Lab 7 Introduction
As our society becomes increasingly dependent on Information
Technology (IT, which includes computing and communications systems),
the problem of securing IT infrastructure likewise becomes
increasingly important. This lab provides a general introduction to
IT security concepts in general and network security in particular.
The framework for IT security has three basic components:
infrastructure, defenders and adversaries. Infrastructure is broadly
defined. It can include but is not limited to physical systems
(e.g.,computers, handsets, printers, archival devices, network
systems, data, etc.) and/or physical space (e.g., data
centers). Defenders (often referred to as security analysts) are the
people who are responsible for securing the infrastructure. The
adversaries are the people who are intent upon gaining come kind of
access to the infrastructure. Based on the particular characteristics
of the infrastructure and the adversaries, this basic framework
establishes the foundation for a broad range of problems in IT
security.
Students will be introduced to a number of the problems facing
security analysts. Unfortunately, there are many complicating factors
that make the task of addressing these problems very difficult. From
the perspective of the communications medium/network (our
perspective), one of the most significant factors is that there are no
inherent security mechanisms in the architecture of the Internet
(i.e.,) nowhere in the Internet model does the word "security"
appear! Thus, the problem of implementing security mechanisms in the
network is largely addressed by developing add on solutions that can
somehow be folded into the infrastructure.
This lab will be conducted entirely via Schooner. A number of new
tools and utilities will be introduced in this lab, including the
Nessus scanning tool and the Snort intrusion detection system. This
lab will be less complex but is due at the same time as Lab #6 so
please start early. Lab #7 will be the only lab in which network
security issues are covered, so if you would like to experiment with
transport in other ways, please see Prof. Barford for ideas.
Objectives
- Become familiar with basic network security concepts.
- Become familiar with techniques for attacking networks.
- Become familiar with techniques for defending networks.
- Gain experience with the Nessus scanning tool and the Snort
intrusion detection system.