Computer Networks and Security - Assignment Example

Computer Networks and Security Insert Insert Questions Part True (T) or False (F). IMPORTANT: If you answer False (F), then youMUST say WHY it is in a few words to receive full credit. (5 questions at 2point each, 10 points in all) 1. T F Deep packet inspection firewalls protect networks by blocking packets based on the packets’ header information at the network (IP) layer. Answer: _____ T If F, Why? Employers have the right (and in some cases the obligation) to see any information stored, transmitted, or communicated within the employers environment. This legal right is the basis for monitoring (or at least explicitly stating the right to monitor) email, network traffic, voice, wireless, and other communications. Answer: _____T 2. T F Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) provide no protection from internal threats. Answer: _____F because an IDS can be configured to detect internal attacks though the procedure is relatively difficult like creating a rule set for the IDS. 3. T F A Denial-of-Service attack does not require the attacker to penetrate the targets security defenses. Answer: _____T 4. T F Security awareness, training, and education programs are key components of organizational risk management strategies. Answer: _____T Part 2: Multiple Choice Questions. Print the correct answer in the blank following the question. (22 questions at 2 points each, 40 points plus four bonus points in all) 1. Match the following TCP/IP protocol layer with its function (select a., b., c. or d below):  A. Network      1. Coordinates communication between applications. B. Physical 2. Supports useful functions over the transport layer such identity/location of applications. C. Application       3. Moves information between hosts that are not directly connected. D. Transport         4. Moves bits between the nodes in the network. a. A--->3; B--->4; C--->2; D--->1 b. A--->2; B--->4; C--->1; D--->4 c. A--->2; B--->3; C--->4; D--->1 d. A--->3; B--->4; C--->1; D--->2 Answer: _____________d 2. Protection of a software program that uses a unique, novel algorithm could legally be protected by: a. A patent b. A copyright c. A trademark d. Ethical standards Answer: _____b 3. Security threats include which of the following: a. Unlocked doors b. Disgruntled employees c. Hurricanes d. Unpatched software programs e. All of the above Answer: _____e 4. Denial of service attacks include (select one or more): a. Buffer overflow attack b. Smurf attack c. Ping flood attack d. SYN flood attack e. All of the above Answer: _____e 5. A disgruntled employee creates a utility for purging old emails from the server. Inside the utility is code that that will erase the server’s hard drive contents on January 1st, 2016. This is an example of which of the following attacks? a. Virus b. Logic Bomb c. Spoofing d. Trojan horse e. Botnet f. Rootkit g. Backdoor Answer: _____g 6. Mary is the co-founder of Acme Widgets, a manufacturing firm. Together with her partner, Joe, she has developed special oil that will dramatically improve the widget manufacturing process. Mary and Joe plan to make large quantities of the oil by themselves in the plant after the other workers have left to keep the formula secret. They would like to protect this formula for as long as possible. What type of intellectual property protection best suits their needs? a. Copyright b. Trademark c. Patent d. Trade Secret Answer: _______c 7. You should clear cookies in your browser periodically because: a. They (Cookies) can be used to track your web browsing behavior and invade your privacy. b. They can facilitate impersonation attacks. c. They can be used to spread viruses. d. a. & b. e. b. & c. f. a., b. & c. Answer: _________d 8. A TCP/IP session hijacking can be best described as: a. Providing false identity information to gain unauthorized access b. Establishing a connection without specifying a username or password c. An attacker takes control of a session between the server and a client d. Flooding the connection with too many requests Answer: _________c 9. Tracker attacks in databases get around: a. Anonymization b. Data transformation c. Query size restriction d. Data partitioning Answer: _________c 10. A race condition attack can result in: a. A symbolic link b. Object orientation c. A deadlock d. Access to low address memory locations Answer: __________c 11. __________ is when the data in the SDB can be modified so as to produce statistics that cannot be used to infer values for individual record resource. a. Data perturbation b. Database access control c. Inference channeling d. Output perturbation Answer: _________a 12. With __________ the records in the database are clustered into a number of mutually exclusive groups and the user may only query the statistical properties of each group as a whole. a. compromise b. inference c. partitioning d. query restriction Answer: ________ c 13. A web session (i.e., a session between a web browser and a web server) can be protected against the risk of eavesdropping in an economical and convenient manner through the use of which of the following? a. IPSec b. HTTP over SSL c. Link encryption d. Microsoft Encrypting File System (EFS) Answer: ______b 14. While reviewing the security logs for your server, you notice that a user on the Internet has attempted to access one of your internal application servers. Although it appears that the users attempts were unsuccessful, you are still very concerned about the possibility that your systems may be compromised. Which of the following solutions are you most likely to implement? a. A firewall system at the connection point to the Internet b. An improved RBAC-based access control system for the application servers c. File-level encryption d. Kerberos authentication Answer: _______a 15. What specific policy might most likely recommend removing a server from the network and re-installing all software and data? a. A privacy policy b. An authentication policy c. An incident response policy d. Wireless network access policy Answer: ________c 16. The security risk of allowing dynamic content ( to execute) on a target machine is: a. The time delay from when it is downloaded and executed could make the browser experience not very satisfying. b. Malware may be included in the downloaded code and infect the target machine. c. The mobile code author may never be known. d. None of the above. Answer: _______b 17. Encrypting a message with a private key (of the sender) in an asymmetric system provides: a. Proof of receipt b. Confidentiality c. Proof of origin d. Message availability Answer: _______c 18. The correct ordering of the upper layers of the OSI model are: a. Session, application, presentation b. Session, presentation, application c. Session, application, presentation, physical d. Application, presentation, session, network Answer: _______b 19. In relational database parlance, the basic building block is a __________, which is a flat table. a. attribute b. tuple c. primary key d. relation e. field Answer: _____b 20. Routers operate at the _____________ of the OSI stack? a. Transport b. Application c. Session d. Network e. Data Link Answer: _____d 21. Gateways operate at the _____________ of the OSI stack? a. Transport b. Application c. Session d. Network e. Data Link Answer: _____b, d, c 22. Which e-mail security protocol(s) depend(s) upon a “Web of Trust”? a. Kerberos b. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) c. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) d. Transport Layer Security (TLS) e. Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) f. Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) g. Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) h. Data Link Answer: _____e Part 3: Short Answer Questions. (2 questions at 15 points each, 30 points in all; 1-page answer for each question) (Total two Pages) 1. Briefly describe the purpose of firewalls and how they work, including two fundamental approaches to creating firewall policies and types of firewalls The purpose of firewalls is to act as an intermediary between the servers of the company and the outside community accessing the Internet. The firewall will, therefore, help cut out external threats from getting into the organization (Cameron, 2005). In other cases, it is important because it alerts the persons in charge when there are dangerous problems looming. In regard to that, it goes further to intercept even data leaving the organization. Correctly setting up firewalls along with the anti-malware software will help counter attacks by hackers and infection by viruses. The primary aim is to filter packets. Every packet passing through it is monitored. It weighs the source, the target destination, and its contents and makes a comparison with its innate set of rules. Packets that are not authorized are discarded. In other wanting cases, the firewall will allow the administrator to block accessibility to the firewall. The policy concerning firewalls States issues on management and updating of the firewall. It dictates how the firewall will handle traffic about the email and the web. In creating a firewall’s policy, considerations include analysis of the risks, choosing applications in the network and pinpointing vulnerabilities in the applications. Further, it entails establishing a matrix of traffic applications to implement the protection method. In addition, the concern is on the analysis of cost-benefits for applications security alongside coming up with a rule set for the firewall (IDS — the new firewall?, 2003). That is typically based on traffic matrix applications. To complete the process, there is need to document the security policy of the firewall. The types of firewall are application proxy firewall, inspection firewall and packet filtering firewalls. The packet filtering gateway is normally the gateway server while the stateful inspection one is the proxy server firewall. They offer enhanced security for the organization. 2. There are many threats associated with e-mail. List those risks and describe a mitigation strategy for each. Email is a common spreading ground for malware. The latter threatens the computer systems and privacy of individual information. The source may be unknown or somebody close to you. Most of these Spam messages either contain a connection to other sites that contain malware or they are the source of the malware. Spamming in email is very common (Porter, 2012). Its effects could be widespread. To get the email addresses, the spammers use persons selling them, newsgroups and some websites also provide them although some are mere guesses. Their effects include congestion of networks. That is worse if the system becomes a botnet sending thousands of email addresses. It also causes distraction and disorganization. That is prevalent when the legitimate emails are few and get buried in the Spam messages. Email spoofing is another common threat. It involves an attacker sending you a message as somebody else. Mostly they allude to someone familiar to you and would ask you sensitive information like those relating to cash. Next, there is phishing in emails. It is very common yet extremely difficult to trace the source. They are normally about persons in the pretense of representing financial institutions or your bank. They will send you information about a state in your bank account using genuine graphics and Logos and would at most appear as though it is real. However, the links in the messages will take you to sites with malicious intent or put a malware that will send back information about you to them now and then. In some cases, it just infects your computer system. To address these threats, you should not click a link in a mail that you suspect. Also, you should avoid replying to such emails with personal information like passwords and you security passes. Another strategy is to verify the information directly from your banks. Moreover, you should compare the format of the message to previous message patterns to try and trace a variation in the content, addresses and format of the messages. Further, there is need to check for minor charges that may reflect on your financial statements (Furnell & Dowland, 2010). They do so to avoid detection yet if spread to thousands of people they would have made a lot of cash.It is also inevitable to be very keen on any message via mail that seeks you to reveal information that is highly valuable. Also, that regarding money. Unless it is physical, and you wish to show do not share such information online. Other precautions include not replying to spam emails or unsubscribe from it. That is a confirmation to them that email is real and in a working state. Only heed to unsubscribe from spam that you got by subscribing to it. Part 4: Essay Question. (Including at least three references; 20 points)(Total two Pages) While sitting in the break room at work one day, Stan is talking with his friend Joe, who is excitedly describing an idea for a new intrusion detection system (IDS). Joe describes an elegant new algorithm that will flawlessly detect intrusion attacks and respond almost instantly. Stan, who is more of an entrepreneur than the inventor, quickly grasps the essence of Joe’s idea and decides to incorporate the idea into a commercial product, without the knowledge or participation of Joe. In his scheme to commercialize Joe’s idea, Stan plans to hire a programmer to implement Joe’s algorithm and use the software to control a novel new hardware component. Stan would like to protect the intellectual property of the algorithm, software, and hardware component, but is experiencing some guilt pangs. Discuss the legal and ethical issues of this situation. The concept of ethics is one about a way of thinking, a collection of behaviors coupled with legal and social issues. Further, it involves moral and standards in the social sphere that is termed as right (Nwosu & Eneh, 2006). However, the definition of what is right and what is not is vague and depends on the setting where one happens to be. Despite this, there are standards that are generally acceptable as being right. It has to do with meeting rules and regulations of a particular society. Legal issues come regards to what the law says about Stan using Joes idea to implement the product. These relate to issues of copyright, patent, and trademark. Copyright deals with the protection of works either literary or artistic that originally belongs to somebody (Moens & Spyns, 2005). Meanwhile, a patent secures an invention that someone has come up with. In addition, a trademark can either be a phrase, word symbol or design or a combination of either so as to establish uniquely a difference between products belongs to one party as compared to the others. In this case, Joe is the owner of the invention on an algorithm that will detect intrusion of attacks and respond instantly and flawlessly. However, Stan will be unethical to use his friend’s idea without his consent. By so doing, Stan will break both the ethical and legal rights only if Joe has got a patent for his invention. On that basis, Joe is liable to sue Stan otherwise he has no grounds to do so. He can only regret and reflect on how unethical his friend is. The intellectual property that Joel has established needs protection from the intrusion of any manner. The legal wing is responsible for this protection. In an attempt to apply the paradigm of goodness as a facilitator in you quest to achieving the purpose or aim, Stan should involve Joel in the project (Khandwalla, 2008). The guidelines for this are clear since Joel has three options to take, first, he can accept to be partisan, or he can just not be a part of it. Alternatively, he can sell it at a friendly price to his colleague. Since they are friends, Joel is likely to take a better option that will enhance their friendship. In case Stan notoriously proceeds with the approach he has started to engage, the two will most likely be in conflict. Probably, that may be the end of their friendship and Stan may lose a lot in line with the business. That may happen in case the algorithm is not able to work as projected and due to the conflict he cannot approach Joel for assistance. In this case, Stan will lose twice, first his friend then secondly the market share by producing a substandard product. The other thing likely to happen is Stan getting the right to the software, hardware component and the algorithm (Matsuura, 2003). That will happen when Stan goes ahead to patent the invention earlier than Joel and applies the idea to the development for commercial purposes. If that happens, Stan can take legal actions against Joel for infringement or plagiarizing his work. That is legally right and acceptable, but the ethics in addressing the matter is what will haunt him. References Cameron, R. (2005). Configuring NetScreen Firewalls. Rockland, MA: Syngress. Furnell, S., & Dowland, P. (2010). E-mail Security. Ely: IT Governance Pub. IDS — the new firewall? (2003). Network Security, 2003(3), 3. Doi: 10.1016/s1353-4858(03)00305-2 Khandwalla, P. (2008). Management of corporate greatness. Patparganj, Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India). Matsuura, J. (2003). Managing intellectual assets in the digital age. Boston, MA: Artech House. Moens, M., & Spyns, P. (2005). Legal knowledge and information systems. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Nwosu, I., & Eneh, O. (2006). Managing job ethics and productivity in Nigerian universities. Enugu, Nigeria: Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria. Porter, C. (2012). Email security with Cisco IronPort. Indianapolis: Cisco Press. Read More