Fluent Essays

Security Week 4 Rubric Week 3 Rubric Week 2 Grading Rubric CIS212 Scenario -Project Congratulations! You have gotten your dream job in cybersecurity. After a number of interviews, you landed a job as a Security Administrator for a software development company.  It is an exciting time to join the team because the company is experiencing unprecedented growth.  They are expecting to add between 20 and 30 programmers to the payroll this year, doubling the size of the company. Your new company has recently had a security audit by an external group who rated their security performance as “extremely lacking in-depth and performance.” One of your first tasks as the Security Administrator will be to secure documents and to program and educate the employees about security in the company. Click the links below to review the following: HR Needs Your company has 20 programmers, 10 administrators, and an external Human Resources (HR) department that handles payroll as well as hiring new employees. The external HR group also handles setting up the new employees in the company systems and issuing them a laptop which they will use as their work computer.  This work laptop will also serve their needs when they are away from the office working remotely. Audit Report Concerns Upper-level management is concerned that the audit report disclosed that your systems are unsafe, and are worried this news will reach your customers and cause them to move their business to other companies. There is also a concern that this new focus on security is taking your programmers away from their primary duties, which is to produce custom software for your customers. Your charge is to eliminate the security issues and restore a sense of balance to the company. Internet Speed Concerns Currently, each employee has an individual connection to the internet through DSL modems located at their desks. This was done by simply adding DSL to the existing phone wires. Adding new users has been no problem, as it only involves adding a new DSL line to the office at the new programmer’s desk.  All of the DSL modems currently give a 1Mbs connection to the internet.  It would be desirable to increase the connection speed. Security Concerns Each programmer logs into a cloud server where all of the company’s programming data is kept. When asked about the security arrangement of the cloud server, no information could be found about the company except that the service was inexpensive. Current Network Configuration Here is the current network configuration: 1 6 Project: Malware Threats & Vulnerabilities My name CIS212: Principles of Cybersecurity September 8, 2021 Network Vulnerabilities The network in scope for this project seem to have multiple vulnerabilities which could be exploited intentional or unintentional. A network vulnerability is a weakness of flaw in software hardware, or simply an organization processes, which when compromised by a threat actor, can results in a security breach (Firch, 2021). Considering the scenario, I believe this network could be vulnerable to nonphysical weakness which involves the operating system (OS), Malwares such as Trojans, Viruses, and Worms that are installed on the user’s machine or even on the host server itself. It may also be vulnerable to some physical vulnerabilities such theft. Threats Security continues to be an important part of any company. A network security threat to this network, is any attempt to breach the network and obtain access to the data on the network. For this scenario, I will analyze this network to identify an internal threat and external threat this network could be vulnerable to. Internal Threats An insider threat is a security risk that originates from within the targeted company. It typically involves a current or former employee or business associates who has access to sensitive inform or privilege accounts within the network. There is malicious insider, who is someone who maliciously or intentionally abuse legitimate credentials. In this current network, we have users or developers who may need elevated privileges to perform their work functions. As an example, if this user is to leave this company and no proper diligence is performed to remove their access on time, they may have back door access into the network to cause harm. At the same time, there maybe an innocent user who unknowingly exposes the system to the outside threats. Example new developers that would be hired, may not get the adequate training needed may click on a malicious link or insecure link, infecting the systems with malware. External Threats An external threat refers to the risk of someone or something from the outside the company that attempts to exploit system /network vulnerabilities using various attack vectors. This network could be exploited externally using malicious software, hacking sabotage, DNS flooding due to a vulnerability that may exist in the DSL router, hidden backdoor programs. Phishing attacks, unknown security bugs among others. From my observation, this network could benefit from network protection measures such as: · Installing stateful firewall to inspect packets · Noticeably, IDS/IPS could be implemented to track potential packet floods. · This network use segmentation to boost performance and increase security · Use a virtual private network (VPN) for authorized users needs to access the network remotely. · Just performing proper maintenance of the network. Updating older technology with a newer technology could be very impactful. For instance, replacing DSL technology. Sometimes external threats are successful because of an insider threat. Ensuring that the new hires and all active employees undergoes security training throughout the year is very important. Potential Attacks To sum it up, here are potential attach that could be done against this network: · DDOS · DOS · DNS flooding · Man in the Middle attack · Code and SQL injection attacks. · Privilege escalation · Ransomware attack · Malware Conclusion Network vulnerabilities covers a lot of technologies, devices, technology, and processes. It refers to a set of rules and configurations designed to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility of computer networks and data. Sound network security controls are recommended for organizations to reduce the risk of an attack or data breach. These measures also enable the safe operation of IT systems. The network in the scenario is vulnerable to many attacks, however with the right assessment and some preventative controls in place, we can reduce the threat surface and attack surface. References Firch, J. (2021). 2021 Trends Report. Retrieved from Purplesec: https://purplesec.us/common-network-vulnerabilities/ Cybersecurity Analysis Project Student Name Malware Threats and Vulnerabilities Analysis (To be completed week 1) · Viruses · Trojan horse · Worms · DNS flooding · Man in the Middle · Privilege escalation · Ransomware attack · DDOS · DOS Security Assessment Plan (To be completed week 2) · I would aim for an external and internal penetration test. I would attempt to mimic an actual cyber attack or social engineering attack such as phishing. · I would also invest in third party tools used to perform vulnerability scanning. Nextpose Network Upgrade (To be completed week 3) · Build network redundancies · Upgrade old DSL modems with cisco routers · Implement to a tier 1 network · Implement CISCO ASA firewalls in the external and internal network · Configure VPN on cisco ASA · Configure IDS /IPS ASA Type of Equipment Initial Cost Ongoing Cost Replacement Cost Business High Speed internet service (Comcast Business) $55.99/month $55.99/month ISP supported Back up Business High Speed ISP (Verizon Fios) $69 to $249*/mo $69 to $249*/mo ISP supported Cisco ASA firewall ASA5512-k9 $1,610.00 N/a Market value Cisco router 880 integrated services router (C881-K9) $832 N/A Market Value Cisco Serial port cables $92 n/a Market value Nexpose vulnerability scanner $2000 $2.08 /month per asset Vendor supported References 1