Network Security refers to the protection of computer networks and information systems from unauthorized access or damage. It is a broad term that covers multiple disciplines, technologies and methodologies. At its core, it is the practice of securing computer networks in order to protect information and data against any kind of threat. The threats are usually classified into two categories: internal and external.
Internal Threats: This includes employees, malicious code and malware infection. External Threats: This includes hackers, cybercriminals, identity thieves, spammers and even nation-states.
What are the Types of Network Security?
Network security can be broadly classified into two categories: Network Infrastructure Security and Network Application Security.
Network Infrastructure Security:
This type of security is protecting the devices that make up a network from being compromised by external threats. These devices include routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers and network-attached storage (NAS) devices to name a few.
Network Application Security:
This type of security focuses on protecting the applications running on these devices from attacks by hackers. Or other malicious entities so that they may function securely. Examples include intrusion detection systems (IDS), intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and anti-virus software.
Why is Network Security Important? How Does it Help?
Network security is important because it helps to protect organizations from losses. Due to cybercrime such as data theft or identity theft. It also helps to protect them from financial losses. Due to hacking attacks that might lead to downtime or revenue loss due to malicious code infection or denial of service (DoS) attacks.
Network security also helps organizations meet compliance requirements related to data privacy. Further, might otherwise result in fines for non-compliance and loss of reputation for not meeting compliance deadlines set by governments and industry bodies alike.
What are the types of Network Security Threats?
Malicious software (a.k.a. malware)
Malicious software (a.k.a. malware) is a generic term. It refers to all forms of malicious programs that are to attack computer networks and individual computers. The list below describes some types of malware, but the list is by no means exhaustive:
“hacking”
The term “hacking” refers to the unauthorized access to computer networks, devices and data for malicious purposes. Usually with the intention of disrupting services and causing damage. The term can also refer to the actual process by which unauthorized access is gained to a system or network.
“phishing”
The term “phishing” refers to the practice of sending emails that appear to be from reputable companies or organizations in order to trick users into disclosing their private information such as passwords, credit card details etc. Such information can then be for identity theft or other kinds of fraud.
“denial-of-service attack”
The term “denial-of-service attack” (DoS attack) refers to an attempt by hackers or other malicious entities to disrupt services. It can be on a computer network such as Web servers, or database servers. Or any other device or application that is connected to it. These attacks are by flooding a network resource with external requests. in order to overload it and stop legitimate requests from processing effectively, thereby denying service to legitimate users.
“spamming”
The term “spamming” refers to the sending out of large volumes of unsolicited messages over email or any other computer network in order to sell products, services or promote a point of view etc. Spam messages may also contain links that direct users to websites that contain malware that can infect their computers in order to steal sensitive information such as personal ID’s, credit card numbers etc., which may then be used for identity theft.
“pharming”
The term “pharming” refers to the practice by cybercriminals of setting up fake websites and DNS servers for popular banks, e-commerce sites etc., so as to divert traffic from legitimate domains and steal user information such as login credentials.