In the contemporary world, computer technology and connectivity form the basis of our society’s fabric. In this case, security and protection have become some of the most important aspects of any computer network. Primarily, open port security and firewalls have become a significant security threat for attacks by hackers and computer scammers. For this reason, corporations need to ensure that their ports are secure and closed. Moreover, business enterprises should ensure that their firewalls are always operational to ensure that they are protected from hostile external and internal attacks.
In computer networking, firewalls are regarded as the most prominent channels of security since they protect the system, as well as its elements from malicious exterior attacks that might damage and cripple it. According to Altaf et.al. (2015) firewalls play a critical role in addressing the vulnerabilities in a system in ways that identify, quantify and prioritize the weaknesses in a system. For instance, in the case of a vulnerable product or network, “Firewalls” are implemented to protect the system from hackers, thus, enhancing the performance of operations in the corporation. In order to protect a system, the administrator or expert should ensure that the firewall is operational since its various rules can identify and block hackers from gaining entry into a system. Similarly, system/network ports are other avenues that can be exploited by attackers to gain entry into a system. In the article, “Port Scan – A Security Concern,” Tariq Ahamad explores the importance of port scans, as avenues that can be explored by both administrators and hackers to identify system vulnerabilities. The importance of firewall ports is not easy to overlook because attackers and pen-testers mostly aim at exploiting ignored open ports, while administrators try to close or protect them with firewalls. Consequently, research illustrates that ports are a significant area of network security and addressing them could create a difference between a secure and a vulnerable system.
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Essentially, network firewalls and ports are crucial in the provision of security, since their proper management can adequately secure a system from attacks. Firstly, attackers/hackers, just as any other exploitative agents, such as burglars, examine vulnerabilities that they can exploit to benefit from pilfering or extracting valuable data. Because of these various techniques, hackers identify these weaknesses in different systems with the aim of gaining access, hence, taking advantage of the evident susceptibilities. However, while firewalls create the literal ‘wall’ between a system and attackers, through various paths, these systems can be penetrated with dire negative impacts.
Studies conducted on attack patterns reveal that when users connect to attacker-infected sites, they may help the hackers to penetrate their systems and override the firewalls unknowingly. Essentially, “if a firewalled computer makes an HTTP connection on port 80 to a website designed to exploit browser (or Java) vulnerabilities, there is little for the firewall to recognize as malicious: web traffic over a web port”. Essentially, this means that when a firewall is bypassed, an attacker gains the freedom to create new encrypted paths or ports through, which he or she can bypass the securities provided in a system. Similarly, ports are potentially vulnerable avenues for systems since port scans can be used to identify various weaknesses in a system. Ahamad asserts that as long as a user can access an internet service, one cannot be able to stop an intruder from scanning your computer while you are on the Internet. For this reason, the ability of ports to be accessible from any system user makes it an efficient avenue for attack because hackers can use it to target victims. Essentially, the ports that remain open can be used as paths for connecting to the computer network and systems connected to it, thus, leading to proliferation.
Consequently, system users can protect themselves from the vulnerabilities created through ports and network firewalls through various ways. Firstly, for a corporation to ensure that its system is protected from attack, its firewall should be configured to ensure that intrusion is avoided. Regardless of the firewalls used; from Dot Net Defender, Mod Security to Apache. In this case, setting the system can make the difference by ensuring that security is guaranteed. Since firewalls have the ability to disallow all unwanted characters that are used by attackers to exploit vulnerabilities, administrators should ensure that they are operational at all times. Secondly, corporations need to review their network ports through ways, which ensure that they close all ports that are open, thus, avoiding the possibility of experiencing an attack.
I resonate that through port scans and patch management, administrators can identify various ports/avenues that can be entry points to the attacker, hence, managing to protect the network from any vulnerabilities possible. Moreover, limiting the number of open ports and further minimizing the points of attacks would be critical to providing security to any system. Conclusively, as long as a corporation’s system firewall is strengthened, with all the errors/characters and inputs addressed, and services/ports allowed at any time are minimized, attacks will be prevented and security guaranteed.
Since most networks are vulnerable to attacks by hackers, corporations can take certain steps, which guarantee them security. Firstly, firewalls need to be strengthened through a stable configuration, which ensures that various input manipulations do not create ports that hackers can use to create an entry into a system. Secondly, open ports need to be reviewed to ensure that they are closed from outside entry. In conclusion, limiting the number of open ports minimizes the points of attacks available to the attacker would ensure that systems are well protected from attacks.
