Common Networking Attacks Threats and Solutions

Viruses and Worms:

A virus is a piece of code that finds its way into a computer without the user's knowledge, and runs against the user's intentions. A virus is dangerous as it can potentially infect all other computers within the same network, by making copies and itself and propagating itself through the network.
A worm is similar to a virus. However, a worm can run by itself whereas a virus needs a host program to run. To protect a computer, a security suite should be installed, and updated frequently. A thorough scan of the computer to look for viruses and worms should also be performed often.

Phishing:

Phishing is a type of scamming method in which the perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking emails, which may link to legitimate-looking websites, in an attempt to gather information from the recipient.
One method to counter phishing is to install Phishing filters to filter out unwanted mail and to prevent the threat.

The "Storm Worm" is an example of a virus which uses Phishing as a tool to get unsuspecting users to infect their computers with the virus. This video illustrates the methods that the virus used:

Packet Sniffers:

Packet Sniffers are programs or devices that allows the perpetrator to eavesdrop into traffic between networked computers. The packet sniffer will capture data that is sent between the computers, and personal information can be obtained.
A strong encryption should be able to make the packets unreadable to anyone else other than the destination address, rendering the packet useless to outsiders

references: http://www.slideshare.net/Colin058/network-security-threats-and-solutions-1018888

Security Policy

Security Policy:

A network security policy is a set of rules for computer network access. It is usually written by a committee of members, rather than a single individual. The security policy of a network is meant to govern access to data, web browsing actions, what can be attached in an email, and the various passwords and encryption protocols used. These rules apply for all personnel throughout the company.

To start writing a security document from scratch can be quite an uphill task. A good way to start writing security policies is to use a template. The National Institute for Standards and Technology has also provided a security policy guideline to writing the rules out. Another way of writing a security policy is do perform a risk analysis. From there, the results of the risk analysis can be thoroughly studied, and policies can be written to lessen or negate the security risks found within the network.

To ensure that the security policy is effective, the employees of a company should be required to read through and state clearly that they have read and understood the various regulations that have been stated within the security policy. This would serve to reduce the amount of security breaches due to negligence or ignorance.

references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_security_policy