Posted: December 30th, 2021

Facility Network Security: Assessment and Recommendations

Facility Network Security: Assessment and Recommendations
You are the chief information technology officer at a small outpatient health care facility in Riyadh. The medical facility employs five specialist physicians, ten certified nurses, five administrative assistants, and two technicians. There are 25 clinical rooms. Each room is equipped with a computer. In addition, five computers are used by the administrative assistants for patients’ appointments and records. All these computers are connected using a local area network. Physicians are supplied with portable devices that they can use to write e-prescriptions. These devices are connected wirelessly to the rest of the network.

As the chief information technology officer, you are charged with the task of evaluating the security status of the facility network and developing a report to recommend the directions that should be followed soon.

Your report should include the following materials:

Existing and potential vulnerabilities and threats
Suggestions and discussions of methods or tools that can be used to overcome the existing and potential security threats
Assignment help – Discussion of encryption techniques that can be used for the wireless network and the selection and justification of a proper technique for this facility
Assignment help – Discussion of the prevention of cyber-attacks and the proper maintenance needed to achieve this goal.

Facility Network Security: Assessment and Recommendations
Existing and Potential Vulnerabilities And Threats
The potential network vulnerabilities that might face the health care facility include malware, which is malicious software that can be inserted in the computers to explore vulnerabilities in the network systems. The common malware includes viruses, Trojans, and worms (Firch, 2020). Another vulnerability of the network of the health facility is social engineering attacks. Social engineering involves the use of psychological manipulation to trick users into acting in a way that exposes the network to vulnerabilities. Some of the common social engineering forms include phishing emails, spam, spear phishing, and whaling. The other network vulnerability is outdated or unpatched software, which can allow attackers to access the network. The misconfiguration of the firewalls and operating systems can enable threat actors to easily spy the traffic on the network, comprise the network’s functioning, or steal data.
The threats to the health facility network include reconnaissance threats, which involve the attacker analyzing the network to discover details such as IP addresses, services and protocols, and open ports. Common reconnaissance attack threats include packet sniffers, port scan and ping sweep, and internet information queries (Ahmad & Habib, 2010). Another threat to the network is the access attack, which is used by hackers who explore vulnerabilities within the network to access confidential information of the health care facility. The common access threats that might face the health facility network include password attacks, trust exploitation, port redirection, and man-in-the-middle attack. Denial of Service (DoS) threat faces almost all networks. DoS attack involves overwhelming the hosted servers or network with useless traffic resulting them to respond slowly or become completely inoperable. Some of the common DoS that might be used by attackers include Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and buffer overflow.
Countermeasure Techniques and Tools to Overcome Security Threats
Several techniques and tools are suggested to ensure the network of the health facility remains secured and capable of resisting security threats. The security countermeasures that should be implemented include establishing strong security policies for both employees and individuals to access the network to facilitate secure and smooth network functioning (RSI Security, 2019). Assigning authority of resources is another technique that should be applied, which involves a level of authorization being assigned for system or network access. The health facility should also install an intrusion detecting system in the system. The intrusion detection system supports the system or network security by studying and analyzing log files and malicious activities.
The security countermeasure tools that can defend the system against threats and vulnerabilities include cryptography, which protects data from interception. The Cryptography technique involves sending data in an unrecognizable form to ensure only the intended receiver and user can access or read the message. The data can also be sent using the asymmetric encryption or public-key, which uses two separate keys to secure and authenticate the communication on the network (Ahmad & Habib, 2010). Another tool essential in overcoming security threats is anti-malware software. Installing anti-malware in the network system will protect its ability to identify and prevent malicious programs from spreading in the system or interfering with its functioning.
Encryption Techniques for Wireless Network
Several encryption techniques for wireless networks exist, including Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), which uses 802.11 encryption and authentication standard. WEP consist of two versions, including 64-bit that uses a 40-bit key, and the 128-bit version that uses a 140-bit key. The other wireless network encryption technique is the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), which implements the IEEE 802.11i standard and uses the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to improve LAN security. The other encryption technique for a wireless network is the Pre-Shared Key Mode (PSK), which contains a common key or password required to gain access to wireless hosts. In PSK, all users that share the network are provided with a key or password that they can use to connect their devices to the wireless network. However, the technique is considered to be less secured since the higher the number of people connected to the network, the higher the chances of someone losing or exposing the password to unauthorized individuals. The recommended encryption technique for the health facility wireless network is the Enterprise Mode, which involves clients authenticating to the wireless network with a username and password. The authentication is highly prioritized in the enterprise model, as users are divided into access groups allowing them to only access resources assigned. Users also develop their usernames and passwords, ensuring nothing are shared and making it easy to monitor the time the users logged in the system.
Prevention of Cyber-Attacks and the Proper Maintenance Needed
the recommended ways of preventing cyber-attacks that should be implemented by the health facility include training users in cybersecurity landscape including how to mitigate cyber risks, risks associated with unsecured networks, how to avoid cyber threats, and password management. The other prevention measure recommended is installing, using, and regular updates of antivirus, anti-malware, and antispyware software on every computer and device within the health facility connected to the facility network. The health facility is also recommended to ensure the hardware is secured and sophisticated, password-protected, and backed up by a multi-authentication (Goud, 2020). The data is transferred and shared within the network should also be encrypted to ensure its safety if it falls into the wrong hands. The proper maintenance needed to achieve cyber-attacks prevention includes a regular update of security tools installed, such as antivirus and anti-malware software. The users should also regularly change their password and ensure they are strong enough. Updating and patching software should be conducted timely to avoid exposing the systems running applications or the network to attack actors.
References
Ahmad, N. & Habib, K. (2010). Analysis of Network Security Threats and Vulnerabilities by Development & Implementation of a Security Network Monitoring Solution. Master Thesis Electrical Engineering. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/202784990_Analysis_of_Network_Security_Threats_and_Vulnerabilities_by_Development_Implementation_of_a_Security_Network_Monitoring_Solution
Firch, J. (2020). What Are The Most Common Types Of Network Vulnerabilities? Purplesec. Retrieved from https://purplesec.us/common-network-vulnerabilities/
Goud, N. (2020). Ways to prevent cyber attacks on your company. Cyber Insiders. Retrieved from https://www.cybersecurity-insiders.com/ways-to-prevent-cyber-attacks-on-your-company/
RSI Security. (2019). Network Security Threats. Retrieved from https://blog.rsisecurity.com/top-10-network-security-threats/

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