Security Solutions

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Customer Needs Assessment

Vulnerability to Attacks

Once you understand your company’s risk tolerance, you may want to quickly

review the types of attacks that threaten your network. Again, this will help

you set up your network controls to protect your network from these attacks.

For example, it will help you determine whether or not you need endpoint

integrity checking.

Attack Vectors

Network attacks can be broadly categorized according to the direction, or

vector, from which the attack originates. Understanding attack vectors can

help you to secure the network against both known network attacks and new

types of attacks.

There are two vectors:

■ External

■ Internal

External Attacks

An external attack, as its name suggests, is an intrusion that originates outside

your trusted network. Ideally, you should prevent an external attack before it

ever breaches your network boundaries. Because external attacks are histor-

ically the most common type, most networks are designed to guard against

them, using perimeter protection methods such as firewalls and/or intrusion

prevention systems (IPSs). These methods have become more sophisticated

at detecting attacks and can prevent many obvious external network attacks.

Unfortunately, however, virus writers and hackers exploit legitimate entry

points into the network, making some attacks difficult to detect. Because virus

infections and worms propagate quickly once they enter the network, they

can cause significant damage before they can be detected, contained, and

eliminated.

Internal Attacks

The inside network is no longer as easy to protect, and attacks from inside the

network are becoming much more prevalent. There are two types of internal

attacks—unintentional and intentional.