On a daily basis, we are exposed to suffer all kinds of with those who seek to access our personal information or to monitor our Internet activity. One of the best known is the port scanner attack.
Is a computer equipment scanning techniquethrough which they can detect any vulnerability in the system and take advantage of it to extract all kinds of user. Therefore, it is essential to know the measures of required to avoid it.
In this post, we will delve into the problems involved in the Port Scanner attack, what it is, how it works and tips to protect yourself in these cases.
What is a port scanning attack and what does it look for on our computers?
The port scanning attack or Port Scan is a illegal activity through which the ports of a computer are automatically analyzed or any machine connected to a network. The objective of this is to verify which ports are open, closed or which of them have a security protocol. According to this analysis, intruders can get their hands on personal information such as the composition of a network architecture, the operating system, possible security holes, etc.
The tricky thing about this is that represents a gateway for cyber attackers. Once they manage to penetrate a network via portscan, may extract sensitive information such as personal data, access to passwords, among others. For its part, it is also necessary to clarify that many network administrators make use of port scanning in order to have a vulnerability mapto later correct them and avoid attacks.
What are the clearest signs that we are victims of a port scanner?
First of all, you should know that when a port is openis exposed to accept and acknowledge all packets UDP and TCP leaving or entering through it. On the contrary, when a port is closed on a router or blocked by a firewall, that port will not receive any communication with the outside and any traffic that tries to penetrate will be rejected.
In this sense, the most common security practice in these cases is to simply close the ports by default, and open only those with which you work. This will prevent pirates from having access to them. However, you can back doing a full scan of your ports with the help of tools.
Some of the most popular port scanning tools are:
nmap
angry ipscan
With their help, you will discover information about your ports such as whether a port is open on a network so that apps can seamlessly connect to the Internet. Or carry out a complete scan to find out possible access routes for hackers. A) Yes, you can identify if you are suffering from a Port Scanner attack. In general, it is a task that many information security agencies carry out, but that you can also do without problems.
Tips to protect yourself from a port scanning attack that you should know
There are a number of actions that you can take into account to avoid attacks on your ports and maintain as much security as possible.
Here are some tips that will be of great help:
Use the necessary ports
It may seem obvious, but many people do not take it into account. always a hacker will try to scan by robot and brute force. Keep in mind that most of the attacks are automated, so the best way to avoid suffering attacks of this type is to working only with necessary ports.
Work with non-standard ports
The ideal is to make it difficult for attackers to work, so it is recommended as much as possible use non-standard ports. For example, when someone wants to collect information from a system, they may do so through standard ports such as the 1521 for Oracle or 8081 for a maven antifactory. Likewise, this is not a 100% safe measure by itself. But it does help if you want to back up your networks and devices.
Protects access to everything that needs to be restricted and its connections
If you must offer a service to a user or company, but it is a service that is at risk of being attacked, the ideal is to protect it with the help of authentication systems. Make use of this type of strategy and you will shield your ports against attacks.
Take advantage of preventive methods
It is always better to be safe than sorry, so preventive methods will be very helpful. This advice is one of the most important, so you have to implement it as soon as possible.
When you have a public service, you must have preventive systems to react effectively to attacks. At this point, it is essential IDS and firewalls. In the case of a IDS, it acts in a programmed way and adjusts to the rules defined by the user and that can be dynamic. On the other hand, the use of firewall it is well known and you will get many very effective software and hardware options. Apply it as soon as possible!
hide information
The attackers seek to extract your information of all kinds when entering a systemso hiding it or making it difficult to access can save you.
Some actions that will help you are:
- Disable information banners of any service.
- Falsify the footprint of the stack TCP/IP to give false clues in error cases and thus fool fingerprint detection systems.
Keep software up to date
It is essential that keep the software up to datesince with each new version of they correct errors and failures of vulnerability. Without a doubt, it is essential to maintain your updated software.
Stay up to date on the latest security enhancements
Security mechanisms are constantly updated, so it’s always a good idea to stay informed on those topics. Remember that cyber attackers are getting better and better, and the idea is to be one step ahead of them. Thus, you can protect yourself.
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