Lesson 6 Security Implications

Lesson 6 Security Implications

By Ryan Mordey

Big Picture

Discussed how cloud technology is used throughout industry.

Past

Describe security and performance implications that should be taken into consideration.

Evaluate the effectiveness of network security based on a scenario.

Present

Future

Careers: Network Security Specialist, Network Improvement Officer.

Categorize

Options (12)

Visit website

Sign up to service

Choose packages

Check compatibility

Purchase Hardware

Assemble and setup hardware

Install operating system

Update system settings

Add security services

Test network connectivity

Update manually

Automatically updates

Organize these options into the right categories

Company Server

Cloud Services

Categorize

Options (8)

Can access on anywhere with internet connectivity

Can increase or decrease storage needed

No need for an expert to set up

Maintenance and updates all done by cloud company

Security concerns with online access

Internet speed might impact on uploading and downloading

Need internet connection to access files

Accountability issues in case of a security breach

Organize these options into the right categories based on the use of cloud services.

Benefits

Drawbacks

Storing data that can be shared with ease through the use of transmission on a network allows for more efficiency, however this opens up more vulnerabilities.

Data stored in a network location, local server, cloud server or being transmitted is vulnerable to theft and malware attacks such as a ransomware attack.

Sensitive data such as financial information and personal data are aa particular risk as the impact of theft can be significant.

If data is stolen not only can the criminal face legal consequences but so does the organisation that has had the data stolen from.

Data Sharing & Storage

Resource Sharing

Hardware devices such as printers, scanners and other devices attached to a network can be shared by multiple users. Whilst this is a useful feature, it does have security implications as devices should only be shared with relevant authorised users to prevent misuse. This is often a vulnerability that organisations forget to consider.

Operating system permissions can be used to restrict which users have access to shared resources. The administrator account is responsible for assigning the usage rights to each account.

Drag and Drop

Complete the missing gaps:



Data stored in a ​

Placeholder

locations, local server, cloud server or being transmitted is vulnerable to ​

Placeholder

attacks such as a ​

Placeholder

attack. Sensitive data such as ​

Placeholder

information and personal data are a particular risk as the impact of theft can be significant. If data is stolen not only can the criminal face ​

Placeholder

consequences but so does the organisation that has had the data stolen from.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

theft and malware

ransomware

legal

network

financial

computer

worm

fraud

encryption

lawsuit

Open Ended

How can an organisation consider the security implications of resource sharing? (2 Marks)

Performance

Most organisations rely on the performance of its network to carry out everyday tasks, some businesses have more demanding needs than others. The performance of a network can also have a direct impact on security, a change in performance might indicate the use of a worm or DDOS attack. There are two performance measurements that should be considered:

• Latency: The time take for a data packet to be transferred across a network through routers. High latency means that the packets are taken considerably longer to get to its destination that might be due to the location of the server.

• Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be downloaded per second. Often determined by the connection media and how much you are paying your ISP. Downloading large amounts of data will slow down the network as bandwidth is shared between users.

Techniques that help secure a network have an impact on the performance.

Firewalls for example need to inspect each packet entering and leaving the network, which adds more time to the process potentially making the latency higher. It is important that the organisation uses a firewall that has sufficient processing power to process the large amounts of data that is being transmitted and received within a LAN.

Furthermore the use of a VPN could add to the latency of a network as then encryption process is added before transmission adding more time to the latency

Performance

Open Ended

How does the use of a VPN and a Firewall impact on network performance? (2 Marks)

When an organisation needs to expand their network to create a large system for example moving to a large office, warehouse or factory, they need to consider how it impacts on the security.

It is common practice to segment the network into several smaller but connected networks which can be done using software. This makes the network more manageable as security risks can be restricted to just one area of the network.

It also makes it easier to spot performance issues, where there is one area making more use of bandwidth or a particular area with higher latency.

Expanding Services

Communication

How employees are communicating also needs to be considered, Emails which is one of the main methos of communication in an organisation are not always encrypted.

This means Emails that are transmitted from sender to receiver can be intercepted and read by hackers. Emails are also used to target organisations and individuals within them, hackers use a range of methods to attack a business or user:

• Phishing emails, contain links to website that appear to be legitimate but are under control of the attacker to steal their credentials

• Attachments are often uses to target individuals, once downloaded it infects the computer with malware, this can then spread to other devices connected within the network.

Multiple Choice

What might an organisation do to a network when expanding their services?

• Limit access to certain users to improve authorisation.

• Segment a larger network in smaller networks.

• Reduce network security measures.
• Downgrade existing hardware.

Open Ended

Why do organisations need to consider how emails can lead to security implications? (3 marks)

Main Task

Computer Task:

Make a leaflet to advise new businesses and organisations of security and performance implications that should be considered when using networks.

Give examples of security threats that might arise if they do not consider the area. Find statistics in regards to how many organisations are impacted by a particular threat.

Complete all the questions on the work sheet.