Any company operating an online business, which in this day-&-age are most of the firms in the service-providing sector, understands how important it is to keep their network security top-notch in top-notch condition. Businesses face cyber threats all the time.
Therefore, all their online fronts require a secure network connection to protect your business.
Network security protocols shield its connections and protect proprietary information from attacks on all ends. It secures the integrity and usability of your entire network and is fundamental in protecting your online business from unauthorized personnel.
You might be wondering how to ensure your network connections are secure and are not vulnerable and that your safety protocols will withstand any cyber threats.
Read ahead to know more!
Globalization Of The Internet
Due to globalization and the internet connecting your business to every part of the world, cyber threats targeting companies that employ the internet for web services, applications, emails, or information sharing are more in danger of phishing, ransomware, malware, and other shady activities.
For these and more reasons, it is critical to perform Network Security Analysis to examine your framework and configure the infrastructure your business requires. You also need to prepare mitigation actions for threats identified during the audits. You can easily outsource these tasks to be more effective and save stress and time.
Besides, depending on your business, you might be obliged to perform network security analysis regularly. For example, fitness and wellness associations need to yield with HIPAA regulations, debit and credit card payment processors need to follow PCI DSS protocols, and external service providers need to secure their data servers every day from an information breach.
So before we dive into what steps you can take to secure your network, let’s find out what network security is and how it functions.
What Exactly Is Network Security?
It comprises hardware and software systems to incorporate multiple layers of strongholds in the network and its perimeter. These layers contain defenses and policies to block malicious players inside or outside your framework from exploiting your business and stealing sensitive information from your servers and systems.
The essential job of network security is to manage access and target a variety of dangers and viruses from entering your network and affecting your business profitability and reputation.
Tips To Secure Your Network
1. Network Assets Identification
Identifying, monitoring, recording, and keeping an inventory of business-issued appliances, ownership of the assets, and the software installed is essential. While logging in to your framework, every asset shall give information about when, where, who, and what asset connects to your network.
Every asset in your business should be categorized according to its purpose and significance. For example, a server storing user/customer details are more significant than a computer hard drive with non-sensitive data.
You can categorize your assets into different parts, such as:
- Physical or Virtual Assets – Servers, hypervisor hosts, MPS-provided systems, etc.
- Cloud-Based Assets – AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Dropbox, etc.
- Storage – Data backups, NAS, Storage Area Network, etc.
- Software assets – open source, closed source, etc.
2. Enforce Security Controls
You may probably find gaps and vulnerable areas in your network. You must know about these zones and devise a safety net around them. Safety controls can be executed via various technical applications such as; encryption, grid intrusion detection mechanisms, two-factor verification, automated updates, constant data leak detection, and through non-technical means like; security policies and physical tools like locks or biometric access.
3. Preventive And Detective Measures
You should have procedures designed to stop cyberattacks from transpiring and systems that can detect an attack before it happens. These systems are essential to keep your framework and classified data secure. Along with this, there should also be trained professionals who can counteract or stop an attack within minutes.
4. Outsource Your Network Security Analysis
One of the most accessible and adequate methods to handle and guarantee your network from threats is to outsource your network security to professional service providers. These highly trained people can secure your network efficiently for your business needs. This benefits you if you own a small business and cannot teach and employ all the resources needed for your security measures.
Other than this, you can also do things to secure your framework, like designing a data recovery plan, keeping data backup regularly, installing antivirus and firewall, setting up a VPN, and setting up human firewall tactics. You should also consider updating the application and mobile device security.
Steps To Evaluate Your Network Security
There are two significant ways you can perform network security analysis; both are excellent at testing the efficacy of your security measure and estimating the likely effect of an incursion.
- Penetration testing – is an impersonation of a genuine cyber attack to check how your defense systems hold up in real-time.
- Vulnerability testing – is an examination of your network’s weak and feeble spots.
The process of evaluating your network security should usually obey the same flow of action below:
- Define the significance of your assets and information.
- Evaluate your IT and safety infrastructure.
- Test and analyze your safety protocols and management.
- Record your developments in a report for improvement regarding safety protocols.
- Enforce all the updates required for your network safety and constantly survey changes.
Along with these standard processes, it is also good to employ specific assessments and tools such as grid scanning- a broad scan of all your network docks, third-party access review, and security guideline review. You should also regularly check all your asset’s access to sensitive details and devise systems against copying or sharing such information.
Conclusion
If you are serious about your network security, then it is best to execute and consider the above-discussed details. Though it is overwhelming to start, securing your company against cyber threats is always possible. Nowadays, it is always beneficial if your company can provide security against online identity theft and users’ privacy concerns. Moreover, network security is fundamental to users’ comfort with your business. So you should always keep trying to improve your security systems!
