Network security is the same as Murphy's law in the sense that, if something can go wrong it will go wrong. To be successful at understanding and applying network security, a person must master the three Ps: persistence, patience, and passion.

A cyber security professional must be persistent in their pursuit of a solution to a problem. Giving up is not an option. The answer will be there; it just may take more time than expected to find it. Having patience is also an important trait to master. When dealing with network anomalies, it is very easy to get frustrated. Taking a deep breath and keeping a cool head goes a long way towards finding the correct solution to your network security problems. Finally, developing a passion for cyber security is critical to being a successful network security professional. Having that passion will drive you to learn more and evolve on a daily basis to get better. Once you learn, then you will improve and perhaps go on to inspire others to embrace similar aspirations in cyber security.

A hacker is a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data. There are many different types of hackers. There are white hat, grey hat, and black hat hackers. Some hackers are defined by their intention. For example, a hacker that attacks for political reasons may be known as a hacktivist. A white hat hacker has no criminal intent, but instead focuses on finding and fixing network vulnerabilities.

Often companies will hire a white hat hacker to test the security of their network for vulnerabilities. A grey hat hacker is someone who may have criminal intent, but not often for personal gain. Often a grey hat will seek to expose a network vulnerability without the permission from the owner of the network. A black hat hacker is purely criminal. Their sole objective is personal gain. Black hat hackers take advantage of network vulnerabilities however they can for maximum benefit. A cyber-criminal is another type of black hat hacker, who is motivated to attack for illegal financial gain. A more basic type of hacker is known as a script kiddie. A script kiddie is a person who knows how to use basic hacking tools, but doesn't understand how they work. They often lack the knowledge to launch any kind of real attack, but can still cause problems on a poorly protected network.

There are a range of many different hacking tools. A tool such as Nmap, for example, is a great tool for both reconnaissance and scanning for network vulnerabilities. Some tools are grouped together to make toolkits and frameworks, such as the Social Engineering Toolkit and Metasploit framework.

The Metasploit framework is one of the most versatile and best supported hacking tool frameworks available. Metasploit is built around a collection of highly effective modules, such as msfvenom, and it provides access to an extensive database of exploits and vulnerabilities. There are also physical hacking tools. Devices such as the Rubber Ducky and Wi-Fi Pineapple are good examples. The Rubber Ducky is a USB payload injector that automatically injects a malicious virus into the device it's plugged into.

The Wi-Fi Pineapple can act as a rogue router and it can be used to launch man-in-the-middle attacks. The Wi-Fi Pineapple also has a range of modules that allow it to execute multiple attack vectors. These types of tool are known as penetration testing equipment. We will explore these tools and others in more detail, later in the book.

There are five main phases to the hacking process:

• Reconnaissance: The reconnaissance phase is often the most time-consuming. This phase can last days, weeks, or even months sometimes depending on the target. The objective during the reconnaissance phase is to learn as much as possible about the potential target.
• Scanning: In this phase the hacker will scan for exploitable vulnerabilities in the network. These scans will look for weaknesses such as open ports, open services, outdated applications (including operating systems), and the type of equipment being used on the network.
• Access: In this phase the hacker will use the knowledge gained in the previous phases to gain access to sensitive data or use the network to attack other targets. The objective of this phase is to have the attacker gain some level of control over other devices on the network.
• Maintaining access: During this phase a hacker will look at various options, such as creating a backdoor to maintain access to devices they have compromised. By creating a backdoor, a hacker can maintain a persistent attack on a network, without fear of losing access to the devices they have gained control over. However, when a backdoor is created, it increases the chance of a hacker being discovered. Backdoors are noisy and often leave a large footprint for IDS to follow.
• Covering your tracks: This phase is about hiding the intrusion of the network by the hacker as to not alert any IDS that may be monitoring the network. The objective of this phase is to erase any trace that an attack occurred on the network.

Ethics can be different from person to person. Many times, ethics are a matter of interpretation and intent in terms of what your actions are trying to achieve. Ethical hacking can be perceived in a few different ways. For some, ethical hacking is a great and noble pursuit. It is a way to understand how a hacker thinks and attacks. Having this knowledge gives a big advantage to protecting a network from an attack.

The majority of ethical hackers are white hat, although sometimes the methods an ethical hacker uses could be considered grey hat in application. It is important to always get clear, written permission and define the scope of what you can and cannot do while working on a network. Having written permission and a defined scope of what is expected will protect you should you ever become a scapegoat from some anomaly you have no knowledge about.

Since the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was passed, it is illegal to access a computer without authorization and steal private government information or financial/credit card information. Breaking into a computer system is the technological version of trespassing. A hacker would say that no harm is done when they break into a computer system. People have a certain expectation of privacy. When that sense of privacy is taken away, a person loses something priceless, even if it seems intangible. There are many people who are unaware that there are different types of hacker, such as white, black, and grey hat hackers. They assume all hackers are malicious and not to be trusted. Being an ethical hacker comes with some stigmatization. An ethical hacker may cause fear and uncertainty within some people who lack this type of knowledge. That fear is often driven by the unknown, that unknown being the extent of an ethical hacker's capabilities.

As mentioned earlier, privacy is priceless. When an individual has the ability to take that away, they may be seen as a potential threat. That is why, as an ethical hacker, it is important to maintain a high ethical standard. Sometimes an ethical hacker may find themselves facing a complicated ethical situation. For example, it is not uncommon to find illegally pirated material on workplace computers such as music, movies, and games. Unless defined by the scope of the job, it may be up to the individual to inform the management about misuse of company computers and network resources. That would be more of an ethical decision made by the individual working on the network/user devices. A different twist on that scenario is finding child pornography on a workplace computer. In that situation, the network security individual who found the illegal material must immediately report it to both law enforcement and management. Failing to report something like that to law enforcement may leave the person who found it liable for criminal prosecution. An ethical hacker may have a complex role within network security, but as long as that person keeps a strong ethical standard they will be fine.

New technologies are continuously changing the landscape of network security. One of the best examples of this is the Internet of Things. A device, car, or building that is embedded with software, sensors, actuators, and some type of network connection is considered to contain the Internet of Things.

Objects with the Internet of Things collect and share data across the Web. Smart energy management systems have fully embraced this technology with great success. The Internet of Things has some amazing benefits, but also has some major and potentially devastating drawbacks. In 2014 two cyber security researchers demonstrated that it was possible to hack into a Jeep Cherokee and disable its brakes and transmission. This was done remotely using a vulnerability found in the Internet of Things.

Medical devices have also been subject to attacks. Some people now disable the Wi-Fi capability on their pacemaker, out of a real fear that a hacker could send a fatal electric shock through the device itself. Another interesting technology that is growing is called Software-defined networks (SDN). SDN allows network admins to manage network services through the abstraction of lower-level functionality. SDN architectures separate network control and forwarding functions, enabling network control to become directly programmable and the underlying infrastructure to be abstracted from applications and network services. This allows for much greater flexibility and scalability when working with modern computing environments.

The rise of smartphones, cloud services, and mobile data content has led to a change in how network architecture and infrastructure are implemented. Although these technologies are helping set new standards in efficiency and capacity, they come with many vulnerabilities that can cause great harm to individuals and businesses. That is why it is important for network security professionals to stay current on new technologies and practices to best protect their networks.