Network Security Through Data Analysis: Building Situational Awareness

Traditional intrusion detection and logfile analysis are no longer enough to protect today’s complex networks. In this practical guide, security researcher Michael Collins shows you several techniques and tools for collecting and analyzing network traffic datasets. You’ll understand how your network is used, and what actions are necessary to protect and improve it.

Divided into three sections, this book examines the process of collecting and organizing data, various tools for analysis, and several different analytic scenarios and techniques. It’s ideal for network administrators and operational security analysts familiar with scripting.

• Explore network, host, and service sensors for capturing security data
• Store data traffic with relational databases, graph databases, Redis, and Hadoop
• Use SiLK, the R language, and other tools for analysis and visualization
• Detect unusual phenomena through Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)
• Identify significant structures in networks with graph analysis
• Determine the traffic that’s crossing service ports in a network
• Examine traffic volume and behavior to spot DDoS and database raids
• Get a step-by-step process for network mapping and inventory

Table of Contents

Part I: Data
Chapter 1. Sensors and Detectors: An Introduction
Chapter 2. Network Sensors
Chapter 3. Host and Service Sensors: Logging Traffic at the Source
Chapter 4. Data Storage for Analysis: Relational Databases, Big Data, and Other Options

Part II: Tools
Chapter 5. The SiLK Suite
Chapter 6. An Introduction to R for Security Analysts
Chapter 7. Classification and Event Tools: IDS, AV, and SEM
Chapter 8. Reference and Lookup: Tools for Figuring Out Who Someone Is
Chapter 9. More Tools

Part III: Analytics
Chapter 10. Exploratory Data Analysis and Visualization
Chapter 11. On Fumbling
Chapter 12. Volume and Time Analysis
Chapter 13. Graph Analysis
Chapter 14. Application Identification
Chapter 15. Network Mapping