Network security assessment is known as a broad analysis of the IT infrastructure of a company and it is done by the Information Technology security specialists. It is useful in locating risks and vulnerabilities of the computer system of the organization. Many types of scanning tools and techniques are employed for performing proper assessment in gathering information regarding the operating system, applications and the network devices. The assigned security specialist who is who conducts this type of assessment schedules the assessment of the target organization which tries to attain the administrative controls of the servers and several devices without getting detected and the reason why they do this assessment is to depict the organizations vulnerability and determining its general security ratings.
There are five ratings within the matrix of security rating and high risk ratings mean serious vulnerability with a deficiency in the design, management or the implementation of the IT infrastructure which can be exploitable easily. The medium high risk rating depicts the vulnerabilities which are likely to get exploited and there is at least one deficiency in the design, management or implementation. The elevated rating means there is vulnerability which is less likely to get exploited and the deficiencies are minor. The low-risk rating means no vulnerability and every thing like software patches & the service packs are properly applied. The focal points of this type of assessment are many key areas and there are 19 components which are assessed. They are:
Physical security review Focusing on the IT assets like server room, communication room, public area and wire closets.
Network Management & Monitoring Focusing on the management & monitoring of tools which are needed for maintaining secure network.
Remote support and access review focusing on the corporate network such as VPN (Virtual private network.
Network protocol review network protocols used for communication over the network such as IP protocol, LAN switch, routers and virtual LAN (VLAN) are also checked.
Host security review This assessment focuses on the operating systems for server as well as work stations. Mechanisms of inspection and controls like URL blocking, malicious code inspection, ActiveX blocking and audit of the end users are also performed under this assessment.
Scanning the IT infrastructure for detecting and verifying the presence of wireless networks, reviewing virus removal mechanism & malicious code system which include desktops, servers, website, ftp system and email system. They also analyze the system for detecting and preventing intrusion.
Review of the processes & tools for vulnerability management with a scan and inspection of LAN and WAN is also done.
Use of network snuffers in analyzing the internet traffic and documentation of the process and procedure linked with the network configuration, security & management is also conducted along with the review of
computer tech support policies.
After completing the network assessment they compile and present three documents to the designated people. First document is the executive summary, the second document contains the technical details with the rating against each assessment area and the third document provides the findings in details.
