Network security is an important part of the
Certified in Cybersecurity examination.
Let's take a look at the key areas we looked at in this domain.
We divided this domain into three parts, computer networking, network
threats and attacks, and network infrastructure.
When we look at computer networking,
we can understand the importance of networks today.
Networks in many ways are the conduit that allows traffic to flow
between different systems and different devices.
We could easily say that networks, therefore, are the pipeline that
almost all business operations actually run on.
We see that network security needs to address all three parts of the CIA
triad: preserving the confidentiality of our communications,
preserving the integrity and accuracy of our communications,
and ensuring availability that the systems and networks are
there when they're required.
When we talk over a network, we use protocols. Protocols are the
languages used to enable communications, and protocols define the
structure of those communications.
They ensure that a message is understood at the far end and can also help
with things like clarity and error correcting as well.
Some of the main protocols or languages we use include TCP/IP, which included
Internet Protocol version 4 and Internet Protocol version 6.
We took a look at the Open Systems Interconnection model and ISO standard
7498, and how it defined the structure of communications.
And we know that many of our communications today are wireless, using
protocols on structured communications such as wireless fidelity.
Firewalls are an important part of network security.
They control traffic between different networks and different network segments.
They do this by having doors or ports that allow certain
types of traffic to come through and certain types of
languages or protocols as well.
Networks are also protected through things like stateful inspection
firewalls that are important to try to make sure that only wanted
communications are allowed through the firewall.
Unfortunately, networks are very much a common place of attack,
but network security has to look at two different types of
attack vectors, attacks against the networks themselves such as
a distributed denial‑of‑service attack,
but also using the network as a way to attack devices
and systems connected to the network.
So this is where network security must protect the network, but
also seek to protect the devices that it connects.
We always have to watch out for unwanted traffic such as spam or
attacks such as the man‑in‑the‑middle attack where someone is trying
to intercept, maybe to listen into our communication or even alter
it or delete communications.
When we look at network defenses,
we know that there is a number of different layers and types of defense we use,
we put in place policies such as what is acceptable use of the internet,
what can a person download onto their systems.
We also put in firewalls,
intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems, and, of
course, we run scans on our systems to try to pick up unwanted
traffic such as malware or even spam. Networks rely on an
infrastructure in order for them to operate.
This includes power, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and
protection of cables through things like conduits.
When we look at network design,
it's an important part of how we build a robust network.
We do things like network segmentation, demilitarized zones,
virtual LANs, and cloud‑based services.
All of these make up the robust resilient networks we rely
on today for different types of traffic and different
types of use. The Next Steps.
Network security is important.
It's really good to review and ensure that we understand each of the
topic areas we've covered; not just memorization, but understanding
how we use and protect our systems.
We want to do the sample questions in the study guide to validate and verify the
understanding we have and then proceed to the next domain, Security Operations
for the Certified in Cybersecurity certification.