Common Network Security Tools and Capabilities

Networks, systems, and applications need to be defended but the defense of a business or an organization is more than just capturing all the network traffic or hiring reverse engineers. A business must defend its profitability and limit its exposure to risks. The technological threats to an organization are growing at an increasing rate and the tools being developed to prevent or mitigate compromise, theft, and damage are becoming more sophisticated in an attempt to keep up. It is becoming increasingly difficult to understand both the elements within the enterprise that are at risk and just how porous the perimeter is. This document is intended to provide a basic understanding of the network security elements available and how their capabilities can be composed or coordinated to defend not just the network but the mission of the organization. It is not intended to cover the tools that perform incidentevent management, merely classification and automated response in inspection points.