Ethical and Legal Issues While Designing and Managing an Enterprise Network

Introduction

Good evening, in this presentation, I am going to address the ethical and legal issues that must be addressed when designing and managing enterprises network. There are two May types of enterprise networks. The closed network systems and the open network systems.

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Closed network systems

A closed network is characterized by interconnected computers mainly for data and information transfer. An enterprise can have its computers connected for email, data and files transfer with one host composters connected to other compilers

Ethical concerns around closed networked systems

Most enterprises networks are local area networks without connection to the outside world. The systems administration is responsible for ensuring the network security, user privacy and enterprise security.

Each network user must stay within the privacy and security level set for them by the network administrator and the network administrator must be unbiased in setting their access control and privacy levels for each employee end files

The system administrators must therefore define the rules, responsibilities as well as conditions of all users in the network. The following are the ethical codes of conducts that the users must monitor and the administrators must address.

All software, files, data, and emails that are shared across computer network smuts are enterprise related and not personal.

The users must ensure that proprietary files, software, data and information are not share within the network unless they are owned and copyrighted by the company.

The work email address must only be generated by the systems administrated. To ensure systems security, the users are not allowed to come to the company with external files, or downloaded external feels that might compromise the LAN security as such files may contain virus, bugs or be used to harm the enterprises network or computers.

The systems administrator should make copies of the emails and files used in and passe through the network but should ensure that the content are not read

The systems administrators must also ensure that the software updates and security patches are up to date to protect the network, the company and the users

Open network systems

An open network is composed of all the company's computing resources such as servers, computers and the internet services providers.

An open network systems include the company's networks LAN/WAN and is connected to the ousted work through the internet through proxy servers, the backbone site local servers whether virtual servers or not.

Ethical issues in open network design, and management

Open network are at vulnerable to outside attacker and inside abuse.

Internally, the users or employees may misuse the companies computing resources while from the outside.

To protect the company from outside attack, malwares, worms and viruses, a firewall must always be installed and updated.

The advanced persistent threats are also another major threat used by cybercriminals. The system administrators must therefore ensure that the network is monitored for changes or significant fluctuation in traffic, or banditti as a sign of attack

The internal users may also pose threat to the commands resources. They should be provided with guidelines on how to use the enterprise network and protect the network from attack by not connecting external devices trod the network without the authorization from then network administrators

Employees can also be used by outsides to attack the network from within as they are given devices such as thumb drive with virus worm or malware that will self executive once connected to the network.

Therefore, employees must be warned not to use or connect foreign devices such as thumb drives into the company's network

The management can limit or control specific access to company data or network resources beyond work hours (Nikolaidis, 2003).

The volume of traffic that any network carries at any one time must be controlled within the company limits (Sonderholm, 2010).

Social media usage and policies

Employee should not also access unverified websites to download or share files, software's, and emails.

Some software can transmit viruses once accessed by the employees. these virus would self install into the systems, establish a backdoor into the network, and obtain the credentials of the users, and infiltrate data to the remote sites

Most users have social media accounts that they can use to share both personal and enterprise information and such activities cannot be monitored by the network administrator without risking an invasion of privacy lawsuit.

A local proxy and server must have an automated copying function that allows it to keep detailed log files of all operations (van Gorp, 2007).

Employees must be warned against accessing their social network account using the company's computing resources

The local proxies can also be used to control the individual users that forbid them from accessing some sites that are not meet the company's networking needs (Nikolaidis, 2003)

The use of a commercial gate keeping application such as net nanny can be updated with a list of all the forbidden internet sites such as Facebook, pornography and other abusive sites.

Legal issues in open network

Copyrighted material shown not be copied, distributed, or shared in the company's network as this exposes the company to legal issues that can amount to damages for infringing copyright laws

Conclusion

Before I hand over the microphone to the next team member speaker who would address the next phase of the presentation titled: I would like to know if there is any questions.