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Network Visualization and Vulnerability Detection

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Network visualization and vulnerability detection is a process and tool that security professional utilize to help them understand network tra!c data or log entries to identify security threats and vulnerabilities within the network. By understanding what’s happening on the network will help detect intrusion and prevent or mitigate an attack. There are several open-source and commercial tools available such as OpenVAS, NESSUS, NMAP, and WireShark to help security professionals to visualize and understand network security risks.

I have chosen my final project as an artifact to demonstrate my understanding of this course and the practical application of tools and techniques I learned. The final project can be found below.

Project PDF place-holder

Reflection

Network visualization and vulnerability detection are critical to detect, patch, and secure the organization network and applications from being exposed to adversaries. During this course, several trade studies and hands-on exercises had been conducted and through which I learned a great deal of information. Some of the tools I used in this course are NESSUS, a vulnerability scanner, Kismet, a wireless device scanner, and several others. By using each of these tools in the lab, I learned that it is easy to detect and exploit vulnerabilities without prior knowledge of the tools because of the amount of information available online.

I also learned that it’s essential to keep network devices, IoT devices, and computers patched to secure the network along with strong passwords. The Metasploit hands-on exercise allowed me to understand how an attacker can utilize the existing vulnerabilities and exploits to gain access to the network. The Metasploit framework enables security teams to learn weaknesses that exist in the network and improve security awareness to defend against the attackers.

It is not di!cult to find tools to exploit vulnerabilities. And you don’t have to be an expert in network security. If you know where to look, you can find a ton of information on the internet with step-by-step instructions on how to find and exploit vulnerabilities. A good example is the Kismet’s hands-on exercise. I was not familiar with the Kismet tool to detect wireless devices around me. A quick google search gave me links to YouTube videos and websites which had step-by-step instructions on how to turn my wireless devices into monitoring mode and sni” all the devices around me.

This course has been invaluable to me; it reinforced what I already know and taught new ones to advance in my career. It is imperative to be ethical when conducting vulnerability scans to test organization networks because it is e”ortless to misuse or disclose the vulnerabilities found in the system. As security professionals, we must protect data from unauthorized access and ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability are maintained continuously.

Reference

  • Bullock, J., & Parker, T. J. (2017, March). Wireshark for Security Professionals. Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.