The security of your network is critical to your organization because it protects both your private information and that of your customers. The information that your customers trust you with is one of your most valuable assets, so you must ensure that it is not compromised at any cost. Your database and network will be safe and secure with network security solutions, which will prevent any losses that could cost you a lot of money. Whether it’s a data breach or another security breach, by implementing a network security solution for your business, you can safeguard your brand image as well as customer information. There are several types of network security being used in enterprise settings. This post talks about the various types of Network Securtiers available to help you make informed decisions.
What is Network Security?
Network security is the security practices performed by enterprises or organizations to ensure the highest quality security of their computer networks and databases. The security practices are performed to protect both hardware and software devices. Network security focuses on keeping the data and network private. Every enterprise and organization that has a large amount of data to store has a fear of some kinds of cyber threats. A primary example of network security is password protection, and the password has to be strong and powerful and chosen by the user of the network himself.
Nowadays, network security has become the most vital part of cyber security because organizations are creating and distributing applications all the time, and the employees also have network security skills to implement. Network security protects your system from multiple vulnerabilities, including applications, devices, locations, users, and data. Network security comes with a set of rules that must be obeyed while performing any kind of activity on the database. The network security rules are set up on three levels: physical, technical, and administrative.
How does Network Security work?
As we said earlier, network security falls into three categories: physical network security, technical network security, and administrative network security. Here we are going to explain them one by one.
1. Physical Network Security
Physical network security is the basic level that involves safekeeping of the data and network from unauthorised users and blocking their access to the network. The level of security includes routers, cable connections, and biometric devices.
2. Technical Network Security
Technical network security focuses on keeping the data stored in the database on the network safely, and it also provides protection during the transition of the data across the network. Technical network security blocks unauthorised users from accessing the data and also prevents potential malicious activities performed on the database.
3. Administrative Network Security
Administrative network security focuses on the behaviour of the security practices, such as how the authorised users get access to enter the network. This security level takes care of the authorization process and suggests the necessary requirements that have to be taken care of in the network infrastructure to prevent potential cyber threats.
The security of a network can be divided into several different types based on physical, technical, and administrative factors.
What are the types of Network Security Protections?
There are several types of network security that we are discussing in this section:
1. Firewalls
Firewalls and antiviruses manage the incoming and outgoing traffic on the network and follow security rules to protect the network. Firewalls make sure to keep out suspicious traffic from the network. Not only for network devices but also for firewalls, which are essential for regular computing devices. Network security is dependent on next-generation firewalls that can block malware and prevent application-layer attacks.
2. Access Control
Network security comes with access control that helps you identify the users who don’t have access to your network. You have to determine every user and device to prevent potential malicious people from accessing your network. Administrators can block non-compliant endpoint devices from accessing the network or grant them limited access.
3. Virtual Private Networks
Virtual private networks build connections to the network from an endpoint to another website. For example, when you are working for your organization from home, you can connect to your company’s network using a VPN. The VPN will encrypt the data that you share between two endpoints, but as the user, you will have to authenticate the data to smoothen the communication between the devices and the network.
4. Network Segmentation
Network segmentation assigns the network traffic to different parts. This process makes establishing the network security process easier. Network segmentation is mostly based on endpoint identities and IP addresses. Based on the locations and roles of the devices, the administrators can assign access rights to the devices and users. This helps prevent unauthorized and suspicious access to networks and network devices.
5. Cloud Security
Cloud technology is a vital part of organizations as well. It involves storing an organization’s files and data in a cloud database. A massive amount of data is already stored on the internet, and that’s what makes cloud-based databases so vulnerable to hackers. Cloud security makes sure that the data saved in cloud databases is protected from malicious people. Employees of organisations can use SaaS applications to access data on databases via the cloud network. Data security in the cloud creates a blind spot between the users and the organization’s staff.
6. Sandboxing
Sandboxing is another cyber security technique that involves running code or opening files in a safe and isolated environment on the host machine that emulates the end-user operating settings. When the developer is opening the files and codes on the host machine, sandboxing observes the scenario and looks for malicious threats and prevents them from going inside of the network. For example, when you are opening malware in files like PDFs, Docs, etc., sandboxing looks for threats before sending the files to the end-user. If the files contain risks, it blocks the files from reaching the users.
7. Email Security
Email security is built to protect your email accounts and comes in products, services, and processes. Besides keeping your email accounts safe, email security ensures the content inside of an email message is also safe from cyber threats. Most massive email service providers come with an integrated email security feature that keeps the users secure. But email security is not particularly handy when it comes to stopping cyberattacks.
8. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)
IPS is a technology that helps detect and prevent attacks on networks, such as brute force, denial of service, etc., that create vulnerabilities in your system. A vulnerability can weaken your network and software systems as well. However, when the attackers create an exploit, it gets easier for them to get into the system because the security patch is considered and used. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) help organizations save their networks from cyber attacks by quickly blocking exploits.
9. Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
DLP is a cybersecurity practice that comes with technology and the best security techniques to prevent the disclosure of private information by a company outside of its premises. This security system safeguards personally identifiable information like HIPAA, PCI, etc.
Conclusion
You must employ the best network security practices to keep your network safe from viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, ransomware, etc., which compromise the integrity of your organization and compromise the privacy of your customers.
We hope that this post will help you understand most of the network security practices and how they help in different scenarios.