Page 91 - DCAP309_INFORMATION_SECURITY_AND_PRIVACY

Unit 7: Network Security

Introduction Notes

In this day and age, networks are everywhere. The Internet has also revolutionized not only the
computer world, but the lives of millions in a variety of ways even in the “real world”. We tend
to take for granted that computers should be connected together. A basic understanding of
computer networks is requisite in order to understand the principles of network security.
Network security consists of the provisions made in an underlying computer network
infrastructure, policies adopted by the network administrator to protect the network and the
network-accessible resources from unauthorized access and consistent and continuous monitoring
and measurement of its effectiveness (lack) combined together.
Firstly we should understand the concept of networking.

7.1 Networking

A network is simply a collection of computers or other hardware devices that are connected
together, either physically or logically, using special hardware and software, to allow them to
exchange information and cooperate. Networking is the term that describes the processes
involved in designing, implementing, upgrading, managing and otherwise working with
networks and network technologies.

7.1.1 Benefits of Networks

You have undoubtedly heard that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. This phrase
describes networking very well, and explains why it has become so popular.
A network isn’t just a bunch of computers with wires running between them. Properly
implemented, a network is a system that provides its users with unique capabilities, above and
beyond what the individual machines and their software applications can provide.
Here, in no particular order, are some of the specific advantages generally associated with
networking:
1. Connectivity and Communication: Networks connect computers and the users of those
computers. Individuals within a building or work group can be connected into Local Area
Networks (LANs); LANs in distant locations can be interconnected into larger Wide Area
Networks (WANs). Once connected, it is possible for network users to communicate with
each other using technologies such as electronic mail. This makes the transmission of
business (or non-business) information easier, more efficient and less expensive than it
would be without the network.
2. Data Sharing: One of the most important uses of networking is to allow the sharing of
data. Before networking was common, an accounting employee who wanted to prepare a
report for her manager would have to produce it on his PC, put it on a floppy disk, and
then walk it over to the manager, who would transfer the data to her PC’s hard disk. (This
sort of “shoe-based network” was sometimes sarcastically called a “sneakernet”.)
True networking allows thousands of employees to share data much more easily and
quickly than this. More so, it makes possible applications that rely on the ability of many
people to access and share the same data, such as databases, group software development,
and much more. Intranets and extranets can be used to distribute corporate information
between sites and to business partners.

3. Hardware Sharing: Networks facilitate the sharing of hardware devices.

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