Network security is the process of protecting a business’ digital landscape from threats by building a security framework into and around its various on-prem and cloud environments. Network protection security tools are designed to continuously scan infrastructure for vulnerabilities and signs of a breach.
The ephemeral nature of the connected systems that make up an organization's network means it is a constantly shifting mass of potentially vulnerable virtual and cloud devices. This can make the job of intrusion detection and response systems (IDPS) incredibly difficult. But, today’s cybersecurity solutions are well matched to the task.
The main purpose of network security solutions is to reduce the risks posed to an IT infrastructure. This mission becomes particularly critical as today’s disseminated workforces are further stretching the need for security of transnational networks that connect those workers.
The pandemic supercharged adoption of remote work and accelerated the need for cloud adoption as workers moved around the world and abandoned offices. Thus, network security’s reason for existing didn’t necessarily change so much as its scope suddenly became much bigger than it had ever been.
Critical – and many times confidential – data that was safely contained in an on-prem environment now had to be flung out into the world for workers to remotely access, thus cloud network security quickly became the hottest topic in the tech world in 2020. Even with the return to normalization that 2024 brings, the now-epic scope of network security remains.
You secure a network by first determining exactly what kinds of systems and environments you need to protect and defend. According to the United States Cybersecuriy and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), “securing a network involves continuous monitoring, assessments, and mitigation across various interrelated components, including servers, the cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), internet connections and the many physical assets used to access networks.”
The agency goes on to say that the devices that make up network infrastructure “are ideal targets for malicious cyber actors because more or all organizational and customer traffic must pass through them.”
At a very high-level, securing those infrastructure devices means the same thing to everyone looking to achieve network security. Operationally, though, the process will look markedly different for each security operations center (SOC). Let’s take a look at a few of the more general steps SOCs can take to begin working toward a stronger network security posture:
As it is typically understood that network security can encompass many methods of network-perimeter defense, let's take a look at several of the more regularly SOC-adopted solutions.
NAC is the process of leveraging security protocols to maximize control over who or what can access a proprietary network. If network security services and practices – in particular data loss prevention (DLP) – are particularly weak in any given area, it’s highly likely a threat actor will be able to find their way in and maliciously exfiltrate previously secure data.
A SIEM is a type of solution that detects security issues by centralizing, correlating, and analyzing data across an IT network. A SIEM solution can help companies meet compliance needs and contain attackers by combining log management and centralization as well as detection and search capabilities.
The zero trust security model is a powerful authentication framework that inherently distrusts every human, endpoint, mobile device, server, network component, network connection, application workload, and business process. Each process or person must be authenticated and authorized continuously as every action is performed.
A WAF helps protect a company’s web applications by inspecting and filtering traffic between each web application and its interactions with the internet. A WAF can help defend web applications from attacks like cross-site-scripting (XSS) and structured query language (SQL) injection. Common useful applications include e-commerce platforms leveraging WAFs to prevent data theft and fraud.
Humans – also known as employees – are not typically thought of as part of an IT organization’s attack surface. However, a good percentage of exploitable vulnerabilities are the result of human error. It’s a good idea to have internal workforces regularly engage with security awareness training programs so they can stay updated on how to defend themselves and the organization against threats – even if they’re not part of the IT or security teams.
The macro benefits of network security are fairly obvious: Keep attackers out and plug critical vulnerabilities in a timely manner so they can't be exploited. Let's now take a look at a few of the less obvious benefits of a robust network security program: