Network Security Assessment Tools: Everything You Need To Know
/Network security is more important than ever before. With the growing number of cyber-attacks, it's increasingly important to have a strong network security system in place. It's however, pretty difficult to determine whether your network is safe or not. One way to find out is to perform a network security assessment. In this post, we'll go over network security testing tools and what you need to know about them. We will also explore the pros and cons of network security assessment and provide tips for conducting one.
An Introduction To Network Security Assessment
A network security evaluation is a survey of your network's security status. It helps you identify vulnerabilities and assess the risk of cyber attacks. By conducting a network security assessment, you can determine whether your network needs to be more secure and what steps you need to take to improve its security.
Network Security Testing: Why Is It Important?
Network security testing is important because it helps you find weaknesses in your network that could be exploited by hackers. You may guarantee that your network is as safe as possible by conducting regular security tests. Network security testing may also aid you in conforming to industry norms such as PCI DSS and HIPAA.
Top Network Security Assessment Tools
There are many different tools available for conducting a network security assessment. Here are some of the most popular network security assessment tools:
Astra's Pentest
Wireshark
Nmap
OpenVAS
Nessus
Metasploit
Aircrack
Network Security Assessment: Pros & Cons
There are both pros and cons to conducting a network security assessment.
Some benefits of network security assessment includes the following. It:
Helps you identify vulnerabilities in your network.
Helps you assess the risk of cyber attacks.
Can help you comply with industry regulations.
Can help you improve your network's security posture.
Some drawbacks of network security assessment include the underlisted:
It can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
It requires specialized knowledge and skills
It can be disruptive to business operations
Process of Network Security Assessment
There are four steps involved in conducting a network security assessment: information gathering, scanning, enumeration, and exploitation. Let's take a closer look at each step:
Information Gathering: The first step is to gather information about your network. This includes the network's architecture, devices, and operating systems. This data will assist you in establishing potential security risks.
Scanning: The next step is where your network is scanned for unguarded ports and services. This helps you identify which devices are accessible from the Internet.
Enumeration: Once you've identified open ports and services, the next step is to enumerate them to find out more information about them. This includes identifying version numbers and default passwords.
Exploitation: The last stage is to use the vulnerabilities you've discovered to access sensitive data or systems.
Exploring Network Security Assessment Tools Even Further
Astra's Pentest
Astra Security is a cybersecurity firm that offers a full Astra Pentest to safeguard your internet-facing applications and network infrastructure from today's emerging cyber threats. The suite accurately finds vulnerabilities in hundreds of apps & networks, preventing data breaches and network compromise.
Astra Pentest provides website/web app, mobile app, SaaS, APIs, cloud infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP), network devices (firewall, router, server, switch, printer), blockchain/smart contract and more with Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing.
Astra Pentest Suite Key Features
A beautiful bright dashboard that shows conducted automated and manual testing
Login Behind Scan (Google Chrome Extension) for Automated Vulnerability Scanning
On-the-go access to your dashboard using a Progressive Web App (PWA)
3000+ tests scanning for CVEs in OWASP top 10, SANS 25
Detailed Vulnerability Scanning & Reporting
Streamlined remediation via integrations like GitLab, GitHub, Slack & Jira
Easy Risk-based Vulnerability Management
Industry Recognized Verifiable VAPT Certificate
Wireshark
The first stage in network vulnerability assessment is to have a clear view of what's going on across the network. Wireshark (previously known as Ethereal) operates in a mode that allows collecting all traffic passing through it from a TCP broadcast domain.
Filters may be used in many ways. You may also create rules to track specific traffic, such as packet communications between two IP addresses or UDP-based DNS inquiries on the network. Traffic data can be recorded into a capture file for later analysis. Additional criteria may also be specified during the examination.
It's not autonomous, so it should be treated as a data source. Because of its user-friendly interface, any person with minimal technical expertise can operate it.
Nmap
Nmap is, without a doubt, the most popular network security tool for almost a decade. This scanner in Nmap allows you to build and execute packets at the TCP layer, such as SYN scan and ACK scan. It includes built-in signature-checking procedures that use network responses like a TCP handshake to determine the OS and version.
In most situations, Nmap is capable of correctly identifying firewalls, routers, as well as their brand and model. Network administrators may use Nmap to see which ports are open and whether they can be attacked in a simulated manner. The output is straightforward text with a lot of information; therefore, this program may be scripted to automate tedious operations as well as gather evidence for an audit report.
OpenVAS
OpenVAS is made up of two parts: a scanner and a manager. If the scanner is installed, it will send vulnerability findings to the manager. The manager combines data from several scanners to produce a report based on its own know-how.
OpenVAS is regarded to be extremely sturdy and dependable in the security sector, both for detecting recent vulnerabilities and for providing reports and inputs to correct them. A GUI dashboard that lists all flaws, as well as the affected machines on the network, is included with a built-in Greenbone security helper.
Nessus
Nessus, a Tenable.io product, is one of the most popular vulnerability checkers for UNIX systems. This software is continuously updated with more than 70,000 plugins. Nessus is available in a free and paid edition. The premium edition costs approximately $2,190 per year.
Customers opt for Nessus because —
It takes only a few clicks to build a policy and requires just a few minutes to scan an entire corporate network
It's a low-cost, comprehensive security solution with a TCO
Metasploit
Metasploit can be used for anti-forensics in contrast to other frameworks. A hacker may create a piece of code exploiting a previously identified vulnerability and fire it off to Metasploit to see whether it is detected. Technically, this procedure may be reversed — when a virus uses an unknown vulnerability, Metasploit may be used to evaluate the fix.
Aircrack
Aircrack is a set of programs that functions as a sniffer, packet builder, and packet decoder. Packet traffic is directed at a target network in order to gather critical information about the encryption. The discovered file is brute-forced using the decryptor, which allows for passwords to be found. Aircrack can crack most Linux distributions, but BackTrack Linux's version is highly recommended.
Conclusion
Network security assessment tools are an important part of network security. They help network administrators to find and fix vulnerabilities in their network. There are many different types of network security testing tools, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. The ideal tool for a specific task is determined by the demands of the network administrator.
