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BEITC: Secure Those Networks

Cybersecurity must be multilayered to secure the broadcast facility

At the NAB Show 2018 Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference, the cybersecurity sessions were among the best attended and the information provided, among the most useful.

In a session that dealt with securing the network, Wayne Pecena of Texas A&M University spoke about basic concepts and best practices for securing data networks. Pecena, who developed webinars on the same subject for the Society of Broadcast Engineers, says there are three main goals of network security: confidentiality, integrity and availability.

[Read: Security Is a Lot of Nonstop Work]

“We have to provide network connectivity (to the outside), but we have to provide that connectivity in a secure manner.” That security takes the form of multiple layers. A physical layer prevents physical tampering with devices. A second layer deals with switch port security, which controls access to devices on the network. A third layer consists of an access control list, using firewalls and encryption to restrict access and classify traffic. A fourth layer handles verification.

Pecena said that the image of hackers in hoodies doesn’t reflect the real world when it comes to securing networks. “As we talk about cybercrime, (you should) think about a cloud service that is continually running exploration tools” to try to enter a network, when designing security measures.

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