What Is Network Security? | Introduction To Network Security | Network Security Tutorial|Simplilearn
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the critical realm of network security, outlining its definition, importance, and multi-layered approach. It introduces viewers to the concept, explains the processes of authentication and authorization, and highlights the significance of securing data in transit. The script covers various types of network security, including physical, technical, and administrative, and explores tools like firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion prevention systems. It also emphasizes the benefits of network security, such as protection against threats and increased productivity, and concludes with a practical demonstration of using Nmap for scanning and ethical hacking.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The world relies heavily on data transmitted over networks, which can be vulnerable to security breaches if not properly secured.
- 🛡️ Network security is essential for protecting the usability and integrity of a company's infrastructure from unauthorized access and cyber threats.
- 🔒 Basic network security measures include password protection, which is crucial for both personal and professional networks.
- 🏢 Large amounts of data handled by companies require robust security solutions to mitigate risks of data loss, theft, and sabotage.
- 🔒 Network security infrastructure offers multiple levels of protection, including preventing man-in-the-middle attacks and ensuring data confidentiality and accessibility.
- 🔑 Network security involves processes like authentication to verify user identity and authorization to determine access levels within the network.
- 🔒 There are three main types of network security: physical, technical, and administrative, each addressing different aspects of security.
- 🔒 Transport layer security, such as TLS, ensures a private and secure connection between a web browser and a server using cryptographic methods.
- 🛡️ Application layer security is critical as it is the closest to the end user and protects against various attacks such as DDoS, SQL injections, and cross-site scripting.
- 🧰 Key network security tools include firewalls, VPNs, intrusion prevention systems, and behavioral analytics to enforce security policies and detect threats.
- 🛡️ Network security benefits include protection against external and internal threats, increased productivity by minimizing downtime, and maintaining brand trust and reputation.
Q & A
What is the primary concern when transmitting data over a network?
-The primary concern is ensuring the security of the data during transit, as it is vulnerable to corruption and attacks from malicious hackers during this phase.
Why is network security becoming increasingly important?
-Network security is becoming more important due to the rising amount of data being transmitted over networks, the complexity of network architecture, and the constant threat of cyber attacks.
What are the key components of network security infrastructure?
-The key components include tools that protect the network itself and the applications running over it, employing multiple lines of defense that are scalable and automated.
What is the basic example of network security?
-The most basic example of network security is password protection, which helps prevent unauthorized access to the network.
How does network security help in protecting against data loss, theft, and sabotage?
-Network security helps by implementing strong security systems that safeguard the network and workstations from harmful attacks, ensuring the confidentiality and accessibility of data.
What are the two main processes involved in network security?
-The two main processes are authentication, which verifies the identity of users, and authorization, which determines the level of access granted to authenticated users.
What are the three types of network security?
-The three types of network security are physical security, which protects against unauthorized access to network devices; technical security, which safeguards data during storage and transmission; and administrative security, which manages user permissions and access control.
What is the purpose of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) in network security?
-TLS is used to secure information as it is carried over the internet, providing a private and secure connection between a web browser and a website server using cryptographic handshakes.
What is the role of an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) in network security?
-An IPS actively scans the network for harmful activity and responds by reporting, blocking, or discarding the threats, offering a more proactive approach than Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) which only identify threats.
What are some benefits of implementing network security measures?
-Benefits include protection against external and internal threats, increased productivity by minimizing downtime and cyber attacks, and enhanced brand trust and reputation through a strong cybersecurity stance.
How can Nmap be used in network security for ethical hacking and penetration testing?
-Nmap can identify active hosts, scan for open ports, guess the operating system of a target, detect service versions, and perform various types of scans to help security professionals assess and improve network security.
Outlines
🔒 Introduction to Network Security
This paragraph introduces the concept of network security, emphasizing its importance in protecting data during transmission over interconnected devices. It explains that network security involves a set of technologies aimed at preventing unauthorized access and ensuring the integrity of a company's infrastructure. The paragraph outlines the basic definition of network security, its working principles, and the multi-layered defense strategies employed. It also touches on the evolution of network security from a basic password protection to a central topic in cybersecurity, highlighting the need for skilled professionals in the field. The infrastructure's complexity and the constant threat environment are also discussed, indicating the necessity for robust security measures.
🛡️ Types of Network Security and Their Layers
This section delves into the different types of network security: physical, technical, and administrative. Physical security focuses on protecting data and network equipment from unauthorized access, often employing biometric systems and other access control measures. Technical security is concerned with safeguarding data in transit or at rest, defending against unauthorized users and malicious actions. Administrative security involves managing user permissions and the authorization process, ensuring compliance with security policies and suggesting infrastructure amendments when necessary. The paragraph also introduces transport and application layer security, discussing the role of TLS in establishing secure connections and the threats posed by poor application layer security, such as DDoS and XSS attacks.
🛠️ Key Network Security Tools and Their Functions
This paragraph discusses the essential tools used in network security, starting with firewalls, which filter network traffic based on security rules, and VPNs, which provide encrypted connections for secure data transmission. It also covers Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), which actively monitor and respond to malicious activities, in contrast to Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) that only identify threats. Behavioral analytics is introduced as a tool for detecting patterns that may indicate an attack, enhancing security measures accordingly. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of these tools in managing and mitigating the various threats present in today's complex network architectures.
🛡️ Benefits of Network Security for Modern Challenges
The benefits of network security are highlighted in this paragraph, starting with protection against external threats such as cybercriminals and industrial spies. It underscores the importance of a strong cybersecurity posture to identify and respond to attacks. The paragraph also addresses the internal threats posed by human error or malicious insiders, emphasizing the need for proactive network monitoring and access management. Increased productivity is identified as a benefit, as cybersecurity measures minimize downtime and the impact of cyber attacks. Lastly, the paragraph discusses the impact of network security on brand trust and reputation, noting its importance for customer retention and business development.
🕵️♂️ Demonstrating Network Security with Nmap
This paragraph provides a practical demonstration of network security using Nmap, a tool for network exploration and security auditing. It begins with the installation of Nmap on various Linux distributions and proceeds to showcase its capabilities, such as identifying active hosts with a ping scan and conducting port scans to detect open ports and the services running on them. The paragraph also explains how Nmap can guess the operating system of a target host and detect service versions, which are crucial for identifying vulnerabilities. The demonstration includes commands and explanations on how to use Nmap for scanning specific ports, ranges of ports, and understanding the state of ports (open, filtered, or closed), illustrating the tool's utility in ethical hacking and security testing.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Network Security
💡Data
💡Authentication
💡Authorization
💡Firewall
💡Virtual Private Network (VPN)
💡Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
💡Behavioral Analytics
💡Transport Layer Security (TLS)
💡Application Layer
💡Nmap
Highlights
The world's reliance on data and the importance of securing it during transmission.
The role of network security in protecting the usability and integrity of a company's infrastructure.
Network security strategies involving multiple layers of defense that are scalable and automated.
The basic example of network security: password protection.
The centrality of network security in cybersecurity and its increasing importance.
The vulnerability of wireless routers and the necessity of securing them against attacks.
The function of network security in protecting workstations from harmful spyware.
The concept of dividing and encrypting information to secure data sharing over a network.
The challenges of securing network traffic and infrastructure in a hyper-connected environment.
Authentication and authorization as key processes in network security.
The three types of network security: physical, technical, and administrative.
The importance of transport layer security (TLS) in establishing a secure connection over the internet.
The risks associated with poor application layer security and the potential attacks it can invite.
The use of firewalls as the first line of defense in network security.
The role of VPNs in providing secure, encrypted connections for remote work.
The function of intrusion prevention systems (IPS) in detecting and responding to harmful network activity.
The significance of behavioral analytics in detecting patterns that may indicate security threats.
The benefits of network security, including protection against external and internal threats.
The impact of network security on increasing productivity and minimizing downtime.
The role of network security in building brand trust and reputation.
A practical demonstration of using Nmap for network scanning and security testing.
Transcripts
the world runs on data off
the internet houses are treasured loop
of potentially harmful information from
basic shopping habits to private
financial transactions
all this data is carried over a network
of interconnected devices
during transit the data is as secure as
the mechanism responsible for its
transmission it's in this phase that the
most corrupted data originates
it's paramount that the networks
carrying this data must be secured
against malicious hackers and ample
attacks
let's take a look at the topics to be
covered in this video on network
security which is rising in popularity
and importance
we start by introducing the viewers to
network security and its basic
definition
we cover the working of network security
in the next section
then we have the different types of
network security followed by a small
introduction to transport and
application layer security and the
importance
next we cover the key tools in network
security the benefits and a live
demonstration of how nmap can scan posts
and aid in ethical hacking
so let's start with the first topic for
the day which is an introduction to
network security
network security is a set of
technologies that protects the usability
and integrity of a company's
infrastructure by preventing the entry
or proliferation within a network
it architecture comprises of tools that
protect the network itself and the
applications that run over it
effective network security strategies
employ multiple lines of defense that
are scalable and automated each
defensive layer here enforces a set of
security policies which are determined
by the administrator beforehand
this aims at securing the
confidentiality and accessibility of the
data and the network
the every company or organization that
handles a large amount of data has a
degree of solutions against many cyber
threats the most basic example of
network security is password protection
it has the network the user chooses
recently network security has become the
central topic of cyber security with
many organizations involving
applications from people with skills in
this area it is crucial for both
personal and professional networks most
houses with high speed internet have one
or more wireless routers which can be
vulnerable to attacks if they are not
adequately secured
data loss theft and sabotage risk may be
decreased with the usage of a strong
network security system
the workstations are protected from
hazardous spyware thanks to network
security
additionally it guarantees the security
of the data which is being shared over a
network
by dividing information into various
sections encrypting these portions and
transferring them over separate pathways
network security infrastructure offers
multiple levels of protection to thought
man in the middle attacks preventing
situations like eavesdropping among
other harmful attacks
it is becoming increasingly difficult in
today's hyper-connected environment as
more corporate applications migrate to
both public and private clouds
additionally modern applications are
also frequently virtualized and
dispersed across several locations some
outside the physical control of the itd
network traffic and infrastructure must
be protected in these cases since
assaults on businesses are increasing
every single day
we now understood the basics of network
security but we need to understand how
network security works in the next
section in slightly more detail
network security revolves around two
processes authentication and
authorization
the first process which is
authentication is similar to access
paths which ensure that only those have
the right to enter a building
in other words authentication checks and
verifies that it is indeed the user
belonging to the network who is trying
to access or enter it thereby preventing
unauthorized intrusions
next comes authorization
this process decides the level of access
provided to the recently authenticated
user
for example
network admin needs access to the entire
network whereas those working within it
probably need access to only certain
areas within the network
based on the network user's role the
process of determining the level of
access or permission level is known as
authorization
today's network architecture is complex
and faces a threat environment that is
always changing and attackers that are
always trying to find and exploit
vulnerabilities
these vulnerabilities can exist in many
areas including devices data
applications users and locations
for this reason many network security
management tools and applications are in
use today that address individual
threats
when just a few minutes of down times
can cause widespread disruption and
massive damage to an organization's
bottom line and reputation it is
essential that these protection measures
are in place beforehand
now that we know a little about network
security and it's working let's cover
the different types of network security
the fundamental tenet of network
security is the layering protection for
massive networks and stored data that
ensure the acceptance of rules and
regulations
as a whole there are three types
the first of which is physical security
the next being technical and the third
being administrative
let's look into physical security first
this is the most basic level that
includes protecting data and network
through unauthorized personnel from
acquiring control over the
confidentiality of the network these
include external peripherals and routers
that might be used for cable connections
the same can be achieved by using
devices like biometric systems
physical security is critical especially
for small businesses that do not have
many resources to devote to security
personnel and the tools as opposed to
large firms
when it comes to technical network
security it focuses mostly on
safeguarding data either kept in the
network or engaged in network
transitions
this kind fulfills two functions
one is depends against unauthorized
users
the other is a defense against
malevolent actions
the last category is administrative
this level of network security protects
user behavior like how the permission
has been granted and how the
authorization process takes place
this also ensures the level of
sophistication the network might need to
protect it through all the attacks
this level also suggests necessary
amendments that have to be done to the
infrastructure
i think that's all the basics that we
need to cover on network security
in which our next topic we're going to
go through two mediums of network
security which are the transport layer
and the application layer
the transport layer is a way to secure
information as it is carried over the
internet with users browsing websites
emails instant messaging etc
tls aims to provide a private and secure
connection between a web browser and a
website server it does this with a
cryptographic handshake between two
systems using public key cryptography
the two parties through the connection
exchange a secret token and once each
machine validates this token it is used
for all communications
the connection employs lighter symmetric
cryptography to save bandwidth and
processing power
since the application layer is the
closest layer to the end user it
provides hackers with the largest threat
surface
poor app layer security can lead to
performance and stability issues data
theft and in some cases the network
being taken down
examples of application layer attacks
include distributed denial of service
attacks or tdos attacks http flats hp
injections cross-site scripting etc
most organizations have an arsenal of
application layer security protections
to combat these and more such as web
application firewalls secure web gateway
services etc
now that we have the theory behind
network security has been covered in
detail let us go through some of the
tools that can be used to enforce these
network security policies
the first two to be covered in the
section is a firework
a firewall is a type of network security
device that keeps track of incoming and
outgoing network traffic and it decides
which traffic to allow or deny in
accordance to a set of security rules
for more than 25 years firewalls have
served a network security's first line
of defense
they provide a barrier between
trustworthy internal protected and
regulated networks from shady external
networks like the internet at some point
the next tool which can be used to
bolster network security is a virtual
private network or vpn for short
it's an encrypted connection between a
device and a network via the internet
the encryptment connection is the secure
transmission of sensitive data
it makes it impossible for unauthorized
parties to eavesdrop on the traffic and
enables remote work for the user
the usage of vpn technology is common in
both corporate and personal networks
next we cover the importance of
inclusion prevention systems in network
security or ips frameworks
an intrusion prevention system is a
network security tool that continually
scans the network for harmful activity
and responds to it when it does occur by
reporting blocking or discarding it
it can be either hardware or software
it's more sophisticated than an
inclusion detection system or an ids
framework which can just warn an
administrator and merely identify
harmful activities while in the case of
an ips it actually takes against that
activity
the next tool in this section and final
one are going to be behavioral analytics
behavior analytics focus more on the
statistics that are being carried over
and stored through months and years of
usage
when some kind of similar pattern is
noted that the idea administrator can
detect some kind of attack the similar
attacks can be stopped and the security
can be further enhanced
another day i've covered all that we
need to know about network security the
necessary tools it's different types etc
let's go through the benefits of network
security as a whole
the first which is protection against
external threats
the objective for cyber assaults can be
as varied as the defenders themselves
although they are typically initiated
for financial gain whether they are
industrial spies hacktivists or cyber
criminals these bad actors all have one
thing in common which is how quick
clever and covert the attacks are
getting a strong cyber security posture
that considers routine software updates
may assist firms in identifying and
responding to the abuse techniques tools
and the common entry points
the next benefit is protection against
internal threats the human aspect
continues to be the cyber security
system's weakest link
insider risk can originate from current
or former workers third party vendors or
even trusted partners and they can be
unintentional careless or downright evil
aside from that the rapid expansion of
remote work and the personal devices
used for business purposes while even
iot devices in remote locations can make
it easier for these kind of threats to
go undetected until it's too late
however by proactively monitoring
networks and managing access these
dangers may be identified and dealt with
before they become expensive disasters
the third benefit is increased
productivity
it is nearly impossible for employees to
function when network and personal
devices are slowed to a crawl by viruses
and other cyber attacks during the
operation of website and for the company
to run
you must significantly minimize
violations and the amount of downtime
required to fix the breach by
implementing various cybersecurity
measures such as enhanced firewalls
wireless scanning and automatic backups
employee identification of possible
email phishing schemes suspicious links
and other malicious criminal activities
can also be aided by education and
training
another benefit is
brand trust and reputation
customer retention is one of the most
crucial elements in business development
customers today place a premium on
maintaining brand loyalty through a
strong cyber security stance since this
is the fastest way to get other
businesses back get referrals and sell
more tickets overall additionally it
helps manufacturers get on the vendor
list with bigger companies as a part of
the supply chain which is only as strong
as its weakest link
this opens possibilities for potential
future endeavors and development
it's all really the all for the
theoretical part of network security
after covering so many topics let's go
through a small demonstration to drive
home this topic's importance so one of
the first things we're going to cover is
the installation of nmap
what are we using right now is actually
vmware a re-running an instance of a
relax distribution known as parrot
security operating system
the parrot security os is a debian based
linux distribution that is catered more
towards ethical hackers and penetration
testers the howard is created more is it
comes pre-installed with a lot of tools
that ethical hackers need including nmap
so let's say you're using another debian
based linux distribution
if you want to install nmap you can go
with the command of sudo
apt which is the package manager
install
and
and just press enter
at this point it's going to ask you for
your administrator password because of
the sudo command which you have used now
this epd will change depending on the
distribution let's say using a
distribution that is based on arch linux
that will be different if there is some
other distribution which is built from
scratch the commands will differ but
more or less a lot of the distributions
the main stream distributions that
people use like ubuntu zorinos max mint
they are debian bs so you're just going
to be using sudo apt install and map
if you give your administrator password
here
it's going to see that nmap is
smashed manually installed and it is
already the newest version at this point
if you do not have an app in your
distribution it's going to install the
necessary package files
if i just use the nmap command you can
see some help lines where it basically
says what kind of flags you can use what
are some of the most common commands the
version etc it gives a small sample for
the usage of nmap
now
the first one of the most basic
functions of nmap is to identify active
hosts on your network
and app does this by using a ping scan
or sometimes it's called a ping suite
this identifies all of the ip addresses
that are currently online without
sending any packets to these hosts
to run the command we're just going to
go with let me just clear the screen for
now
another thing you have to do before
running nmap just for our ease of use is
we're going to use the sudo suv command
this will turn our console into an
administrator console so let's say we
want to use some drivers or some
external adapters or anything that
requires administrative permission we
don't have to use the admin password
again and again
just going to give it a bit of time for
it to recognize
okay now that you see uh this dollar
sign has changed into a hash symbol
which means we now have root access
of this console right now of this
terminal so what we're going to do for
the pink suite where we have to check
existing course is are going to use the
command in map
minus sp
and go with the ip address
of the current subnet that you are in
which is always going to be minus one uh
it's always going to be 192 and 168.1.1
the 24 bracket
so this is going to take some time
considering this is going to check all
the hosts
in this particular subnet
the command then returns a list of posts
on your network which is this and the
total number of assigned ip addresses if
you can spot like any ip addresses that
you cannot account for in your network
or your server you can then add further
commands to investigate them further
using nmap itself
now coming to another feature of nmap
which is a very important usage
is
when scanning posts and mac commands can
use server names ip addresses or even
ip6 addresses
a basic nmap command will produce
information about the given host
so to run a basic port scan we can just
use the nmap command with the ip address
of the device or the ip address that we
are targeting
so for now the host machine that i am
using currently has this current ip
address
if you can see the current id address is
192.168.1.22
as it's written in the ipv4 address
preferred section
so now we're going to try and attack
this first machine using nmap on parent
security operating system
so we're just going to go with the end
map
192 162
and press enter and it's going to start
scanning the host for different services
and the ap address
that are being run on the system
the speed of these scans usually depends
on how quick the processor is and also
how quickly the two machines can connect
with each other but two machines i mean
the virtual machine in this case and the
machine that is being attacked which is
right now the host machine which is
running vmware workstation
as you can see the core scanning is
complete for this particular ip address
and you can see the number of ports is
mentioned and the services that these
posts are used for is also mentioned it
says which of these are open for example
the 53 tcp port we can see it is closed
while some of the other ports are open
now one more feature of nmap is the
ability to guess the operating system of
the ip address that we are attacking
for that we need to add one more flag
which is going to go with the normal
command is n map minus 4 and
the regular appearance that we are in
the process of attacking
let's give it a few minutes to run the
scan and it will try and put a small gas
on the operating system that this host
might be running
this gas might not always be accurate
but it puts a small idea and this is
much more accurate in the case of
actually unix based operating system
other than windows based operating
systems may be able to detect that if it
is a windows a linux macintosh
and so on
but it may have difficulty finding exact
single versions which becomes easier in
the case of linux because we can
identify different distributions by some
of the kernels
which and most of the vulnerabilities
comes from the kernels and not the
particular distributions
as you can see the os detection guess is
complete and you can see aggressive os
is over here which is microsoft windows
xp service pack or windows server and
there's the 98 guess that it's mostly
like i mentioned if you can guess if it
is a windows based system you can apply
the vulnerabilities and exploits
accordingly
now at times you may need to detect
service version and the and similar
information from these open ports
actually this is useful for
troubleshooting and scanning for
vulnerabilities or locating services
that need to be updated considering a
lot of the new updates are used to fix
these kind of open vulnerabilities so
the flag that we're going to use in this
case is minus
sv or hyphen s3 so only this is going to
change with the nmap and the ip address
of the whole system staying consistent
a lot of the services that are being run
on these ports are often not the most
safe for example apache web server which
is a very common web server being used
for even local and global projects uh a
lot of the older versions used to have
systems that can allow privilege
escalations or other vulnerabilities
that can allow hacker to get into your
system without even you getting a trace
of it
silhouetted versions tend to fix these
as quickly as possible and most of these
versions do not circulate in the real
world but can be used for ethical
hacking and testing on how these
validate and how these vulnerabilities
can be attacked further
now with the sv command scan is complete
we can see that it is mentioning some of
the version of the services that are
being run on the particular post
once again like i mentioned using these
version numbers you can identify
particular vulnerabilities and use the
exploits design for these
vulnerabilities to gain access to the
system
another thing that nmap does well is
port scanning it's now the basic
utilities actually that nmap offers and
consequently there are few ways that
this command can be customized further
for example to come to start a port scan
we're going to use the flag of my ipin p
we're going to specify a random port for
example 443 which we know it will be
open because it is the port used for
https connections which is obviously
essential for you to access the internet
and once again we are going to use the
ip address or local host
as the test machine that have been
attacked
as you can see it clearly states that
the four fourth report is open as
expected
now you can use multiple ports you can
check multiple ports this way for
example and map and p we're going to use
scan three different ports four four
three eighty and four four five
address again
and it's going to show
the state of all the three ports now you
can see this filter part here
which which does not mean it is open and
it cannot be exploited in any way at
least right now maybe there is any other
service that is being run it can be
exploited further but right now it is in
a filtered condition
that is how we can actually scan for
multiple ports together we can also we
can also use actually in a sports car in
a range format for example
let's say we're going to scan the ports
from 200
to 300 and once again going to use the
hyphen key flag
then the ip address of the system being
attacked
it's going to scan all the posts from
200 to 300 and mention what are the
ports that are open filtered or just
straight up closed
as you can see all the 101 stand posts
are in ignore state for example if we
try to scan a range in
a more reasonable range for example uh 4
4
3 2
4 6
that's it
we'll keep the ip address similar
and you can see two of them are open and
two of them are filtered for different
different reasons this is how you can
find out which of the ports are liable
for exploitation before attacking these
kind of devices
hope you enjoy this video
please let us know in the comments
section if you have any issues with
network security or the things that you
learned in this video subscribe to our
channel for more videos like this and
thank you for watching
[Music]
hi there if you like this video
subscribe to the simply learn youtube
channel and click here to watch similar
videos to nerd up and get certified
click here
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)