Network security is not simply about building impenetrable walls—determined attackers will eventually overcome traditional defenses. The most effective computer security strategies integrate network security monitoring (NSM): the collection and analysis of data to help you detect and respond to intrusions. In The Practice of Network Security Monitoring, Mandiant CSO Richard Bejtlich shows you how to use NSM to add a robust layer of protection around your networks—no prior experience required. To help you avoid costly and inflexible solutions, he teaches you how to deploy, build, and run an NSM operation using open source software and vendor-neutral tools. You'll learn how to: –Determine where to deploy NSM platforms, and size them for the monitored networks –Deploy stand-alone or distributed NSM installations –Use command line and graphical packet analysis tools, and NSM consoles –Interpret network evidence from server-side and client-side intrusions –Integrate threat intelligence into NSM software to identify sophisticated adversaries There’s no foolproof way to keep attackers out of your network. But when they get in, you’ll be prepared. The Practice of Network Security Monitoring will show you how to build a security net to detect, contain, and control them. Attacks are inevitable, but losing sensitive data shouldn't be.
This book was prepared as the Final Publication of COST Action IC0703 "Data Traffic Monitoring and Analysis: theory, techniques, tools and applications for the future networks". It contains 14 chapters which demonstrate the results, quality,and the impact of European research in the field of TMA in line with the scientific objective of the Action. The book is structured into three parts: network and topology measurement and modelling, traffic classification and anomaly detection, quality of experience.
Applied Network Security Monitoring is the essential guide to becoming an NSM analyst from the ground up. This book takes a fundamental approach to NSM, complete with dozens of real-world examples that teach you the key concepts of NSM. Network security monitoring is based on the principle that prevention eventually fails. In the current threat landscape, no matter how much you try, motivated attackers will eventually find their way into your network. At that point, it is your ability to detect and respond to that intrusion that can be the difference between a small incident and a major disaster. The book follows the three stages of the NSM cycle: collection, detection, and analysis. As you progress through each section, you will have access to insights from seasoned NSM professionals while being introduced to relevant, practical scenarios complete with sample data. If you've never performed NSM analysis, Applied Network Security Monitoring will give you an adequate grasp on the core concepts needed to become an effective analyst. If you are already a practicing analyst, this book will allow you to grow your analytic technique to make you more effective at your job. - Discusses the proper methods for data collection, and teaches you how to become a skilled NSM analyst - Provides thorough hands-on coverage of Snort, Suricata, Bro-IDS, SiLK, and Argus - Loaded with practical examples containing real PCAP files you can replay, and uses Security Onion for all its lab examples - Companion website includes up-to-date blogs from the authors about the latest developments in NSM
There is increasing pressure to protect computer networks against unauthorized intrusion, and some work in this area is concerned with engineering systems that are robust to attack. However, no system can be made invulnerable. Data Analysis for Network Cyber-Security focuses on monitoring and analyzing network traffic data, with the intention of preventing, or quickly identifying, malicious activity.Such work involves the intersection of statistics, data mining and computer science. Fundamentally, network traffic is relational, embodying a link between devices. As such, graph analysis approaches are a natural candidate. However, such methods do not scale well to the demands of real problems, and the critical aspect of the timing of communications events is not accounted for in these approaches.This book gathers papers from leading researchers to provide both background to the problems and a description of cutting-edge methodology. The contributors are from diverse institutions and areas of expertise and were brought together at a workshop held at the University of Bristol in March 2013 to address the issues of network cyber security. The workshop was supported by the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research.
Traditional intrusion detection and logfile analysis are no longer enough to protect today’s complex networks. In this practical guide, security researcher Michael Collins shows you several techniques and tools for collecting and analyzing network traffic datasets. You’ll understand how your network is used, and what actions are necessary to protect and improve it. Divided into three sections, this book examines the process of collecting and organizing data, various tools for analysis, and several different analytic scenarios and techniques. It’s ideal for network administrators and operational security analysts familiar with scripting. Explore network, host, and service sensors for capturing security data Store data traffic with relational databases, graph databases, Redis, and Hadoop Use SiLK, the R language, and other tools for analysis and visualization Detect unusual phenomena through Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) Identify significant structures in networks with graph analysis Determine the traffic that’s crossing service ports in a network Examine traffic volume and behavior to spot DDoS and database raids Get a step-by-step process for network mapping and inventory
"The book you are about to read will arm you with the knowledge you need to defend your network from attackers—both the obvious and the not so obvious.... If you are new to network security, don't put this book back on the shelf! This is a great book for beginners and I wish I had access to it many years ago. If you've learned the basics of TCP/IP protocols and run an open source or commercial IDS, you may be asking 'What's next?' If so, this book is for you." —Ron Gula, founder and CTO, Tenable Network Security, from the Foreword "Richard Bejtlich has a good perspective on Internet security—one that is orderly and practical at the same time. He keeps readers grounded and addresses the fundamentals in an accessible way." —Marcus Ranum, TruSecure "This book is not about security or network monitoring: It's about both, and in reality these are two aspects of the same problem. You can easily find people who are security experts or network monitors, but this book explains how to master both topics." —Luca Deri, ntop.org "This book will enable security professionals of all skill sets to improve their understanding of what it takes to set up, maintain, and utilize a successful network intrusion detection strategy." —Kirby Kuehl, Cisco Systems Every network can be compromised. There are too many systems, offering too many services, running too many flawed applications. No amount of careful coding, patch management, or access control can keep out every attacker. If prevention eventually fails, how do you prepare for the intrusions that will eventually happen? Network security monitoring (NSM) equips security staff to deal with the inevitable consequences of too few resources and too many responsibilities. NSM collects the data needed to generate better assessment, detection, and response processes—resulting in decreased impact from unauthorized activities. In The Tao of Network Security Monitoring , Richard Bejtlich explores the products, people, and processes that implement the NSM model. By focusing on case studies and the application of open source tools, he helps you gain hands-on knowledge of how to better defend networks and how to mitigate damage from security incidents. Inside, you will find in-depth information on the following areas. The NSM operational framework and deployment considerations. How to use a variety of open-source tools—including Sguil, Argus, and Ethereal—to mine network traffic for full content, session, statistical, and alert data. Best practices for conducting emergency NSM in an incident response scenario, evaluating monitoring vendors, and deploying an NSM architecture. Developing and applying knowledge of weapons, tactics, telecommunications, system administration, scripting, and programming for NSM. The best tools for generating arbitrary packets, exploiting flaws, manipulating traffic, and conducting reconnaissance. Whether you are new to network intrusion detection and incident response, or a computer-security veteran, this book will enable you to quickly develop and apply the skills needed to detect, prevent, and respond to new and emerging threats.
This indispensable text/reference presents a comprehensive overview on the detection and prevention of anomalies in computer network traffic, from coverage of the fundamental theoretical concepts to in-depth analysis of systems and methods. Readers will benefit from invaluable practical guidance on how to design an intrusion detection technique and incorporate it into a system, as well as on how to analyze and correlate alerts without prior information. Topics and features: introduces the essentials of traffic management in high speed networks, detailing types of anomalies, network vulnerabilities, and a taxonomy of network attacks; describes a systematic approach to generating large network intrusion datasets, and reviews existing synthetic, benchmark, and real-life datasets; provides a detailed study of network anomaly detection techniques and systems under six different categories: statistical, classification, knowledge-base, cluster and outlier detection, soft computing, and combination learners; examines alert management and anomaly prevention techniques, including alert preprocessing, alert correlation, and alert post-processing; presents a hands-on approach to developing network traffic monitoring and analysis tools, together with a survey of existing tools; discusses various evaluation criteria and metrics, covering issues of accuracy, performance, completeness, timeliness, reliability, and quality; reviews open issues and challenges in network traffic anomaly detection and prevention. This informative work is ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate students interested in network security and privacy, intrusion detection systems, and data mining in security. Researchers and practitioners specializing in network security will also find the book to be a useful reference.
Traditional intrusion detection and logfile analysis are no longer enough to protect today’s complex networks. In the updated second edition of this practical guide, security researcher Michael Collins shows InfoSec personnel the latest techniques and tools for collecting and analyzing network traffic datasets. You’ll understand how your network is used, and what actions are necessary to harden and defend the systems within it. In three sections, this book examines the process of collecting and organizing data, various tools for analysis, and several different analytic scenarios and techniques. New chapters focus on active monitoring and traffic manipulation, insider threat detection, data mining, regression and machine learning, and other topics. You’ll learn how to: Use sensors to collect network, service, host, and active domain data Work with the SiLK toolset, Python, and other tools and techniques for manipulating data you collect Detect unusual phenomena through exploratory data analysis (EDA), using visualization and mathematical techniques Analyze text data, traffic behavior, and communications mistakes Identify significant structures in your network with graph analysis Examine insider threat data and acquire threat intelligence Map your network and identify significant hosts within it Work with operations to develop defenses and analysis techniques
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Computer Networks, CN 2014, held in Brunów, Poland, in June 2014. The 34 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers in these proceedings cover the following topics: computer networks, tele informatics and communications, new technologies, queueing theory, innovative applications and networked and IT-related aspects of e-business.
This textbook presents a practical introduction to information security using the Competency Based Education (CBE) method of teaching. The content and ancillary assessment methods explicitly measure student progress in the three core categories: Knowledge, Skills, and Experience, giving students a balance between background knowledge, context, and skills they can put to work. Students will learn both the foundations and applications of information systems security; safeguarding from malicious attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities; auditing, testing, and monitoring; risk, response, and recovery; networks and telecommunications security; source code security; information security standards; and compliance laws. The book can be used in introductory courses in security (information, cyber, network or computer security), including classes that don’t specifically use the CBE method, as instructors can adjust methods and ancillaries based on their own preferences. The book content is also aligned with the Cybersecurity Competency Model, proposed by department of homeland security. The author is an active member of The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), which is led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NICE is a partnership between government, academia, and the private sector focused on cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.