Course Objectives

This syllabus covers essential topics in network security, network analysis, and defensive strategies, focusing on practical knowledge and critical concepts.
● Understand the principles and practices of network security, including threats,vulnerabilities, and controls.
● Learn to use network analysis tools to detect and investigate security incidents.
● Gain hands-on experience in implementing defensive measures andanalyzing network traffic.

1 Introduction to Network Security [6 hrs]

1.1Importance of network security in modern infrastructure
1.2Threat landscape: types of attacks, actors, and motivations
1.3Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA triad)
1.4 Authentication, Authorization, and Accountability (AAA)
1.5Security standards (ISO 27001, NIST, PCI-DSS)

2 Threats and Vulnerabilities [8 hrs]
2.1 DoS/DDoS, IP spoofing
2.2 ARP poisoning, DNS spoofing, and MAC flooding
2.3Protocol-specific vulnerabilities (e.g., DNS cache poisoning)
2.4Vulnerability scanning and patch management
2.5Tools: Nessus, OpenVAS, and others

3 Network Security Devices and Technologies [8 hrs]
3.1 Types (stateful, stateless, application-layer firewalls)
3.2 Configuring firewall rules and policies
3.3Difference between IDS and IPS
3.4 Network-based and Host-based IDS
3.5Tools: Snort, Suricata, Zeek
3.6 Types of VPNs (site-to-site, remote access)
3.7 NAC(Network Access Control) concepts and implementation

4 Network Traffic Analysis [6 hrs]
4.1Importance of packet analysis in security
4.2Packet capture and packet analysis tools (e.g., Wireshark, tcpdump)
4.3 Network baselining, identifying anomalies
4.4 Protocol analysis, flow analysis
4.5 Syslog, NetFlow, SIEM (Splunk, Elastic Stack)
4.5 Analyzing and interpreting logs

5 Cryptography and Network Security [10 hrs]
5.1 Fundamental of Cryptography
5.2 Symmetric and Asymmetric Cryptography
5.3 Cryptography Algorithms and Numericals
5.4 Hash functions, digital signatures, certificates
5.1Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) concepts
5.2 SSL/TLS protocols
5.3 Encrypting traffic over network protocols
5.4 SSH, and HTTPS

6 Network Security Analysis and Forensics [6 hrs]
6.1 Incident handling and response lifecycle
6.2 Evidence collection, preservation, and chain of custody
6.3 Log analysis and event correlation
6.4 Deep packet inspection (DPI) and identifying patterns

7 Securing Wireless Networks [6 hrs]
7.1 Wireless protocols and standards (WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3)
7.2 Wireless vulnerabilities and attacks (e.g., deauthentication attacks)
7.3 Implementing secure authentication (e.g., EAP, 802.1X)
7.4 Securing wireless access points and network segmentation

8 Advanced Topics in Network Security [10 hrs]
8.1 Core concepts and design principles
8.2 Implementing a zero-trust network model
8.3 Cloud-specific threats and best practices
8.4 Cloud network security tools and configurations
8.5 Threat intelligence and proactive defense

Practical
● Install a firewall (using Packet Tracer).
● Write rules to block/allow specific ports or IP ranges(ACL)
● Write a JAVA code to implement any one Cryptography Algorithm.
● Capture packet using Wireshark.

 References
1. Network Security Essentials: Applications and Standards" by William Stallings
2. Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach" by James F. Kurose and
Keith W. Ross
3. Practical Packet Analysis: Using Wireshark to Solve Real-World Network Problems" by Chris Sanders
4. Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C" by Bruce Schneier
5. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation" by Jon Erickson
6. The Tangled Web: A Guide to Securing Modern Web Applications" by Michal Zalewski