Practices and technologies designed to protect networks, data, and systems from cyber threats.
Network security involves policies, tools, and practices to prevent unauthorized access, misuse, or attacks on network infrastructure. It ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.
Common threats include malware (viruses, ransomware), phishing, DDoS attacks, and insider threats. Network security measures aim to detect, prevent, and respond to these risks.
Firewalls act as barriers between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks (e.g., the Internet), filtering traffic based on predefined rules.
Encryption protocols like TLS/SSL and VPNs secure data in transit, while authentication mechanisms (e.g., multi-factor authentication) verify user identities.
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) monitor network traffic for suspicious activity and take automated action to block threats.