Cyber Security Threats are rampant like never before. Organisations need to actively work towards improving their internal security within their network systems. The core reason of network security for an organisation is to prevent a breach in systems and the stealing of data that may be sensitive in nature.
Such data, if compromised or misused, can cost the organisation millions of dollars in losses plus loss of reputation. Therefore, the need for identifying and mitigating security risks has become critical.
From everyday devices, digital portals such as websites or networks all are susceptible to network attacks. The level of risk and vulnerabilities is witnessing a steep rise, and even prominent organisations across the globe are falling victim to such network security threats.
Alarming Statistics
- Approximately 64% of companies have been targetted with one or another web-based attack. (Source)
- Almost 59% of companies have been victims of malicious codes and botnets.
- The average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million as of 2020. (Source)
- Security breaches have increased by 11% since 2018 and 67% since 2014. (Source)
What is Network Security?
Network security is an all-inclusive system that encompasses devices, processes, and technologies for protecting an organisation from vulnerabilities and risks and maintaining the integrity of its software and hardware systems.
Irrespective of their size, organisations need network security to protect their infrastructure from breaches and malicious attacks that can threaten to expose sensitive data. Due to the scale and coverage of a network, several types of network security threats exist which can be exploited at different stages or layers of the network system.
Without network security, the integrity and the well-being of an organisation are at stake. One breach or data theft can result in millions of dollars of financial loss, and more importantly, can also lead to reputational loss. Downtime in-network or attacks on the network by cybercriminals that take advantage of vulnerabilities can jeopardise either a specific process of the organisation or the entire system.
Types of Network Security
- Physical network security – Devices, routers, servers, locks, and asset lockers are all categorised under physical network security.
- Technical network security – This includes systems that are in place to protect the organisation’s data and systems from being accessed by unauthorised individuals from within the system.
- Administrative network security – Security policies and processes that are defined and established to maintain a network structure and user behaviour control. This includes authentication, IT staff members, etc.
How Does a Network Security Threat Occur?
When an unethical element obtains unauthorised access into any of the above types of network security and uses malicious code or processes to extract information or harm your system, such an attempt is known as a network security threat.
There are a variety of motives why cybercriminals execute attacks on networks, such as financial reasons or espionage. Common attacks include phishing attacks, denial of service attacks, and others.
When a cyber-attacker gets access to your internal organisational systems through codes, devices, or websites, they can get complete access to your system and cause a breach.
Read Also: Importance of Security Assessments
Types of network security attacks
Network security attacks can be categorised into two types – active and passive. Let us look at what they entail and some examples of each type.
Active Attacks: A cybercriminal gains unauthorised access into an organisation’s network and can manipulate data, access information, and encrypt information in such a way that it is inaccessible to the authorised users. Their intention is to disrupt the system.
- Examples of active attacks include Man-in-the-Middle attacks, impersonation, and session hijacking.
- Read more about active attacks here.
Passive Attacks: When such an attack is attempted, the attacker passively monitors an authorised user’s information and activity. The attacker does not make changes to the data; however, they can view it. Their intention is to merely gain information about the target system.
- Examples of passive attacks include traffic analysis and release of message contents.
- Read more about passive attacks here.
Difference Between Threat, Vulnerability, and Risk
While these terms are often used interchangeably, they have specific interpretations in the network security world. To mitigate issues effectively, one must first be able to identify if they are under threat, under risk, or are vulnerable.
Threat: When there is a real danger of data being directly compromised or harm being caused by external factors, a threat to your organisation exists. Examples include malware, data breaches, phishing activities, and more.
Vulnerability: This is a weakness or a soft spot in your hardware or software system that an external threat can exploit. If any component of your organisation’s infrastructure is vulnerable, you are more prone to cyber-attacks than an organisation that has managed its vulnerabilities.
Risk: Risk is the synergy of threat probability and vulnerability impact. Risk mitigation includes identifying the various threats and vulnerabilities and measuring the impact they would have and finding a befitting solution.
Check out this amazing post on: Risk Assessment vs Vulnerability Assessment
Methods for Identifying Threats and Vulnerabilities
1. Access Point Security
An organisation must be aware of all their endpoints and their probable vulnerabilities. The entire system, right from the external network, internal network, and devices, needs to be evaluated for all possible access points. This also includes:
- Setting up network security policies that carefully lay down the SOPs for such access and ensure double-layered authentication for vulnerabilities.
- Defining who gets access, what extent of access they get, and the methods to track and maintain logs of access to ensure vulnerabilities are eliminated.
- Having a vulnerabilities mitigation plan and a ready response solution in case an incident report is filed.
2. Monitoring Network Visibility
It is critical to ensure that an organisation can identify threats across their complete system. This means ensuring complete network security visibility and involves identifying critical control points within the system where network security threats would be identified and reflected across the system. This will help nip the threat right at the entry points or critical control areas.
3. Firewall Configuration
A firewall is one of the most primary and critical ways to identify a probable attack that may threaten to infiltrate your organisation’s system. The firewall overlooks the entire process flow of the system and analyses the traffic permitted within the network. Any probable threat trying to snoop into the system will be obstructed and recorded along with IP scanning.
4. Regular Updates and Installations
You may often face a push notification or a pop-up asking you to update your network software components. One wrong click could install malicious code into the system that can affect the entire network security.
Ensure that only limited personnel have the authority to update systems so that only authentic systems are updated from reliable sources. Therefore, it is recommended that a dedicated IT team plays an active role in monitoring updates and allowing updates within the system.
5. Conducting regular Network Penetration Testing
Penetration testing is an effective technique to identify and uncover hidden vulnerabilities within a network. When performed regularly, a pen test procedure will inform your business where the flaws exist in your existing network model.
This allows your business to accomplish an equilibrium between maintaining the best network security possible and ensuring continuing business functions in terms of possible security exploits.
As a firm, your need for having threats and vulnerabilities checked and risks mitigated in a timely manner is an essential part of business operations today. Firms need to actively spend time and money towards setting up threat detection systems that identify and mitigate such risks.
Are you ready to level up your network security infrastructure? Contact a Network Penetration Testing Company, and ensure your firm is safe, secure, and optimally functioning.
