Port Security - CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 - 3.2
Port Security and Authentication Protocols
Understanding Port Security
- Port security is a critical challenge in organizations, focusing on securing individual interfaces on switches or connections to wireless access points.
- It provides effective authentication before users can access resources, applicable to both wired and wireless networks.
The Role of EAP in Port Security
- The Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) serves as the underlying framework for port security, enabling various network types to implement authentication.
- EAP commonly integrates with 802.1X, an IEEE standard that manages user and device authentication onto networks.
Components of the Authentication Process
- The authentication process involves three main components: the supplicant (end user/client), authenticator (switch/access point), and authentication server (back-end database).
- When a supplicant connects to the network, it initially has no access until successful authentication occurs.
Steps in the Authentication Workflow
- Upon connection, the authenticator requests login credentials from the supplicant through an EAP request.
- The supplicant responds with its identity, which is then forwarded by the authenticator to the authentication server for verification.
Finalizing Access Approval