Networking is one of the basic skills required for hacking, it is very important to understand and master basic networking before getting your head around hacking. A network engineer who mastered ethical hacking can perform Network Penetration Testing to determine exploitable vulnerabilities in the network by discovering open ports and services, grabbing system banners, and attacking his/her own network before a malicious attacker will do. Wireless networks with poor configuration and encryption leave them open to attack. Malicious hackers can use Wi-Fi vulnerabilities to penetrate an entire network.
When designing a secure network the following need to be considered:
- Access ensure authorized users are provided means to communicate to and from a particular network.
- Confidentiality ensures sensitive and confidential information in the network remains private.
- Authentication ensures the users in the network are who they say they are.
- Integrity ensures the message has not been modified in transit.
- Non-repudiation ensures the user does not repute that he used the network.
Network Architecture Design is the organization and design structure of hardware and software resources that enable a network to access, connect, and communicate. However, a good design Security Architecture is necessary along with a designed network. Network Security Architecture is also a combination of security segments in a network infrastructure. A Network Infrastructure consists of computer systems, servers, and their respective applications running that allows connected users to access and communicate in the network. Each computer and server running in a network have a different protection approach.
The followings are common security segments necessary for a simple network (home/office) and, the most complex network (enterprise):
- Workstation / Host Security
- Server Security
- Application Security
- Email Security
- Web Security
- Wireless Security
- Data Security
- Mobile Device Security
- Other types of methods used for network security countermeasures are Firewalls, IPS & IDS, and VPN.
In a network infrastructure, one or multiple network security categories are required for securing specific systems or servers that in turn secure the entire network.