Network Security Testing And Best Network Security Tools

Why Network Security Testing is Important and What are the Best Tools for Network Security:

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK before I begin this article about Network Security Tests.

Are you truly scared of making payments on the internet using a debit or credit card? You’re not an isolated case if you’re in the Yes category. I fully recognize your concerns about online transactions.

Security is an area that worries many people, and the main reason we are concerned about online payment is that we aren’t aware of how secure the site is.

As the world changes and today, the majority of websites have been tested for security to identify any flaws before they affect real users.

It is a basic instance of the security of websites. Yet, in the real world, security is a primary concern for everybody, from large corporations to small-scale organizations and website owners.

In this post, I’m sharing information on elements of security testing for the network.

Most testers use various types of devices for network testing and techniques for identifying weaknesses.

The article also provides information regarding the software and some of the most popular services for Testing Network Security.

What Should You Do To Test Network Security?

Network Testing involve tests servers, network equipment, and DNS for weaknesses or dangers.

Therefore, it’s recommended to adhere to the following tips before starting your test:

#1) The most critical parts should be tested first: The context of network security, those areas which are accessible to the public, can be considered critical. Thus, the primary focus is firewalls, routers, web servers, switch systems, and other devices many people can access.

#2) Keep up-to-date with Security Patches: The system should run its most recent security patch.

#3) A clear interpretation of Testing Results: Good Interpretation of Test Results Testing can result in false positive scores. It sometimes cannot detect issues that are beyond the capabilities of the software employed to conduct tests. When this happens, the testers must be able to analyze, comprehend and decide regarding the result.

#4) Knowledge of the Security Policy: Testers must know the implemented security policies or procedures. It is helpful in test and is a better understanding of what’s within and outside the guidelines for security.

#5) Tool Selection: With an array of available tools, choose a tool with the functions you need for testing.

Recommended Network Security Tools

Here’s the top protection tool for networks:

Intruder

The Intruder is an effective security scanner that can detect vulnerabilities in cybersecurity within the network system, explains the risk, and helps in their remediation before any breach happens.

With hundreds of automated security checks readily available, Intruder makes enterprise-grade vulnerability scans available to businesses of any size. The security checks it offers include finding problems with configurations, patches that are not installed, as well as common web application issues like SQL injection and cross-site scripting.

Expertly developed by security specialists, Intruder takes care of many of the headaches in managing vulnerability to let you focus on the things that matter most. It helps you save time and energy by focusing results on their context and continuously scouting your system for new weaknesses, meaning you don’t have to worry about the issue.

The Intruder is also integrated with important cloud service providers such as Slack & Jira.

Paessler PRTG

Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is an all-in-one monitor for networks capable of analyzing the whole IT infrastructure. It is simple to use and does not need an additional plug-in.

Any business of any size can employ it. It can monitor every system, device, traffic, and software in your network.

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus

Vulnerability Management Plus is a tool to help identify and prioritize vulnerabilities affecting your network’s security. Vulnerability Management Plus detects vulnerabilities that software is ranked on assessing the potential for exploitability or age and the degree of severity.

The software will deal with a vulnerability most effectively if a vulnerability is found. This software excels in customizing, orchestrating, and automating the whole process of patching process for weaknesses. Vulnerability Management Plus also helps to reduce zero-day vulnerabilities using pre-built and validated programs.

Perimeter 81

With the new Perimeter 81, you get a security program that works seamlessly with cloud and local resources to offer you more visibility and control of your network using a unifying platform. The numerous features it is equipped with perform efficiently to ensure that users have access to resources and networks safe and protected.

Perimeter 81 supports multi-factor authentication. It allows it to offer security to the most important resources within your network. It also facilitates single sign-on, making the secure login process and access to policies more accessible to employees and decreasing your business’s vulnerability to attacks.

Another feature we love concerning Perimeter 81 is the wide array of encryption protocols the platform can support. It is possible to implement the bank-grade encryption AES265 on any information in your network, whether in transit or static. In addition, you can ensure that employees’ data is protected if they connect via unidentified Wi-Fi networks.

Perimeter 81 will automatically encrypt the network connection, dramatically reducing the weaknesses within your network’s security. Perimeter 81 greatly simplifies the management and security of your network. That’s why it’s an application we recommend to businesses of all sizes.

Acunetix

Acunetix Online includes a network security test tool that finds and discloses more than 50,000 identified security vulnerabilities in networks and configurations that are not correct.

It finds open ports and operating services and evaluates the safety of routers, firewalls, switches, and load balancers. The tests look for vulnerable encryption, weak DNS zone transfers, badly-configured Proxy Servers, weak SNMP community strings, and SSL/TLS ciphers.

It works with Acunetix Online for a complete perimeter security audit on top of the Acunetix web-based application audit.

List Of Network Security Devices

Below is a short overview of some security devices for networks. 

Firewalls: Firewalls are the security layer that is responsible for monitoring the connection that takes place within networks.

VPN: VPN Gateways serve to establish a secure connection to the remote system.

Anti Virus: This software is utilized to identify, detect and eliminate all types of malware.

URL Filtering: URLs with filtering features will protect users from malicious sites from accessing malicious websites.

IDS system: An intrusion detection system is a monitoring tool that detects malicious threats and alerts admin staff.

Techniques/Approaches For Testing Network Security

#1) Network Scanning

A port scanner is employed to find all hosts on the network. Network services are also scrutinized, similar to HTTP as well as FTP. It helps to determine that the ports are set only to allow secure network services.

#2) Vulnerability Scanning

The vulnerability Scanner assists in identifying weaknesses in the network or system. It offers information regarding vulnerabilities in security that can be addressed.

#3) Ethical Hacking

Hacking is used to detect potential dangers to networks or systems. It can help identify if unauthorized access or malicious attacks might be possible.

#4) Password Cracking

The method is a good one to break weak passwords. It is a great way to enforce a policy that has minimal password requirements, which end in creating passwords that are strong which are hard to crack.

#5) Penetration Testing

Pentest is an attack by a computer or network to search for security weaknesses. As part of Pentest, the Penetration Testing Technique, the Servers and endpoints, web applications, mobile devices, wireless devices, and networks are all affected to find the flaw.

Why Network Security Test?

A website with a good test from a security standpoint always enjoys two major benefits.

Benefits comprise:

Customer Retention: If a website is secure, visitors will certainly prefer the site over others. For eCommerce sites, customer retention leads to increasing income online.

Cost savings: A site that complies with security protocols will result in fewer legal fees to come later on, in addition to the expense of getting the website back online after an attack decreases.

Wrapping Up

The outcome of the tests for the security of networks not only assists the developer but must be communicated to members of the security team in the company.

In the end, a report could serve as a measure of every corrective step needed to take and a record of the improvements or progress made on the security system’s execution.