Network Security

• Students should be able to explain, using examples, what each of these security methods is and when each could be used.

  • Authentication

  • Firewalls

  • MAC Address Filtering

  • Encryption

• Students should understand how these methods can work together to provide a greater level of security.

• The capabilities of firewalls have changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to do so. Students should be aware that a firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set of security rules.

• Students should understand that MAC address filtering allows devices to access, or be blocked from accessing a network based on their physical address embedded within the network adapter.

Authentication

Ensuring a user of a computer system is who they say they are.

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Some examples?​

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Authentication

Ensuring a user of a computer system is who they say they are, and that they are allowed access to the system.

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Some examples?​

• Username and passwords to login

• 2 factor authentication

• ​Captcha

• Biometric authentication​

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Encryption

Encryption is a way of scrambling data so that only authorized parties can understand the information. In technical terms, it is the process of converting human-readable plaintext to incomprehensible text, also known as ciphertext. In simpler terms, encryption takes readable data and alters it so that it appears random.

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Encryption requires the use of a cryptographic key: a set of mathematical values that both the sender and the recipient of an encrypted message agree on.​

Firewalls

​A firewall is a security system designed to prevent unauthorized access into or out of a computer network. Firewalls are often used to make sure internet users without access are not able to interface with private networks, or intranets, connected to the internet.

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A firewall is positioned between a network or a computer and a different network, like the internet.

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It controls the network traffic coming in and going out of the computer or network. If you do not have a firewall, virtually any data can exit your computer or network, and virtually any individual or program can come in.

MAC Address Filtering

All computers use a piece of hardware called a network interface controller (also called a network card) to connect to all networks, local and wide. A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a unique identifier assigned to each network card — and by extension, the PC to which it belongs — in a computer network.

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If you want to manage access rights to a network, it can be done easily using these MAC addresses. Any PC whose MAC address is on a whitelist is allowed access to the network ports, while those on blacklists are denied access or blocked. This entire process is called MAC filtering.​