Unfortunately, your network isn’t as safe as it could be. Network and data security are hot topics these days. With news of a new data breach or cybersecurity issue occurring every other day, it’s essential for companies to work with their IT teams to ensure they can stay ahead of the curve. The alternative can be deleterious.
Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated. And it’s challenging to stay ahead of them. But there are some measures your organization can take to improve your network security. Here are five tips to help.
Increase Network Visibility
Network visibility is a tricky subject, even on the best of days. Only 34% of organizations have complete network visibility, leading to an urgent need for organizations to find ways to improve it. But it’s an integral part of cybersecurity for any organization, from small businesses to giant enterprises.
Network visibility is essential to helping your company maintain a secure network, free from attacks and inefficiency. Without high visibility, a company’s security teams might miss critical events, performance issues, missing assets, unauthorized access, and more issues. Missing these during the monitoring process can lead to downtime, disrupted operations, data breaches, or successful ransomware attacks. No one wants that. Fortunately, there are some tools that can help with improving network visibility. Start by establishing a baseline of normal behavior.
Then, create a risk assessment plan to address and attenuate potential issues when they occur. Perform regular vulnerability scans and consider using network segmentation to separate your most essential assets from the non-critical ones. Developing and investing in a long-term network visibility strategy can be beneficial and is a crucial component of any effective strategy for cybersecurity.
Secure Your Cloud
Although the cloud has become an essential part of modern business, from e-commerce to your local post office, it still suffers from some security issues. That’s why it’s prudent and wise to secure your cloud using the proper security techniques. It starts with selecting a cloud provider that has a strong security record. These providers usually have strong support teams and 24/7 customer service to address any security concerns.
At the organizational level, cloud security comes down to implementing best practices. To begin with, regular and consistent security checks are essential. Without them, a breach could occur, and your security teams would be none the wiser. End-to-end encryption is also vital because endpoints——any device that connects to your company’s network——are juicy targets for hackers.
APIs that live on the cloud must also be secured and can benefit from robust and comprehensive Identity and Access Management controls. Access should be restricted on a “least privilege” basis to ensure more secure interactions. Ensuring only authorized personnel have access to cloud resources means fewer hands in the pot, leading to fewer vulnerabilities and probable security concerns.
Use Network Security Software
Malware. Ransomware. Phishing. Social engineering. Breaches. Botnets. All of these are conceivable problems an organization can face throughout the course of regular business. While technology makes things better and more productive, the downside is threat actors/hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities and cause damage to companies.
Therefore, network security should be a top priority for your company. Securing a network requires some type of network security mangement software and various utilities. Incorporating a firewall, antivirus, and antimalware solution can protect you against threats by blocking malicious traffic or payloads from infiltrating your network. But it isn’t enough.
Regular updates and knowledge about current cyber threats and monitoring your network for suspicious activity are vital to network security. Most large organizations have experienced some kind of data breach in the past year. Worse, many organizations face likely worse breaches in the future, further necessitating an increased need for better network security controls and monitoring procedures.
Conduct Regular Risk Assessments
A noteworthy and versatile approach to network security is creating a risk assessment plan. Risk assessments are a remarkably useful and critical part of any cybersecurity strategy. Such assessments aid organizations with the difficult task of identifying risks/vulnerabilities, managing them, and developing long-term strategies for attenuating them.
Risk assessments help identify possible weaknesses, highlight areas requiring attention, and can help with an overall cybersecurity strategy. And they prove their value when it comes to assessing risks to data, critical network infrastructure, employees, possible disruption, or unauthorized access.
But at the end of the day, a good risk assessment plan will help companies be proactive about managing risk, eliminate blind spots, and develop the best strategies for safeguarding company assets against them.
Implement Strong Authentication Procedures
Sometimes, the best way to protect your network is to implement strong authentication procedures. Passwords, multi-factor authentication, and limited access can all be helpful here. With multi-factor authentication, you can add an additional layer of security for your systems. MFA uses multiple platforms and codes to ensure more secure access.
Strong passwords are also critical. A strong password usually contains a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters interspersed with numbers and symbols. Longer, more complex passwords are harder to crack and can mean the difference between a successful breach or an attempt at one.
Managing who can access vital systems, preventing unauthorized devices from connecting to endpoints, and limiting privileges are all tried-and-true methods for better network security. Along with creating backups and educating personnel about cybersecurity, these techniques can save you a massive headache in the long run.
