You can always do something to protect yourself. There are things that your company needs to protect, of course, but with all the threats that potentially exist both inside and outside your network, it may seem overwhelming. That’s what it’s best to break down your network security needs into parts — and you can follow the five most basic network security measures that a company needs to operate safely in this day and age.
Why Do You Need Network Security?
With value assigned to so much of your company’s digital presence, you have to assume that there’s always someone who would like to take control of your assets. Every time you get online, or have an employee use your company computer, you’re allowing yourself a slight risk. Some risks, though, are necessary. After all, no one can operate without going online anymore. It’s the cost of doing business, so to speak. So, network security measures can let you perform such activities safely, without assuming unnecessary risk in the meantime.
Segmentation and Access Control
When you grow your business, your networking needs also grow, and you may have larger servers to deal with your content as well as more complex and valuable data, or business accounts that require special care — be it the company emails or the company bank account. Additionally, growth will mean that you’ve taken on personnel that handle specific tasks for you. By segmenting your network, you create boundaries that allow more sensible risk assessment and prevention. For example, if you set a boundary around your company network to segment sensitive data, then that will remain separate from the interactions you take outside the network, like when you connect to the Internet. The added bonus to segmentation is that you can add more to it, with tiers of access that apply to the internal network’s users. That way, what sensitive information you plan to keep for administration purposes doesn’t necessarily need to be shared with tasks that your employees perform on other segments of the network.
IPS Technologies
IPSs, or intrusion prevention systems, are programs designed to detect and prevent attacks to the network itself. Many of these attacks are levied by exploiting specific aspects of a network that are vulnerable. In these cases, response time and discovery of the exploits are imperative to preventing damage to your network. In other words, if you don’t spot it, you can find yourself with some pretty serious consequences. However, if you are implementing network security software like S1.ai, you’ll be able to react accordingly and with the right response each time, thanks to the way this software will stop threats in their tracks with quarantine procedures and even self-defending, requiring less of you in the moment.
Firewalls and FWaaS
Firewalls are some of the most easily understood and basic security measures that have been implemented by companies everywhere. It’s a straightforward concept: a protocol is built with many definitive rules to determine “bad” and “good” traffic. Anything defined as bad can’t go in or out of the firewall, and there are even more advanced firewalls that can spot malware and stop attacks that go straight to the application layer of a network, which hosts more opportunities for vulnerable code. FWaaS, or Firewalls-as-a-Service, constitutes a growing suite of tools that are employed even at the cloud level — meaning that you can utilize these protections not only on your own network, but outside it as well.
Data Loss Prevention
Data Loss Prevention, also known as DLP, refers to the way in which security systems and users attempt to prevent the loss or leaking of information that’s considered privileged. This could be a client’s personal info, as well as data that’s regulated, such as HIPAA-compliant data for a medical business. In the event of a breach, it’s the job of a DLP protocol, including technologies designed for the task, to account for such privileged information by ensuring that it is secured before the breach ever has a chance to get there. When you have DLP best practices in place, you’re ensuring that you have every chance of keeping the trust of your clients, as well as that of any regulatory associations that may have a say in the handling of your data.
Secure Remote Network Access
In the development of remote business, there has become another element of network security that becomes more and more useful and relevant: remote network access. Allowing this access securely is the best way to ensure that your company’s network is not endangered by everyday operations. One of the most popular ways to ensure such security is through VPNs, or virtual private networks. These remote networks require numerous security checks before allowing users into an encrypted connection that provides full access to the designated location. An alternative to this are software-defined perimeters, which are accessible only to a specific degree as fits the user’s role and permissions. You can always be sure that only the most relevant information is being used by your employees on the network, no matter where they make their connection.
