Today’s review focuses on the basic principles, concepts, and terminology of network security. First we will look at the three basic elements of network security and then examine some basic security terminology and the common security zones found in networks today.
The basic elements of network security are as follows:
Video 31.1—CIA
Security Information Event Management (SIEM) is a technology used in enterprise organizations to provide real-time reporting and long-term analysis of security events. SIEM provides user information (name, location), device information (manufacturer, model, OS version), and posture information (compliance, antivirus version, OS patches) for network security staff to quickly and accurately assess the significance of any security event. SIEM tools can aggregate data from many sources (routers, servers, firewalls), correlate the data into meaningful bundles, retain historical data for compliance and analysis, and provide real-time alerts when an attack is detected.
Table 31-1 lists some of the more common terms encountered in network security.
Activity: Identify Common Network Security Terms
Before discussing the concept of security zones, it is important to understand the role of the firewall in network security. A firewall is a system that enforces an access control policy between two or more security zones. Although there are different types of firewalls, every firewall should have the following properties:
Firewalls commonly control access between the security zones that are based on packet source and destination IP address and port. Although firewalls can be placed in various locations within a network (including on endpoints), they are typically placed at the Internet edge, where they provide vital security.
The placement of the firewall allows for the creation of two basic security zones, as Figure 31-1 illustrates.
The public, untrusted network is commonly referred to as the “outside” security zone. This zone is fully outside the control of the organization. The private, trusted network is commonly referred to as the “inside” security zone. It is a zone in which systems owned by an organization reside and must be protected from systems that do not belong to the organization. Besides the inside and outside interfaces, it is typical to have at least one interface that is somewhere in between. This interface is often associated with a third zone called the demilitarized zone (DMZ), as shown in Figure 31-2. This zone usually contains a relatively small number of systems whose services are made available to systems residing in the outside zone. The DMZ devices, such as web servers, are owned and controlled by the organization, but they are accessed by systems outside of the organization’s control.
Typically, the traffic flow between these three zones will be as described in Table 31-2.
Video 31.2—Security Zone Filtering Policies
For today’s exam topics, refer to the following resources for more study.
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