When referring to firewall architecture, it refers to the overall security structure of an organization

Discussion 2

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Respond to two colleagues (BELOW): (Half a page each and please, provide each reference separately)

Discussion Topic

Select one topic for discussion that you consider important for establishing a modern network security architecture. Explain your rationale. The following is a list of possible topics:

1. VLAN architecture

2. Firewall architecture

3. User monitoring

Post from colleague 1

Good morning classmates and Professor,

For my topic, I chose user monitoring for a few reasons. Being able to see what employees and others connecting to the systems are trying to do is incredibly important, it can lead to trends, and when data and information deviate from previous trends it can give a hint that there is something going on with the system. It also allows security to make sure that employees and others are not accessing information that they shouldn’t be accessed, which leads to greater system security.

The main positive in user monitoring though is that it can be an amazing data collection activity. Even a small user monitoring activity can lead to the gathering of a tremendous amount of information that can be put to use making the systems better for the entire company. User monitoring also allows the company at large to make sure that everyone is following proper procedures and policies set in place by the executives. User monitoring also allows the company higher-ups to create stronger authentication roles and classes and allows them to make sure that everyone only has access to the information they need to have access to.

Overall I believe that every system needs to have, at a minimum, a basic level of user monitoring. Because of the ideas highlighted above.

Lord, N. (2018, September 12). In What is User Activity Monitoring? How It Works, Benefits, Best Practices, and More.

Post from colleague 2

Firewall Architecture: In establishing a network security architecture, there are different ways to set up a business firewall deployment architecture like “what kind of firewall to use”, location of the firewall on the network, and its configurations. The best strategy in deploying a good firewall architecture is knowing when or where to deploy it. A firewall architecture is very importance because it needs to be applied for an organization to reduce the threat of being attacked at the network level. There are different ways by which the network structure of any given organization can be protected against external threats by using firewall includes; Routers should be configured with filtering rules, a filtered DMZ is provided by a third network card on dialup services like ISDN line, a proxy server integrated with a firewall would be used to monitor the traffic on the network, allowing limited privileges and blocking unwanted services and so. The protection and prevention of cyber attacks is fundamental when establishing security in the network architecture, so there are best practices when deploying a firewall architecture

1. Regular check and update firewall configuration settings

2. The use of Defense in-depth that comprises of multiple layers of firewalls to strengthen security.

3. Deep packet inspection

When referring to firewall architecture, it refers to the overall security structure of an organization that includes proxy servers, IPSes, Routers, Web filters, load balances, switches and even DDoS devices

References:

Dosal, E., (2018, March 20). 5 Best Practices for your Firewall Deployment Architecture. Compuquip Cybersecurity. Retrieved from https://www.compuquip.com/blog/5-best-practices-for-your-firewall-deployment-architecture

Dosal, E., (2019, November 26). What is a Firewall? The Different Firewall Types & Architectures. Compuquip Cybersecurity. Retrieved from https://www.compuquip.com/blog/the-different-types-of-firewall-architectures