John Grant
Unit 1 Exercise 1: Solving a Real Life Problem
Computer Network Systems Security Problems
Observation/Question
The problem within my area of study, Computer Network Systems, is maintaining network security. The explosion of the internet and electronic market has made it a challenged to maintain secure systems from malicious intrusion from external or internal customers. It’s not sufficient to periodically change passwords to maintain the company’s network security. The fact is that passwords, as a security technology, are reaching the end of their useful life. Lets look at 3 areas of network security challenges and utilized the scientific method to evaluate.
Regularity/Theory
State-sponsored espionage and sabotage of computer networks- The current security technologies are not effective at preventing sophisticated, targeted attacks from being successful. The loss of visibility and control created by the ‘cloud’- As workloads move into the ‘cloud’, organizations lose control over individuals who can access the computer systems that those workloads are running on; also lose visibility into what, when and where the resources were accessed. The providers of cloud services and technology conveys the messages of not to worry, but seasoned IT security professionals know better.
The password issues- Attackers are constantly scanning the Internet for exposed, password-protected services like Secure Shell (SSH) and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
These services are subject to brute-force cracking, and have a tendency to show up on the black market. As stated earlier passwords, as a security technology, are reaching the end of their useful life.

Test the Hypothesis
State-sponsored espionage and sabotage- Looking for known malware and attacks that target known vulnerabilities is not effective in this context because you don’t know exactly where the next vulnerability will be found or what the next attack will look like.
Instead, tactics are develop that focus on the behavior of software, systems and users on the network. By investigating both specific, suspicious behaviors that we know to be associated with malicious activity, as well as general strange behaviors that are unusual or unexpected, you can uncover evidence of attack activity.
The Cloud- Organizations have to start demanding their network visibility back. There is no reason that new information technologies cannot be designed with the capability of providing security controls and audit trails to people who need them. The best approach to providing those basic capabilities might be different than in legacy systems, but at the end of the day, it is not impossible to solve these problems. It is all a matter of exposing the right information and regaining control in the right way.
The password issues- Moving to utilized alternative authentication systems as the norm is incredibly difficult. Encourage users to pick longer passphrases, and proactively audit networks for weak passwords are steps that can be helpful.
Conclusion/Summarized
As stated in the text, the scientific method is an endless cycle of collecting observation, identifying patterns, and regularities in data, creating theories, making predictions, and collecting more observation. In conclusion, businesses are increasingly looking to platform providers for many of their security needs. Companies such as Cisco,
Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems are embedding security features like encryption and authentication into their hardware and operating systems. However, until such features become the norm I will have a job, as an network manager to keep a company’s network systems protected from malicious intrusions.
Bibliography
Trefil, J., & Hazen, R. (n.d.). The Sciences. John Wiley & Sons, INC. http//: www.morebusiness.com