Every organization, regardless of industry, size, or infrastructure, needs a robust network security plan in place to protect them in the ever-changing cyber landscape.
Most companies today have complex network architectures in place that were designed with the disruptions of the day in mind. However, if your network security infrastructure was designed more than a year ago, chances are the cyber environment has changed since then. Cybercriminals are diligent and are continually searching for vulnerabilities to exploit. These vulnerabilities can be found in a number of different areas, including in your company’s devices, data, applications, users, and locations.
Make sure your network is secure
3 Facets of Great Network Security
In an effort to limit these vulnerabilities, companies have come to rely on a variety of network security management tools and applications, which address individual threats and work to ensure regulatory compliance. However, it can be challenging for organizations to know which tools and applications they should be using and whether the ones they have are working for their needs.
When just a few minutes of downtime can cause widespread disruption and massive reputational and financial damage, it’s essential that the measures you’re using offer the right amount of protection where you need it most.
There are many facets to great network security. Here are three that should always be top of mind.
Physical Network Security
Physical security controls are put in place to prevent unauthorized personnel from gaining physical access to the various components of your network infrastructure. These can include routers, network racks, server closets, etc. Controlling access to the physical components of your company’s network infrastructure is critical. Most organizations do this with locks, biometric authentication touchscreens, and other physical barriers that can only be bypassed by designated personnel.
Technical Network Security
Technical security controls your company’s proprietary and protected data that is stored on your network, or transits through or out of your network. Your technical cybersecurity should offer two unique types of protection. It should protect your data from being accessed by unauthorized external sources, as well as internal employees who may intend to use the data improperly and maliciously.
Administrative Network Security
Administrative security is the protocols and processes that control user behavior across your network. This includes how users are authenticated, how access is offered, and how IT personnel implement changes to these policies when appropriate. Designing these policies may seem simple, but it can get complex quickly as your organization grows.
Getting this right is particularly important when with remote workers, since this shift often means that staff could be working from insecure home networks rather than the usual protected in-office network.
Current Cybersecurity Challenges in 3 Major Industries
Better cybersecurity infrastructure will look different depending on what industry you’re in. Each industry has its own challenges, and unique vulnerabilities that are available for hackers and other bad actors to exploit.
Let’s take a look at three examples.
Approaching Better Network Security in Education
The recent switch to remote learning has opened up new vulnerabilities within an already weakly guarded education system. Many school districts have limited funds to spend, which leads to shortfalls in IT infrastructure that can easily be exploited by hackers who are eager to access sensitive personal data. Once they’re inside, hackers will use the valuable .edu email addresses they stole to create aliases for phishing that are inherently more trustworthy than a .com address.
To effectively defend themselves, schools must invest in cybersecurity infrastructure that protects their new technology investments, as well as their staff, students, and other stakeholders.
Improving Public Sector Cybersecurity
The public sector is another area that’s was disproportionately affected by the sudden switch to remote work in 2020. In a recent survey, 33% of global public sector respondents and 60% of U.S. federal government respondents said that they had moved at least some of their employees to remote work after having zero remote employees one year ago. That’s a huge jump.
Keeping these newly remote workers and agency information safe needs to be a top priority. Otherwise, we’ll keep having attacks like the SolarWinds hack, as bad actors move to take advantage of agencies that are slow to scale their legacy cybersecurity infrastructure to accommodate remote work.
Improving Commercial Network Security
Our collaborative cloud platforms are critical to ensure that staff has access to all necessary work-related applications, especially if they’re working from home. This switch to remote work has stretched the enterprise perimeter far beyond traditional organizational boundaries.
Remote work seems to be here to stay, which has underscored our need for borderless security. Organizations can do this through continued investment in cloud security, and by leveraging innovations like AI and deep learning to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.
A Stronger Network Security Solution
It’s clear that most sectors, including the three we mentioned above, need to be actively implementing stronger cybersecurity measures. Network security must be top-of-mind for any organization working with networked data and systems.
Security can be expensive, and it’s hard to know the status of your organization’s network security infrastructure without an expert on your team. The cybersecurity industry now fields many proven endpoint security, prevention, and detection solutions. A managed security service provider (MSSP) can help you pick the right one. At Deerwood Technologies, we offer solutions like:
- Next-Generation Firewalls
- Endpoint Security
- Antivirus Software
- Network Security
- Staff Awareness Training
How DWT Can Help
At Deerwood Technologies, our experts have been providing IT and cybersecurity services to educational institutions and public sector organizations for the last 16 years. We’re adept at working with many unique organizations and can creatively deliver quality services that enhance your connectivity and security. By partnering with us, you’ll ensure a greater level of IT support, allowing you to focus on serving customers and stakeholders.