A Novel Algorithm for Fortifying Enterprise Network using Demilitarized Zone

H. TUNIO; M. Y. KOONDHAR; Z. A. MAHER; R. SHAH; M. HYDER; P. K. BUTT

Network Security is a significant component in the age of Information Technology. Attacks against network infrastructure are regarded as among the serious hazard in modern era. Amongst the most critical elements of communication network is the web server. To deal with the web server threats, pre-emptive measures need to be implemented. DDOS attack prevention has always been a hot topic for researchers in the gigantic field of network security. New techniques have been launched to tackle the threats but with the advance in technology, the hackers also come up with unconventional performances to get ransom for exploiting the organization's data and services. The presented defence methodology deals with the security of public facing servers of an enterprise network by setting up a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) using a Mikrotik router firewall policy. The main objective of this study is to design a topology with a DMZ secured by a Mikrotik router, to test the network with the eminent scanning tools available i.e. Nmap and Nikto, And to implement the Mikrotik firewall policies prudently for the DMZ so that only trustworthy users get access through the network and the hackers sending huge network traffic to let the services down, get blocked automatically. The network was tested and verified by kali Linux machine and penetration testing was accomplished with Slowloris attack. Finally, the comparison of scanning tools for the DMZ and a non-DMZ area in a network were provided. Whole simulation was done on the GNS3 network emulator to get the results like real environment. And the virtual machines for servers and network devices were created in Virtual Box software. The network was designed in a way to consider the easy implementation in a real scenario i.e. an enterprise business. Considering the security of a network with web servers, from DDOS or other similar attacks, the results of the study were clear that having a DMZ in a network secured by an extra layer of firewall can prevent the loss of data and services. As the consequences, Slowloris attack by the hacker was not successful because of the firewall rule s applied on Mikrotik and the web server was still available to the standard users.