5 Barriers to Network Security
Developing an effective network security strategy starts with assessing both the threat landscape and your company’s current security tools and processes. The sooner you uncover security vulnerabilities, the more quickly you can strengthen your security posture.
Every company has obstacles standing in the way of network security.
To help your organization get started with an evaluation of your own network security, here’s an overview of 5 common barriers to look for.
1) Legacy Networks
Some organizations rely on older, legacy networks that don’t follow current protocols or security frameworks, such as zero trust or the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.
Legacy networks have many vulnerabilities due to the lack of patches and upgrades. Cybercriminals exploit these vulnerabilities, using them to stage attacks. Once a legacy network has been breached, a threat can move laterally across the entire system.
2) Remote and Hybrid Work Environments
Today’s remote and hybrid work environments put a strain on firewalls. Organizations have long been allowing employees to work from home or other locations using their own mobile devices. Now, many organizations have created hybrid workplaces in an attempt to transition back to the office after pandemic shutdowns.
These hybrid workplaces combine remote and in-office work, meaning many employees are outside company firewalls at the edge of the network. In response, companies may need to scale their firewalls and virtual private networks (VPNs).
3) Inadequate Anomaly and Threat Detection
When companies lack threat detection capabilities, they are forced to take a reactive approach to network security. Instead of using threat intelligence to identify threats before they can cause damage, these organizations end up remediating an attack after it occurs and has already caused damage.
Advanced analytics are needed to examine network traffic anomalies to identify them as suspicious, match them to the signatures of known threats, and use this information to prevent future attacks.
4) Network Security Skills Gaps
Organizations need access to network security expertise to develop the right security strategy. If your company falls short on network security know-how, you are not alone. Lack of security expertise is common.
State of Cybersecurity 2022 found that, of the organizations surveyed:
- 63% have unfilled cybersecurity positions
- 62% have understaffed cybersecurity teams
- 1 in 5 take more than 6 months to find qualified candidates for open positions
5) Inadequate Visibility
Due to a proliferation of endpoints, organizations have difficulty gaining visibility into the entire network. Trends such as remote work and IoT mean the edge of the network is where more data is being generated, and applications are being run.
To stay secure, organizations must be aware of every user device or connected device on the network, the types of devices, and who has access to them. Gaining visibility into the entire network means continuously monitoring endpoints.
Breaking Down Network Security Barriers
Discovering your organization has obstacles to network security doesn’t mean you are doomed to fall victim to cyberattacks. Every barrier can be broken down once it has been discovered.
Working with the right technology partner for network security will make the process of uncovering and breaking down barriers easier. Combining another set of eyes with network security expertise will get you on the road to a winning network security strategy.
BridgeTek Solutions, a Lockstep Technology Group company, provides focused security services with expertise in state, local, and education (SLED) organizations. Due to our work with more than 300 SLED partners, we understand that these types of organizations are facing increasing attacks on their networks.
BridgeTek Solutions offers Security Assessment & Advisory Services to help organizations create robust security strategies using a roadmap. Our team holds numerous Cisco certifications, meaning we have the network security expertise you need to meet any challenges you face.
Need help getting started with optimizing your network security? Request a no-obligation, free assessment from BridgeTek Solutions.
