Overview

Regardless of whether computer and network data is transmitted on a wired or wireless medium, the basic security concepts remain much the same. A solid foundation of security understanding is required before we cover the elements of network security common to both wired and wireless environments. This appendix is intended for those requiring a general knowledge of network security before jumping in to our chapters on IM security risks and best practices because knowledge without preparation does us very little good. Some of the content presented in this appendix has been excerpted from our Wireless Operational Security [1] book with the permission of Digital Press, an imprint of Elsevier.

For those among us who are tasked with managing business, and for those ever-shrinking number of Information Technology (IT) professionals who are not directly involved in the daily struggles of coping with cyber-security issues, one might be tempted to ask: What is the big deal about cybersecurity, really? How does it affect our company infrastructure? How does it affect users in our organization? Is it something our management team should worry about?

These are all legitimate questions. More and more today, IT professionals face an ever-growing and daunting task. Attacks occur every single day [2]. The only question to be asked in today's modern computing environment is: Are we prepared to deal with an attack? This appendix will provide guidance on how to prepare for such assaults against the organizational infrastructure. It will help network and systems administrators...