���˿���

It is important that network managers ensure their networks are safe from hackers. They will often test to see how successful a possible attack could be.

Footprinting

Footprinting is a technique used for actively gathering information about the different methods of gaining access to the system. To get this information, a hacker might use various tools and technologies:

• looking at employees’ social media to help them understand their habits and passwords
• looking to see how customers are given access to some areas of the network
• using the WHOIS database, which contains the contact names and email addresses of the network administrators for nearly all the websites on the internet

Penetration testing

The purpose of penetration testing is to determine how resilient a network is against an attack. It involves authorised users - sometimes an external party or organisation - probing the network for potential weaknesses and attempting to exploit them. This is known as ‘ethical hacking’, as it is done with full permission from the organisation.

Commercial analysis tools

Network managers can purchase software to test the robustness of their own networks and test the resilience themselves. They might do this if they do not want to employ another organisation to perform penetration testing.

Network policies

A network manager should have a network policy that ensures:

• users have a secure, hard-to-guess password that meets specified conditions
• users change their password on a regular basis
• users cannot connect unauthorised equipment, such as USB memory sticks, smartphones and tablets, to the network
• levels of access allow only authorised users to access sensitive data
• a regular backup procedure is in place
• a disaster recovery procedure exists in case of data loss
• regular penetration testing and forensic analysis is carried out
• regular maintenance is carried out, including applying software upgrades and security patches to equipment
• physical access to servers is prevented
• high level of security is maintained, with up-to-date antivirus software and firewalls