Browsing by Author "Juarez, Leonardo"

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    NIDS On A Budget
    (University of Hawaiʻi — West Oʻahu, 2021-11) Juarez, Leonardo
    The NIDS: Network Intrusion Detection System project serves as a method to test the viability of using a Raspberry Pi setup to monitor a small home network and filter out the traffic. Monitoring the traffic from the internet into a home network is important because without some form of security in place users wouldn’t know if the data they are receiving has a malicious code.
    To carry out this project the Raspberry Pi will be programmed to act as a wall between the home networks router and internet service provider, to monitor the traffic. The two programs that will be used for this project are Snort and Zeek. Snort is an Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Prevention System that performs deep inspection of the incoming packets, then tags packets with a signature that will detect and possibly block the traffic. Snort becomes an active blocker rather than a passive system when configured with certain rule sets. Zeek is similar to Snort, but instead of actively blocking traffic that is deemed malicious, it functions as a passive network monitor and traffic analyzer and will notify the user that malicious code has possibly entered the system and needs to be addressed.
    There are many ways that someone can create their own network intrusion detection system using their own computer hardware and software, but what makes this project different is that we will be using a Raspberry Pi as the network monitoring device. A Raspberry Pi is a small computing device that is versatile and can be programmed for both attack and defense in the cyber security field. For this project, the Raspberry Pi will be used as a defense mechanism that is programmed to monitor a home network and analyze the traffic flowing to and from the internet to the devices connected to the network. Creating a home network analyzer using this device provides a lesson in basic computer programming skills as well as a better understanding of base cyber security practices that will be required in this field of work.
    The results of this project will serve as a good lesson to beginner programmers and cyber security professionals who are looking for other alternatives to monitor their own personal networks using a low cost and efficient device. For beginner programmers, a Raspberry Pi is a good place to start with learning how to program a computing device because it’s cheaper than buying a laptop if the person is on a budget and has many uses, such as this project of monitoring a small network. Cyber security professionals would benefit from this project because they will be able to look over the collected results and see if using a Raspberry Pi as a network intrusion detection system for a small home network is worth the cost at around $80 for setup over a subscription for a NIDS service that charges thousands of dollars.