SANS mentoring class on network attacks and defense

This group of young people came up with excellent ideas  on how a network is attacked and countermeasures on how to defend it.  This was impressive and they'd get an A+ from me.

SANS mentoring class on network attacks and defense

http://www.incidents.org/diary.php?date=2004-07-24

  Scott Weil, the director of the SANS Local Mentor Program, had an opportunity to meet with about 40 students from a Midwest math and science academy on Friday to discuss network security. The students ranged in age from 10 to 15 years old.  Prior to beginning his talk on ways that kids can surf safely online, Scott divided the room into two groups. One group was told to design an attack on the school's network, the other group was told to defend against an attack. After discussing it for a few moments, each group was asked to explain to Scott and the rest of the students what they decided.

The level of understanding at this age is shocking. Briefly, here is what each group said they would do.

  Attacking group:

- Map the network to find the computers
- Map the connections
- Understand the details of the OS--they all said they hoped the OS was Windows; they were going to research all known vulnerabilities of Windows to plan the attack
- Attack the network by installing a virus via a memory stick onto a node of the network and then engineer a denial of service attack via spam emails
- Disable antivirus software on the network, although they didn't say how

  Defending group:

- Use Macs as the operating system because its Unix operating system was more secure than Windows
- Make sure their anti-virus software was well tuned and current
- Monitor the firewall for any unusual activity
- Install a network tracker to document any illegal activities and then call in the local law enforcement
- Make sure that they had applied the latest patches to every piece of software and hardware on their network

Each group appointed a spokesperson for the group. The leader for the defense of the network and perimeter was a 10 year old.