Simplifying network security data to the point that it is readily accessible and usable by a wider audience is increasingly becoming important, as networks become larger and security conditions and threats become more dynamic and complex, requiring a broader and more varied security staff makeup. With the need for a simple metric to quantify the security level on a network, this thesis proposes: simplify a network’s security risk level into a simple metric. Methods for this simplification of an entire network’s security level are conducted on several characteristic networks. Identification of computer network port vulnerabilities from NIST’s Network Vulnerability Database (NVD) are conducted, and via utilization of NVD’s Common Vulnerability Scoring System values, composite scores are created for each computer on the network, and then collectively a composite score is computed for the entire network, which accurately represents the health of the entire network. Special concerns about small numbers of highly vulnerable computers or especially critical members of the network are confronted.
","abstract_html":"<p>Simplifying network security data to the point that it is readily accessible and usable by a wider audience is increasingly becoming important, as networks become larger and security conditions and threats become more dynamic and complex, requiring a broader and more varied security staff makeup. With the need for a simple metric to quantify the security level on a network, this thesis proposes: simplify a network’s security risk level into a simple metric. Methods for this simplification of an entire network’s security level are conducted on several characteristic networks. Identification of computer network port vulnerabilities from NIST’s Network Vulnerability Database (NVD) are conducted, and via utilization of NVD’s Common Vulnerability Scoring System values, composite scores are created for each computer on the network, and then collectively a composite score is computed for the entire network, which accurately represents the health of the entire network. Special concerns about small numbers of highly vulnerable computers or especially critical members of the network are confronted.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Burchett, Ian"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Mathematics and Computer Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Ron Yang (Director), Dr. Phillip Womble, Dr. James Gary"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:09Z","subjects":["computer networks","NVD","CVSS","network security data","security risk level","Computer Sciences","Databases and Information Systems","OS and Networks"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1118","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Ron Yang (Director), Dr. Phillip Womble, Dr. James Gary"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Burchett, Ian"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Mathematics and Computer Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["computer networks","NVD","CVSS","network security data","security risk level","Computer Sciences","Databases and Information Systems","OS and Networks"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1118"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Simplifying network security data to the point that it is readily accessible and usable by a wider audience is increasingly becoming important, as networks become larger and security conditions and threats become more dynamic and complex, requiring a broader and more varied security staff makeup. With the need for a simple metric to quantify the security level on a network, this thesis proposes: simplify a network’s security risk level into a simple metric. Methods for this simplification of an entire network’s security level are conducted on several characteristic networks. Identification of computer network port vulnerabilities from NIST’s Network Vulnerability Database (NVD) are conducted, and via utilization of NVD’s Common Vulnerability Scoring System values, composite scores are created for each computer on the network, and then collectively a composite score is computed for the entire network, which accurately represents the health of the entire network. Special concerns about small numbers of highly vulnerable computers or especially critical members of the network are confronted.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Quantifying Computer Network Security"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Ron Yang (Director), Dr. Phillip Womble, Dr. James Gary"],"dc:creator":["Burchett, Ian"],"dc:description.abstract":["Simplifying network security data to the point that it is readily accessible and usable by a wider audience is increasingly becoming important, as networks become larger and security conditions and threats become more dynamic and complex, requiring a broader and more varied security staff makeup. With the need for a simple metric to quantify the security level on a network, this thesis proposes: simplify a network’s security risk level into a simple metric. Methods for this simplification of an entire network’s security level are conducted on several characteristic networks. Identification of computer network port vulnerabilities from NIST’s Network Vulnerability Database (NVD) are conducted, and via utilization of NVD’s Common Vulnerability Scoring System values, composite scores are created for each computer on the network, and then collectively a composite score is computed for the entire network, which accurately represents the health of the entire network. Special concerns about small numbers of highly vulnerable computers or especially critical members of the network are confronted.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1118"],"dc:subject":["computer networks","NVD","CVSS","network security data","security risk level","Computer Sciences","Databases and Information Systems","OS and Networks"],"dc:title":["Quantifying Computer Network Security"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Mathematics and Computer Science"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:09Z"}