task 1 actual

 

Introduction

Shooting Star Drones Ltd offer Drone display, they aim to provide cheaper and more environmentally friendly drone displays to replace to replace traditional fireworks.

They currently employ 220 staff but are planning on expanding over the next 5 years

Currently the company uses a mixture of desktops, Laptops, an ISP router, a VPN server, 2 other servers for separate uses and lastly a wireless access point.

However, multiple issues have been reported by staff that emphasis network bandwidth issues, poor WIFI connectivity and an inadequate router. These weaknesses reduce productivity and along with that create significant risks around data protection GDPR compliance and the company’s reputation

This report investigates the issues raised by three users at the organisation, identifies root causes and provides recommendations aligned with the industry’s best practices. A structured test plan is also included to verify the proposed solutions are effective

 

 

Fault-Finding Report

According to control document B there are some specific issues that the staff at Shooting star Drones Ltd are facing these issues are clearly causing disruptions within the organisation, the issues are outlined below.

User A – Drone display team 1 team leader

Issue: User reported that he is unable to remotely access the company network via the VPN when all drone display teams are deployed. This hurdle is a huge problem for the organisation since an employee can't work meaning he will underperform creating a cascading negative impact on the entire organisation.

Root Cause Analysis:

the primary cause of the problem is the VPN management systems license limitation. The system has a max capacity of 12 users at a time. With 15 drone display teams, it is likely that all12 licensees are being used when all teams are deployed, leaving no licenses for user A or other remote workers

Security & Performance Risks:

Limited VPN licenses act as a bottleneck preventing the teams from performing core tasks, directly impacting the company’s ability to run displays leading to potential project delays

The VPN management system is configured to allow a shared admin login and is not configured to require encryption, highlighting vulnerabilities.

Recommendations:

Increase VPN licenses: purchase additional licenses for the VPN management system to accommodate all 15 drone teams and any other remote workers

Enforce a secure VPN policy: change the VPN management systems settings to disable shared admin logins and require encryption and authentication for all connections

Implement security awareness training: given the unauthorised sharing of the VPN details and logins the organisation should implement formal staff induction and security awareness training to educate employees

 

 

 

 

User B – Sales manager

Issue: user has reported that he is unable to access a presentation that was stored on the file and print server using the WIFI yet again, this issue may lead to the user underperforming and may have a cascading effect on the organisation

Root Cause Analysis:

Network Segmentation: The wireless access point is configured to only provide

internet connections to visitors and for personal use by staff during breaks. Meaning there will be no internet outside of those circumstances

Logical Separation: The WIFI is on a different IP subnet (192.168.2.1) from the company’s wired network, which uses DHCP scope of 192.168.1.2-192.168.1.201 without a configured route to bridge the two subnets, meaning a device connected to the WIFI cannot communicate with devices on the wired network such as the file and print server

Security & Performance Risks:

The setup is designed for visitors and personal use by staff with no connection to the company network hindering staff performance

The network is designed to prevent a connection between WIFI and internal network however the WIFI network itself is unsecured as it doesn’t have a password

Recommendations:

Use a Wired Connection: user can use a wired ethernet connection to their desktop PC to access the company network and recourses although this will be highly inefficient since other users would have to do the same

Rethink the Wi-Fi Network: install a business grade router and rethink the network since the current one is too restrictive for employees who need to work remotely along with that managed switches would help

 

 

User C – HR assistant

Issue: User reports the file and print server is often unavailable, particularly after a restart and when there are many people in the office. The problem resolves itself when the staff number decreases

Root Cause Analysis:

Inadequate Hardware: the network runs on an old domestic ISP router that struggles with the increasing number of staff. When all 220 employees return to the office, the routers processing power and memory are overwhelmed by the surge in network requests, causing the server to appear unavailable due to the network congestion

Outdated Server Operating System: the file and print servers are running on windows server 2008, the outdated ad unsupported operating system is not designed to handle the demands of a modern rapidly growing business and may contribute to the performance issues and instability, especially during startup or heavy load

Security & Performance Risks:

Performance Risk: Operational Inefficiency and Downtime: the networks unreliability during peak hours and after restarts causes direct operational inefficiency

Security Risk: Data Integrity system instability and unplanned restarts which are more likely on an aging overwhelmed system can increase the risk of file corruption and data loss

Recommendations:

Upgrade Networking Hardware: replace the domestic ISP router with a business grade router and firewall that are capable of handling the current and projected number of employees, to eliminate the performance bottleneck

Upgrade Server Operating System: upgrade the file and print server from windows server 2008 to a modern and supported operating system like windows server 2022. This will improve stability and performance while also providing essential security updates to protect company data, aligning with GDPR legislations

User	Issue	Impact	Recommendation
User A	Trouble remotely accessing the company network when all teams are deployed	Cannot download configs from the display info server which is needed for their work	Purchase more VPN licenses to accommodate for all remote workers
User B	Unable to access presentation on file and print server using office Wi-Fi	Cannot access company resources meaning he won’t be able to work	Upgrade the network topology or use a wired ethernet cable to connect
User c	File and print server often unavailable especially after a restart or when there are people in the office	Disruption for HR and other support teams who use the file and print server for daily tasks	Replace the Domestic ISP router with a business grade router that can handle the company’s size also upgrade the operating system the server runs on

 

Summary of findings

Based on the investigation of the network and user reports for shooting star drones Ltd revealed key problems. The VPN management systems have limited licenses for 12 simultaneous connections which is not sufficient enough for the number of users that would need to use it this limit caused user A’s issue. Furthermore, the company’s network performance was hindered due to an old domestic ISP router which is not built to support traffic from 220 employees. This limitation combined with file and print server running on outdated software is likely the cause of User C’s issue. Lastly several security vulnerabilities were identified including a lack of passwords on the WAP, a weak admin password on the VPN management system and no formal security training for staff which led to unauthorised sharing of network access details. Overall, these issues bundled together can cause disastrous harm to the organisation not only financially but also legally.

 

 

Test plan

 

Test ID	Issue	Test description	Test Date	Spec/ software	Proposed test	Expected outcome	Actual outcome
T1	VPN license capacity	Verify all 15 drone display teams can connect to the network simultaneousl y	10/11/25	Laptops with mobile phone	All drone display teams will attempt to connect to the VPN at the same time and can access display information server	All teams successfully connect to the VPN and can access the server	Only 12 out of the 15 can
T2	Weak VPN security	Validate the security of the VPN system	10/11/25	Standard office PC	Attempt to login to the VPN using the shared admin account with the known password	The login attempt should fail and the	Login approved with the known

						system should require a complex passcode with encryption and disable shared logins	password encryption not enable
T3	Outdated network hardware	Validate the performance and availability of the network specifically he file and print server during high usage hours	11/11/25	PC with Windows 10 Professio nal, Office 365	Monitor the server’s uptime and response time while a high number of employees are in the office	The server remains consistently available and responsive with no significant performanc e degradation	Server shows unavailable when it can’t handle too much users
T4	Outdated server OS	Validate the performance of the file and print server with an updated operating system.	11/11/25	File and print server with upgraded OS	After the OS upgrade, monitor the server's uptime and response time while a high number of employees are in the office.	The server operates efficiently and reliably.	Server starts having issues when too much users are connected
T5	Unplanne d network growth	Test network stability and performance after implementing a revised network design.	12/11/25	All network devices and PCs	Stress-test the network by running multiple large data transfers and simultaneous connections from different devices.	The network operates without performanc e issues, and all devices maintain stable connections .	Devices start having issues and network does not perform to expected
T6	Static IP addresse s	Ensure all network devices are correctly configured for dynamic IP addressing where appropriate.	13/11/25	PCs and servers	Check a sample of PCs and servers to ensure they are receiving dynamic IP addresses from the DHCP scope.	All tested devices are assigned IP addresses within the DHCP scope (192.168.1. 2-	Static IP’s still pop up and some devices aren’t assigned corectly

						192.168.1.2 01).
T7	Unsecure d WIFI	Confirm that the wireless access point (WAP) is password protected.	13/11/25	Mobile device	Attempt to connect to the office WiFi network.	The connection attempt should be denied without the correct password.	Connection allowed without a password
T8	Lack of security awarenes s training	Verify that a new employee can correctly identify and respond to a security risk.	14/11/25	New employee 's PC and email	After a new employee has received security training, present them with a simulated phishing email or a security-related scenario.	The employee correctly identifies the risk and follows the appropriate protocol.	Employees fail the assessment