Which practice helps limit exposure to sniffing?

Which practice helps limit exposure to sniffing?

• A. Overly flat network
• B. Network segmentation
• C. Removing switches
• D. Ignoring ARP tables

Answer: (B)

Sniffing exposure is minimized by containing traffic to smaller parts of the network. Network segmentation achieves this by dividing a network into separate segments (using VLANs and routed boundaries). When traffic is segmented, devices only see the traffic within their own segment, plus necessary broadcasts. A sniffer attached to one segment captures far less data than on a flat network, making it harder for an attacker to monitor sensitive information. Segmenting also allows applying stronger controls and monitoring per segment, further reducing exposure. An overly flat network keeps all devices in one big broadcast domain, so a sniffer can observe a much larger amount of traffic. Removing switches eliminates segmentation entirely, creating a more hub-like network where traffic is more freely observed by anyone on the network. Ignoring ARP tables doesn’t directly limit sniffing and can make ARP spoofing or MITM attacks easier, which is counterproductive to security.

Sniffing exposure is minimized by containing traffic to smaller parts of the network. Network segmentation achieves this by dividing a network into separate segments (using VLANs and routed boundaries). When traffic is segmented, devices only see the traffic within their own segment, plus necessary broadcasts. A sniffer attached to one segment captures far less data than on a flat network, making it harder for an attacker to monitor sensitive information. Segmenting also allows applying stronger controls and monitoring per segment, further reducing exposure.

An overly flat network keeps all devices in one big broadcast domain, so a sniffer can observe a much larger amount of traffic. Removing switches eliminates segmentation entirely, creating a more hub-like network where traffic is more freely observed by anyone on the network. Ignoring ARP tables doesn’t directly limit sniffing and can make ARP spoofing or MITM attacks easier, which is counterproductive to security.