EXPLORING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF ADMINISTERING NETWORK SECURITY

As the world becomes more connected by networks, the significance of network security will certainly continue to grow. Network security is achieved through technology and depends on all cryptographic tools, trust, inference and aggregation controls. Important activities in security are picking the right IDS, configuring firewall properly and encrypting wireless link. But not all of security is addressed by technology. Many security losses come from trusted insiders. Security is a combination of technical, administrative, and physical controls. In this paper we examined how security is administered through security policies, user awareness and risk analysis, as a way to address the insider threat. Security policies should be viewed as key enablers for the organization. Security policies like information security policy, data sensitivity policy, internet security policy describe the nature of different audience and their security goals. The risk analysis identified the assets that are to be protected. The assets can be computers, networks, general data, and management data. Awareness of the risks and available safeguards is the first line of defense for the security of information systems and networks. Increasing the security awareness of the users is the best way to anneal the weakest link in the security.