An approach for protecting enterprise network from malicious attacks

The level of unauthorized access to computer network resources, called hacking, has gradually increased from hacking a password for Gmail to accessing or stealing confidential data from an enterprise network. The enterprise network must be secure because it enables access to confidential data of a company. Theft or loss of this data has a catastrophic effect on the operation of a company. There are a number of ways to launch an attack which from a network perspective is defined as "traffic that has malicious intent." Some of them are locally executed on the machine by a malicious user and others are initiated from external sources. From the perspective of a network, there are a number of attacks that are launched from time to time. One of the techniques used for attack prevention is the use of a firewall. It is very important to find a technique for protecting enterprise networks from malicious attacks. As the number of intruders has been increasing day by day, the demand for secure communication at different levels has also been increasing. The main objectives of the research reported in this thesis are as follows: The effect of various attacks on the networks have been studied. Some proposed measures and methods, that are precise and cost effective, in providing protection from those attacks, have been analyzed. Based on the analysis an algorithm for the detection of and for providing defense against two of the most damaging attacks has been proposed. Advantages and drawbacks of the proposed algorithm, visa-vis other algorithms, have been discussed