Check the whole college?
A college asks you to check its security. You could look at the front office, the server room, the Wi-Fi, the car park cameras and every student laptop.
You have two days. Where do you start? And when you finish, how do you tell the principal what you found?
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | the list of what is checked and what is left out | |
| In scope | included in the check | |
| Access requirements | the logins, passes and permission you need to do the check | |
| Network | computers and devices joined so they can share data | |
| Service | a program that other computers use | a web server or email |
| Classify | to sort things into groups, such as high, medium and low | |
| Business impact | the harm to the organisation if the weak point is used | |
| Finding | one problem the assessment turned up |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can set the scope of an assessment and write up its results in order.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Scope: what is in and what is out
The scope is written before any scan. It has three parts.
1. Which systems, services and networks are in scope. For example: the web server and the staff Wi-Fi, but not the canteen till.
2. The access requirements. What logins, passes or permission do you need?
3. Which weak points you test for, such as missing updates or weak passwords.
An example scope
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| In scope | Web server, staff Wi-Fi, the finance network |
| Out of scope | Canteen till, guest phones |
| Access needed | A staff account, a pass for the server room, written permission from the principal |
| Tested against | Missing updates, weak passwords, open services |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Why write the scope first
Important
Without a written scope you may scan a system you have no permission to touch. That can break the law and can stop a service. The scope also stops the job growing without end.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.