NETWORKS- Security measures Flashcards
Why we need and importance of network security
Organisations must keep networks secure from hackers in order to protect sensitive information and comply with data protection laws
Authentication outline
- User has to enter username and password
- Can be authenticated by other methods such as biometric (biometric measures use scanners to identify people by a unique part if their body e.g. fingerprint)
- Login details matched to a database of users
Security measures- What is authentication effective against?
Hackers
Unauthorised access
Security measures- What are some authentication methods?
- Passwords
- Biometrics- (Biometrics can be expensive to implement as they require special hardware)
- Email confirmation
- CAPTCHA ( STAND FOR -Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart)
Authentication- CAPTCHA
- It is designed to prevent programs from automatically doing certain things, like creating user accounts on a website
- It usually consists of a simple task, like typing out a blurred or distorted word from an image, or recognising things like animals and signposts
- These test rely on computers not being able to read images as well as humans can.
Security measures-What do automatic software updates do?
These are used to patch (fix) any identified security holes in a piece of software.
Software that is unpatched or outdated could be more easily exploited by hackers, malware and viruses.
Security measures- What do user access levels do?
User access levels control which parts of the network different groups of users can access.
User access levels limit the number of people with access to important data, so help prevent attacks from within the organisation
Security measures- Example of User access levels
For example, business managers are likely to have a higher access level allowing them to access more sensitive data, like pay information.
Security measures- What is encryption?
Encryption is when data is translated into a code which only someone with the correct key can access.
Security measures- What is encrypted text called and non-encrypted called?
Encrypted text is called cipher text and data which has not been encrypted is called plain text.
Security measures- What does encryption protect against?
Data theft
Security measures- What does anti-malware software do?
Anti-malware software is designed to find and stop malware from damaging an organisation’s network and the devices on it
Security measures- Anti-malware software example
There are lots of different types of anti-malware software. For example, firewalls examine all data entering and leaving a network and block potential threats.
Security measures-Are firewalls software or hardware?
Firewalls can be software or hardware- often both types are used for extra security
Security measures- What does MAC address filtering do?
It checks the unique identification (MAC address) of each device that tries to connect to the network and only let’s the allowed devices to join the network.
