Investigate unauthorized hardware attached to your organization's network. Investigate unauthorized hardware attached to your organization's network. Why this is important Intruders actively attempt to circumvent network perimeter defenses. If they can gain physical access to your organization's internal network, then they can install their own equipment and software. For example, users might install modems for the purpose of remote access to their office computers from home.
Intruders often use automated tools to identify modems attached to public telephone lines.
If the configuration of the dial-up access, and the traffic through it, is not secured, intruders may use such backdoors to gain access to the internal network, bypassing preventive measures that may have been put in place to restrict external connections to your organization's network. They may then capture network traffic, infiltrate other systems, disrupt operations, and steal sensitive, private information. Access to other peripheral equipment may also facilitate intrusions. Unsecured output and removable media devices, such as printers and disk drives, may give intruders the opportunity to generate copies of sensitive information that can be physically removed from your organization's premises. Visits to physically examine equipment attached to the network should not be announced, so that unauthorized equipment cannot be hidden before the auditors arrive.