31 Days Before Your CCNA Exam

Day 8Mitigating Security Threats and BestPracticesCCNA 640-802 Exam Topics■Describe today’s increasing network security threats and explain the need to implement acomprehensive security policy to mitigate the threats.■■■Explain general methods to mitigate common security threats to network devices, hosts, andapplications.Describe the functions of common security appliances and applications.Describe security recommended practices including initial steps to secure network devices.Key TopicsSecurity is a fundamental component of every network design. Attacks that previously required anadvanced knowledge in computing can now be done with easily downloaded and freely availabletools that any average computer-literate person can figure out how to use. Security is clearly a bigissue, and one that requires serious attention. For the purposes of the exam topics for today, thegoal is to review some of the basic terminology, types of security issues, and some of the commontools used to mitigate security risks.The Importance of SecurityAttacks can be launched from various locations both inside and outside the organization, as shownin Figure 8-1.As e-business and Internet applications continue to grow, finding the balance between being isolatedand being open is critical. In addition, the rise of mobile commerce and wireless networks demandsthat security solutions become seamlessly integrated, more transparent, and more flexible. Networkadministrators must carefully balance accessibility to network resources with security.Attacker TerminologyOver the years, network attack tools and methods have evolved, as well as the terminology todescribe the individuals involved. Some of the most common terms are the following:■■White hat: An individual who looks for vulnerabilities in systems or networks and thenreports these vulnerabilities to the system’s owners so that they can be fixed.Hacker: A general term that has historically been used to describe a computer programmingexpert. More recently, this term is often used in a negative way to describe an individual withmalicious intent who attempts to gain unauthorized access to network resources.