| 1.2 |  | Vulnerabilities and Threats |
| 1.2.1 |  | Network security weaknesses |

| There are three primary reasons for network security threats:

- Technology weaknesses
- Configuration weaknesses
- Security policy weaknesses

There are people eager, willing, and qualified to take advantage of each security weakness, and they continually search for new exploits and weaknesses.

Technology weaknesses
Computer and network technologies have intrinsic security weaknesses. These include TCP/IP protocol weaknesses, operating system weaknesses, and weaknesses in configuration and security policy .

Configuration weaknesses
Network administrators or network engineers need to learn what the configuration weaknesses are and correctly configure their computing and network devices to compensate. Some common configuration weaknesses are listed in Figure .

Security policy weaknesses
Security policy weaknesses can create unforeseen security threats. The network may pose security risks to the network if users do not follow the security policy. Some common security policy weaknesses and how those weaknesses are exploited are listed in Figure .