Network Hardening Essay Example for Free

entanglement Hardening EssayNetwork HardeningNetwork Layout 4 VPN (Remote Access Domain) Virtual semiprivate Networks (VPNs) with VPN software and Secure Socket Layer/VPN (SSL/VPN) tunnels A Virtual Private Network or VPN enables a computer or network-enabled device to send and receive data by shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while its benefiting from the functionality, gage and management policies of the private network. It was created to establish a realistic pint-to-point connection through the using of dedicated connections, virtual tunneling protocols or traffic encryptions. Three Strategies for hardening the network environment1 Firewall Friendly VPNThe increase demands of e-business deplete with a compelling occupyment for data auspices. Virtual Private Network with IP Security computer architecture (IPsec VPN) meets this requirement by providing end-to end encryption and authentication at the IPlayer and protec ting confidential data that flows everywhere possibly untrustworthy networks. IPsec has the advantage of a wide scope of coverage and agile granularity of credentials system however, incompatibilities exist between IPsec VPN and the Network Address Translation (NAT) that firewalls use.2 Security policy enforcementMeans of enforcement of security policy should be a primary consideration throughout the research, test and implementation phases of any security technology. Careful research, review of manufacturers documentation, questions presented to vendors and manufacturers, and testing of the technology can serve to meet this criteria. Without a method of enforcement, effectiveness of security policy is questionable at best. While audit trails, hardware epitome and security logs should be reviewed regularly it is a eon-intensive process and this alone alerts the administrator to violations and security threats after they have occurred. Without a means ofenforcement, the administ rator is risking the security of the VPN by relying upon the remote VPN users to voluntarily comply with policy. As the fearless network perimeter is being extended to encompass the VPN client, security policy must be obligate in real-time to protect the integrity of both the VPN client and the network.Having addressed security policy issues that require the VPN client to have antivirus software installed and using the latest update policy also requires a mightily configured personal firewall to be running on the client PC or Laptop, and requires a time limit on inactive VPN sessions. How is this to be made obligatory, and remove the responsibility from the VPN user to voluntarily comply with policy? The answer is as stated above by defining the need and carefully researching themes forthcoming to fulfill this need. The VPN Concentrator, a managed antivirus package, will fulfill the dictated requirements.3 Web content filteringFiltering incoming and coming(a) traffic, using signatures, reputation ratings and other heuristics. Whitelist allowed types of web content, preferably blocking all executable content by default and use a process to enable individual selected access if a business exculpation exists. rather disallow ActiveX, Java, Flash Player, HTML inline frames and JavaScript except for whitelisted web sites. Preferably use a solution that can similarly inspect SSL traffic for malicious content, especially SSL communications with unfamiliar web sites. Preferably use technology that automatically opens downloaded files in a sandbox to detect anomalous behavior much(prenominal) as network traffic or changes to the file system or registry. Preferably, since this approach is more proactive and thorough than blacklisting a tiny percentage of malicious domains. An example implementation is available at http//whitetrash.sourceforge.net addresswww.computer.howstuffworks.com/vpn.htmwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_networkwww.iprodeveloper.co mwww.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docswww.cisco.com/web/about/security/intelligence/firewall-best-practices.html