It’s essential to have specialized network security in place to protect your business from growing cyberattacks. Since remote workplaces have made traditional security devices and policies obsolete, businesses have to think outside the box and design stringent policies that protect their cloud applications and sensitive data.
There are numerous network segmentation best practices that you can follow to improve your network security and protect your organization. Regulatory authorities have also introduced privacy laws that compel businesses that work with consumer data to boost and tighten their security perimeter.
Understanding network security
Network security consists of preventive methods that protect an organization’s network, secure systems, and sensitive data from unwanted access, corruption, and manipulation. Therefore, effective network security ensures that every device that is a part of your organization’s ecosystem communicates with your cloud or uses your data through a protected space.
The use of technology also motivated hackers to upgrade their tactics and attack organizations with weak network security through:
- Phishing
Hackers use malicious emails to gain access to an employee’s computer and extract personal information or user credentials from it. Commonly, hackers attach malware to emails that appear authentic, but the email automatically runs a script on the target device and installs tracking software. - DDoS attacks
Distributed Denial of Service disrupts network traffic as the attackers overwhelm the server or an organization’s network by sending junk traffic from the internet. Therefore, a DDoS attack blocks the network equipment and prevents the users from accessing their organization’s services. - Password attacks
Hackers employ password crackers that can try hundreds of combinations per minute. Password attacks are among the most dangerous cyber threats to cloud applications, as a successful attack can expose your entire network to the hacker, compromising your data.
Types of network security you can consider
Here are four types of network security that can help you protect your organization from cyberattacks:
- Network segmentation
You can easily divide your network into different segments, where every segment acts as a small network containing a group of users. Network segmentation makes monitoring, enhancing security, and boosting network performance easier. You can also use network segmentation to automate the authentication of authorized credentials to deny any instances of unauthorized access. - Firewalls
Next-generation firewalls assist in monitoring internal and external traffic within your network. It is usually located between your network and the Internet. You can also use firewalls to separate trusted internal networks and prioritize them accordingly. If you want to secure your cloud infrastructure, you can use Firewall-as-a-Service to prioritize traffic over your cloud. - Data loss prevention
If your organization wants to protect sensitive consumer data, you need to implement data loss prevention techniques. Even if a breach occurs, DLP denies access and sharing of sensitive data outside your organization. It also prohibits employees from accessing, sharing, or forwarding sensitive information without the right authorization. - Email Security
Hackers commonly use emails for phishing and malware attacks. Implementing email security will ensure that your email accounts are protected against incoming attacks. You also must properly train your employees to avoid opening malicious emails and prevent them from spreading into critical systems.
Why businesses need network security in 2022
Regulatory agencies hold businesses responsible for maintaining their network security and:
- Protecting business data
Since data is essential for any business, you must safeguard it from known and unknown cyberattacks. Falling prey to malware or phishing may incur significant losses for your business. Therefore, you must implement effective network security to prevent losses, protect your business, and safeguard personal data. - Securing shared client data
Organizations typically collect client data to improve their marketing skills by understanding user behavior. Therefore, businesses require network security to protect their data, observations, and performance metrics from invasions or sabotage to retain their integrity. - Optimizing network efficiency
If your business relies on a remote workforce, you have an efficient malware-free network. Therefore, you can use network security to improve your network’s performance and allow your remote workforce to complete their daily tasks easily. - Preventing ransomware invasion
Ransomware is among the biggest cybersecurity concerns for businesses because hackers inject malware into your database and restrict your access. After taking over, hackers typically threaten organizations and demand a ransom. If the organization fails to meet its demands in a stipulated time frame, the hackers may delete or release the data over the Internet. Therefore, you need network security to ensure your business does not fall prey to ransomware attacks. - Obeying privacy laws and regulations
Regulatory authorities like NIST and GDPR have made network security compulsory for organizations that use or store consumer data. Since the collected data contains personally identifiable information that can be used for impersonation or identity theft, organizations must take strict actions to protect them. Therefore, it’s necessary for businesses to safeguard employee and client data from falling into the wrong hands. - Building client trust
Businesses that take serious steps to ensure their integrity earn their customers’ trust. If your networks are secure, your clients will be more comfortable working with you. Therefore, implementing network security within your organization will boost your sales and gross profit.
Conclusion
Network security plays an integral role in determining the success and security of an organization. With the steep rise in cyberattacks, it’s essential for businesses to implement strict security controls by segmenting the network and ensuring no instances of unauthorized access occur.
