[Trae Johnson]

A network is very prone to various kinds of vulnerabilities that may result in unauthorized access, data breach, or disruption of a service. Basically, the identification of such vulnerabilities is important for the proper application of security measures. There are three common types of network vulnerabilities:

Poor authentication protocols: In most of the network breaches, poor authentication methods were used. Default and weak passwords are the most common ones applied. Without strong authentication protocols, it will be an easy job for an attacker to access the network. According to Tian et al. (2020),

Unpatched bugs in the software fail to be updated or patched, providing bugs to systems for their easy exploitation. Unpatched bugs are targeted by hackers to inject malware or take control of networking devices. According to Singh & Kumar, “To inject malware or take control of networking devices, hackers seek unpatched bugs.”.

Social Engineering Attacks: These are attacks that manipulate human mistakes instead of technical vulnerabilities. One of the most common forms of social engineering involves phishing, a method of deceiving users into giving attackers sensitive information or even downloading malware.

Multi-factor authentication: MFA simply makes the use of authentication a little more complicated as the user would have to involve another means of verification aside from the password, including a fingerprint. This helps in reducing weak authentication, as noted by Kumar & Shyamasundar (2018).

Software patching and frequent updating: Basically, patching and keeping software up-to-date simply closes down security gaps and vulnerabilities that attackers can take advantage of. This is said to apply to operating systems, firmware, and applications (Singh & Kumar, 2021).

Training in User Education and Awareness: Seasonal training sessions to enlighten the employment with the risks involved in phishing and other social engineering tactics would be crucial for reducing human mistake-based attacks. Hadnagy & Fincher. (2020).

References
Hadnagy, C., & Fincher, M. (2020). Human hacking: Win friends, influence people, and leave them better off for having met you. Harper Business.

Kumar, A., & Shyamasundar, R. (2018) Multi-factor authentication to enhance cloud-based system security. IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, 6(3), 795-809, https://doi.org/10.1109/TCC.2017.2769643

Singh, V & Kumar, P. 2021. Vulnerability management in network security – A comprehensive review. Journal of Information Security and Applications, 58, 102731, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jisa.2021.102731

Tian, X., Wang, J., & Wang, W. (2020). Password authentication vulnerabilities and countermeasures. Computer Networks, 175, 107310. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2020.107310