DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NETWORK ACTIVITY MONITORING SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Attacks on computer by outside intruder are more publicized but the ones perpetrated by insiders are very common and often more damaging. Insiders represent the greatest threat to computer security because they understand their organizations business and how their computer systems work. They have both the confidentiality and access to perform these attacks. An inside attack will have a higher probability of successfully breaking into the system and extracting critical information. The insiders also represent the greatest challenge to securing the company network because they have authorized level of access to the file system.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The Federal Inland Revenue service FIRS is one of the federal ministries charged with the responsibility of accessing, collecting, and accounting for the various taxes to the federal government since 1943.

Tax revenue has been reliable from time, from where government rely for decision making, and aids for development and administrative planning, hence the need for optimum human resource of the organisation or ministry; for its considered to be their most valuable asset if properly harnessed and are well motivated to perform their assigned tasks so as to enhance the organisations goals and objectives.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The existing system used by FIRS has been a challenge to them. Amongst the problems affecting the FIRS from maintaining a steady reliable accounting figures and estimates are: With the current system, staffs easily erase or add data in order to cover up their fraud since there is no back up of the activity log. Frauds like computer fraud: loss or damage to money, securities resulting directly from the use of any computer to fraudulently cause a transfer of money or other property from inside the premises to a personat a place outside the premise.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

This project targets towards discovering what should be done to improve the existing system, monitoring the daily activities of every user in a network and using it to provide evidence to frauds or crimes committed using computer technology which some people referred to as digital crime; that is crime committed using a computer system.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This work was embarked upon for several reasons discussed below and again provides answers to some questions like:

What is the value in adopting an investigation system

Why should you invest time and money on this

What are the benefits to organisations

1.5 SCOPES OF THE STUDY

Although a network activity monitoring system involves many things and activities that can be run within it, yet due to lack of time and space, we were not able to use this software in other operating systems apart from windows operating system that is from windows XP to windows operating system of higher versions. Furthermore this work did also not involve internet connectivity as well as detection of virus in a network.

1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are;

1. Lack of finance

2. Refusal of the Federal Inland Revenue Services Awka, to give detailed answers and in some cases no answer at all to some questions.