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Wednesday, December 30, 2020 | Chapter 5: Devices and Infrasfrastructure | Nick Handy

5.10 Network Applications

Section Focus

Network Applications that can pose a threat to your network.

Key Terms

Term Definition
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Software Software that allows users to share content without centralized servers or centralized access control.
Instant Messaging Real-time text messaging communication that supports picture, music, and document exchange.

Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Networking Applications

Peer-to-peer applications are a great way to share bandwidth and resources. However, they also pose a security risk to an organization.

P2P software allows users to share files without the need of a central server. Connections are made on the fly from one user to another. P2P software usually comes in the form as a torrent client such as BitTorrent or uTorrent.

Security Considerations

  • Malware

    • Files from other users could contain malware

  • Bandwidth Hogging

    • Without proper limits P2P can use a lot of upload/download bandwidth

  • Knowlingly or Unknowling sharing confidential files

    • Files accessible from other users might be posted illegally

Security Steps

Security Step Explanation
Block P2P Ports One option is to block the port the P2P software is using. This is not always effective since P2P software can change ports or use dynamic ports.
Blacklist P2P Traffic Add peer-to-peer traffic to the blacklist of a network content filter. The content filter can do all the work of identifying P2P packets.
Prevent P2P Software Installation Blocking the installation of P2P software can be an effective measure for company owned devices. However, this does not protect against P2P software being used on the network.

Instant Messaging (IM) Applications

Instant messaging can be great for company productivity and collaboration, especially when working with people in different geographic locations. However, they do pose a security risk.

Instant Message applications provide text communication and media/document exchange.

Common IM Applications

  • Google Talk
  • Skype
  • iMessage
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
  • Slack
  • Discord

Potential Threats

  • IM communication could contain malware, viruses, social engineering exploits
  • An IM can be susceptable to sniffing, capturing and viewing by others
  • Instant Messaging Spam (SPIM)
    • IM systems contain user directories, making it easy to identify spim targets
    • IM systems often contain demographic information about users
    • Information in contact lists can be remotely accessed
  • IM clients can provide a lot of information about a user's system and their activity
  • Client-side scripting allows attackers to send messages on behalf of other IM users and can be used to create social engineering attacks

Configuring Application Control Software

Application controls focus on controlling the applications a user at a workstation can access over a network.

Benefits

Implementing an application control system can provide additional security to a firewall. The application control system can identify application packets instead of just applying a filter to the network traffic. By identifying the packets this solution can block unauthorized applications. A central application whitelist can be applied to all devices on the network.