Information Visualization Applied to Computer Network Security: A Case Study of a Wireless Network of a University

Abstract

Computer networks are becoming increasingly vital to the activities of organizations, and their monitoring is necessary to ensure proper functioning. The use of the human cognitive process in decision-making through information visualization (IV) is a viable option for large amounts of data, such as those generated in network monitoring. Considering the need to monitor modern computer networks and the quality gain when using visualization techniques, the objective was to conduct a review study to understand the process of building a monitoring tool using information visualization resources and, from this review, follow with a case study through a tool for visualization application in a university wireless network management. To this end, a systematic literature review was performed, and then a survey of requirements was conducted with the university network managers. With the analysis of the data from the review and the survey, a tool was specified and developed, evaluated in several units of the university. In this way, the results from the review and the requirements survey are observed in time, which allowed the development of a solution using the observed trends, validating them in the use and evaluation of the tool. The main contribution of the work is the resulting tool and its impact on the management of the university wireless network, facilitating the activities of managers.