, and institutions. As the name suggest, the Network Device Security helps in securing the network, protecting the valuable information and keeping a look on the operations that are being done. The most simple and common way to secure a network is assigning an ID and Password to it.

Network device security concepts

The security of the network device proceeds with the authentication, which is commonly a username followed by a password. This process requires one detail of authentication that is user id and a password, which is often termed as one factor authentication. There are two other ways by which the authentication can be done are two factor authentications and three factor authentication. The two factor authentication consist of something that the user has is added to the id like a security token, an ATM card, dongle etc; and in case of three factor authentication consist of something the user ‘is’ is added like fingerprint or the retinal scan.

After the authentication of the network device security, a firewall produces policies regarding the access like the services which are allowed to access by the users in the network. Though the firewall is effective in prevention of the unauthorized access of network, the component sometimes fail to recognize harmful entities such as Trojans or computer worms that might be transmitted into the network. Here comes the Anti Virus software that looks for such malicious entities and prevents them from entering the network. The communications between 2 hosts that are using the same network are often encrypted for protection and to maintain the privacy of both the hosts.

Management of security

The management of security for networks are often different for different situations. A small office or home may require a basic level of network device security, while large businesses require high level o maintenance and advanced level of software and hardware to prevent attacks from spamming and hacking.

Different kinds of attacks

The network device security is often subjects for the malicious entities. Attacks are of two categories: “Passive” when the data travelling is intercepted by a network intruder through network whereas “Active” where the normal network operation is disrupted by initiating a command by the intruder.

Monitoring of Network Device Security

To know what you network comprises of, is an important part of the network device security. The network can be monitored by different methods. The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) which is application protocol which can be used to monitor, gather info related to devices and network systems. To give access the SNMP uses community strings as password. The by default community string for reading operations is Public and for the reading and writing operations the string is Private. These community string passwords are common and needed to change to passwords that are confidential. Despite of these protections, the attacker can have access to the SNMP information by the tools available for hacking. The SNMP version 3 can support SHA-1 authentication and MD5, along with encryption of messages, which must be used in order to provide better security.

Configuration of network Device Security

The network device is often managed through terminal sessions or a webpage until the device fails completely. In order to deduce the effect of malicious person getting access to the info and device availability and concerned services, the network requires a strong authentication process. If there is no other option than the username/password, it should be made sure that the set password is strong enough. The network device security can be hardened similarly to operating system hardening. The process of hardening starts with penetration test or a security assessment test. According to the result, the network device will require configuration, like disabling unused protocols and services, thus enabling the features of security.

Firewalls for network Device Security

The hardware device or a software application present on the computer which is responsible for the protection of privately held networks from external attackers or intruders is known as firewall. The firewall is capable of filtering both outbound and inbound traffic by implementing a certain criteria of filtration. The network layer of the network is where the commonly used firewall operates and this is known as Packet filter. The TCP/UDP port numbers, source and destination address are the basic criteria for the forwarding and blockage of packets.

These are the various components that are involved in the security of the network device and its prevention from attacks by malicious softwares. Every organization and home users should implement a strong authentication and monitor their network device from being attacked and loosing their valuable data. The security of the networking device is thus important and one should take it seriously and should have a strong security system that is enabling the firewall and installing a good anti virus software on their home or office network.

Related IT Guides