Teisha Nolen
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I tend to be a bit anxious and occasionally ruminate on the things I fear. What I notice about when I start to get this way is that it is usually because things are coming at me fast, or there is a lot going on, and I haven’t taken the time to go to the Lord in prayer. In a world full of things to fear, it is easy to get caught up. Thankfully, we serve a God with authority over it all. The things we fear, the things we love, the things we don’t love so much. He is there in the middle of it all, offering comfort and rest. No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and I serve a good who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than anything I could ask or imagine. In light of that, what is there to fear?
I grew up in the catholic church, was baptized, confirmed, and took First Holy Communion in the catholic church. God was always there, but I can’t say that I KNEW Him. I knew what I had read in the Bible. I knew about the trinity, but if I am being honest, I viewed God as “out there” somewhere. It was religion. I can honestly say I grew up going to church every single Sunday, and I don’t think I knew God. It wasn’t until I had an encounter with JESUS that everything changed. I realized that God isn’t “out there” somewhere; he is very much alive and in me. As I continued to pray and read His Word, He continued to reveal Himself to me.
Hi Isabelle!
Great job on your summary of hardware security devices! I shared in my post about the key card access to our building. Our employee IDs are our access, and the access levels are set by job and department. Employees will only have access to the areas needed to do their job. We use multi-factor authentication as well to keep our network secure with employees who work from home or other locations.When it comes to network and enterprise security, it is easy to focus on software attacks, but just as important are the physical components of our networks. For instance, in my company, all employees have access cards that must be scanned to enter the building. In addition, there are several secure areas that only certain employees can access. For example, the server room is protected by key card only access, and very few employees have permission to enter that room.
Spiceworks defines hardware security as “The protection of physical devices from threats that would facilitate unauthorized access to enterprise systems” (Spiceworks, 2022). Things such as the key card access mentioned above, as well as cameras, can help keep hardware components safe. A hardware firewall can be installed to prevent unauthorized access to network components. A proxy server can act as a middleman, sending and receiving requests on a user’s behalf, allowing the IP address to stay hidden. All of these items are important to consider in business today.Spiceworks. (2022, January 4). What is hardware security? Definition, threats, and best practices. Spiceworks. 1
Hi Misty!
Great summary of some of the vulnerabilities facing our networks today. You highlighted some very common and practical ways to tighten up network security. User behavior is such a big wildcard. I love that you mentioned passwords. I know people have passwords to everything in today’s world. I have found myself exhausted trying to remember them all. The temptation to make them something easy is understandable. Companies like Bitwarden can be helpful in keeping our passwords secure.Network vulnerabilities can take many forms. Some common vulnerabilities include insecure technologies, weak configurations, and user behavior. Using secure technology is detrimental to network integrity, while insecure technology can allow cybercriminals to access a network. Ensuring that software is trusted, correctly configured, and routinely updated are steps that can be taken to lessen this risk. Weak network configurations are another way that criminals gain access to important information. Using protocols that are not secure or sending data that is not encrypted opens your organization up to having sensitive data intercepted. Using the most secure technologies and strong network configurations goes a long way in keeping your network safe, but the vulnerability of user behavior will almost always be an issue. User behavior, such as writing down passwords, leaving a workstation unlocked and unattended, or falling for one of the many tricks perfected by cybercriminals, can put your network in danger as well.
Putting security protocols in place, such as multifactor authentication, utilizing strong user privileges, and data encryption, will go a long way in protecting our network and the sensitive data in our organizations.The faith of the Roman Centurion is a great testament to the power of pure faith in God. One thing that I have always found interesting about that story is the fact that we are given an example of great faith from the least likely of places, at least in that time. A Roman soldier who had no doubt committed atrocities against the Jewish people. He was a Gentile and may have very likely been considered a Pagan at one time. This is the example that the divine Word of God gives us to demonstrate great faith. If God can use the least likely to show great faith, what can he do through a Christian with just a little faith?
Hi Caleb!
That was a great description of some virtualization technologies. You explained them in a way that made them easy to understand. I remember in the “good old days,” I accessed my actual desktop computer that was sitting in my office via a remote desktop connection. I can see where a virtualized desktop would have made this process much easier and safer.Virtualization is an important tool in today’s technology. It is the process of taking a physical resource and allocating it to a virtual machine, or VM. You can use virtualization in many ways. You can virtualize an application so that it can be used without having to be installed on the computer. You can virtualize a desktop to allow it to be accessed from anywhere. You can divide a server into several virtualized servers and allocate resources to those virtual servers. Virtualization is made possible by the use of a hypervisor, which allows VMs to share resources from the host. VMware Workstation is a type of desktop hypervisor technology that allows you to run virtual machines on your PC and even allows you to run different operating systems on those VMs.
There are pros and cons to using VMs. Some of the pros are the efficiency that is achieved with a VM, as well as some potential cost savings on infrastructure (such as with a server VM). Conversely, virtualization can be complex, and security can be more of an issue if it is not done right. Additionally, ensuring the appropriate updates have been applied to all VMs can become cumbersome.
Hi James!
Great job highlighting a few of the diagnostic tools available in Windows. I didn’t even think of the task manager, though I have probably used that tool more than most. Both of these methods are great tools to help us know where to look next and how we might begin to diagnose issues. I loved how you highlighted a tool to help us manage and diagnose resources on our computers, as well as a tool that helps us diagnose network connectivity.
There are many tools and methods to help diagnose issues in Windows. One of those is the command prompt ipconfig. Ipconfig is a tool that can be used to manage, maintain, and diagnose network connectivity. You can use this command to diagnose issues with DHCP, help identify DNS issues and even help diagnose issues with your VPN. There are several sub-commands or “switches” that can be used in conjunction with ipconfig to provide the information needed to diagnose your issue. For instance, ipconfig/all displays information about all network adapters. Ifconfig can be used similarly in Linux.
Another great command prompt tool that can be used in Windows, is the ping command. Ping can arguably be considered one of the most important tools available to us. The ping command allows us to ping other devices and can be used to further diagnose connectivity issues. We can use ping to test connectivity, we can diagnose issues with our network, and we can determine how long it takes for a packet of information to travel to the desired location and back. Like ipconfig, there are several switches that can be used in conjunction with the ping command to allow us to further narrow down the information that we want to see.
I would like to I tend to be patient and try to put myself in someone else’s shoes before judging. Sometimes, to the point where I tend to rationalize and excuse treatment that I should not accept. Unfortunately, I can get to a point after having “rationalized” for so long that I blow up in a way and, at times, can blow things out of proportion. I will then feel slighted that I gave the benefit of the doubt, only to feel as if I am punished for it later. This can be unfair to those around me and can set me up for difficulty in my relationships. I think it is important to recognize that no matter what face a person presents, there is always the chance of an underlying struggle. I think of days and times in my life where I have struggled, and how I worked so hard to hide that from those around me. No one knew what I was going through or feeling. I think it is important to understand that we don’t always have the whole story, and we can’t hold those in our lives to standards we wouldn’t want to hold ourselves to.
Hi Misty!
This is a great summary of a few different encryption methods. I loved how you explained several different types of encryptions, as well as giving some applications for both Symmetric and Asymmetric encryption. Asymmetric encryption would seem to be the best choice from a security standpoint, but because of the resources needed, sending large sets of data by this method isn’t usually feasible. I was struggling to understand the application of Asymmetric Encryption, so I love how you have provided real-world examples of when that method would apply.
Encryption is a code of sorts that is put in place as an attempt to keep private the data that we are sending over the internet. I say “as an attempt” because just like any other code, encryption code can be cracked by those who know what to look for. Encryption falls into one of 2 main categories: Symmetric Encryption, meaning the same key can be used for both encryption and decryption, and Asymmetric Encryption, meaning an encrypted message cannot be decrypted using the same key. At first glance, one would think that Asymmetric Encryption would be the better type to use, however, this type of encryption uses a lot of resources, and therefore can be impractical for large amounts of data.
Some of the more common types of encryptions are AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), IPsec (Internet Protocol Security), and RSA (named after its inventors, Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman). AES is a symmetric encryption that encrypts data in 128-bit blocks and then arranges them in a grid to further complicate decryption. This type of encryption is used for most end-to-end encryption applications.
IPsec is an encryption method commonly used for VPNs, such as the one that I use to work remotely in my current role. The purpose of IPsec is to provide privacy and data integrity using a process called “hashing algorithms.”
RAS is a secure method of encryption that multiplies large prime numbers to create an encryption key.
As you can see, there are many different encryption methods, keeping the data we send safe. As technology (as well as hackers) continues to evolve, I imagine we will continue to see encryption methods evolve as well.
Hauk, C. (2021, May 31). Common encryption types explained. Pixel Privacy. https://pixelprivacy.com/information-security/common-encryption-types-explained/
Hi Cameron!
This is a great explanation of how TCP/IP works and how the two protocols work together. I love how you highlighted some of the differences between the protocols and pointed out that while IP ensures the data gets to the correct location, it does not verify the accuracy of the data. I found it helpful the way you broke that down. Thanks again for a great post!
