The 3 essential pillars of your network security system

Cyber threats are everywhere, and there’s no way to avoid them short of staying off the internet completely. Companies of all sizes and the defense sector, desperate for information security, are constantly looking for new ways to help prevent them from being victims of a costly, reputation-ruining, destructive security breach.

That’s why SealingTech has developed a list of three essential pillars inherent to any solid network cybersecurity solution.

The biggest threats to your network security today

Cyber attacks come in many forms

A security threat encompasses a wide range of possible attacks on your network infrastructure. This is just a sample of what modern enterprises need to protect themselves against.

Viruses and worms

A virus is an unwanted program that contains malicious code which can damage a computer by deleting files, encrypting data, or stealing personal data. Viruses can spread via email, software downloads, or by physically being installed on a computer by an attacker. They can be scripts, standalone programs, or embedded in legitimate programs. Viruses can be activated by a user running a program or script, or in some cases, can infect a computer and wait for an event or timer to trigger them. 

Worms are a type of virus that is designed to self-replicate across a computer and/or network. They can destroy data as well as consume network bandwidth and slow down computer systems. 

Phishing attacks

Disguising itself as a legitimate message – through email, text messages, social media, or other forms of digital communication – from a trusted source such as a friend or colleague, a phishing attack will try to convince the target to perform an action, such as sharing information. This type of cyber threat can be difficult to detect, even by advanced users and advanced email filtering. This can result in the cybercriminal stealing sensitive information, such as passwords, banking information, or confidential secrets. An attacker may even compromise an entire system or network, allowing them to read everything that travels in and out of it.

More dangerous forms of phishing, called “spear phishing” or “whaling” involve the cybercriminal performing extensive research on a subject before crafting the attack. An attacker will research information about the target to make the email seem as real as possible, which typically includes things only they or the trusted source should know. The designer of the message might even try to replicate the typing style of the intended source. ‘Whaling’ is used to describe attacks on high-value targets, such as senior government leaders, business executives or management personnel with access to high-value assets such as bank accounts, or transaction approval authority.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks

A DDoS attack aims to shut down a network or website by overwhelming it with requests from many sources at once. An attacker can perform a DDoS attack against a vulnerable computer system, network, or service using one computer, or they can use thousands of computers controlled by a botnet or other command and control infrastructure. Attackers may compromise and infect other computers to use as part of a botnet, waiting until the right time to direct all of the computers in the botnet to attack a target at the same time.

Ransomware: an especially dangerous form of malware

Ransomware is one of the biggest malware threats to an organization or company.  Ransomware spreads much like a virus or a worm, damaging computer systems and/or encrypting files on a network. The goal of the attacker, however, is to get the organization or company to pay a ransom to restore access to affected computer systems. Once they receive the ransom, the attacker provides an encryption key to decrypt files and restores access to affected systems. Ransomware attacks have affected organizations and companies of all types across the world – federal, state, and local government agencies, schools, private companies such as computer hardware companies, e-commerce sites, network security firms, manufacturers, media firms, etc. 

Of course, even if the company pays the ransom, there’s no guarantee the attacker will hold up their end of the deal.

#1: Protect endpoints on your network

What is an endpoint?

An endpoint is any device connected to a network, from desktops to tablets to servers. For a cybercriminal, an endpoint is their gateway to the network and its data. If an endpoint is infected with ransomware, for example, it will try to spread across every other endpoint in the network. A single compromised endpoint can result in a large data breach, resulting in the loss of massive amounts of sensitive or classified data.

What cybersecurity tools are used to protect endpoints?

An endpoint protection platform (EPP) is commonly used for endpoint security. This type of platform, alongside other cybersecurity services such as next generation firewalls (NGFWs) and unified threat management systems, combines many layers of security to secure an endpoint. 

An EPP typically looks for signs of compromise in an endpoint by monitoring for unusual file or process activity. If the EPP detects anything out of the ordinary, it can trigger automated responses and alerts, such as disconnecting the endpoint from the network, locking the endpoint down, and alerting network administrators of the problem.

What is an intrusion protection system (IPS)?

An intrusion protection system (IPS, sometimes called an intrusion prevention system) is a tool used to monitor network activity and respond to perceived threats. Often implemented as standalone network appliances, they are now standard features in next generation firewalls (NGFWs).

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an IPS is whether it can handle the amount of data that travels through the computer network. A poorly designed or implemented IPS can result in network bottlenecks and delays, where network traffic is held up because the IPS cannot process all network data traveling through it. 

Next generation firewalls (NGFWs)

Firewalls have been in use on computers and networks to improve network security since the 1980s; however, they did little more than block network ports and filter packets that traveled through the network. As cybersecurity needs rapidly evolved over the decades, so too did firewalls.

NGFWs are dramatically more powerful than traditional firewalls, NGFWs can perform advanced tasks, such as:

• Blocking malware from entering a network.
• Encrypt and decrypt traffic using a built-in virtual private network (VPN).
• Filter packets statically and dynamically.
• Ensure application security.
• Protect endpoints with an IPS.

NGFWs effectively combine the features of traditional firewalls, antivirus programs, and other security software and hardware into one network device. This makes them exceedingly capable of protecting endpoints, as they are designed from the ground up to integrate several layers of protection within one easy-to-manage system.

#2: Guard and track the right access

The importance of access control

At its core, network security revolves around preventing unauthorized access. It’s the guard watching the  entry and exit points to your network, controlling access to internal systems and data, and making sure only authorized people with legitimate reasons for being there can get in. Without access control, there’s always the potential for either an external or insider threat.

Access control is a requisite for any comprehensive network security solution. It accomplishes its task largely through two components: authentication and authorization.

Authentication

Authentication is like checking ID. It makes sure the person trying to access parts of your network is who they claim to be. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, including:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• PINs
• Passwords
• Biometrics

Authorization

Authorization is the other key part of access control, determining what you are and aren’t allowed to access once you’re let in. For example, if you’re a software developer, you don’t necessarily need access to the entire network — you just have to be able to use enough resources to perform your job. Zero Trust networking is currently a hot topic in network security. With Zero Trust, an agent or access gateway employs mandatory access lists on who or what can access resources on a network, checking authorization of all network traffic to or from a particular network resource in real-time. 

Virtual private networks (VPNs)

Separate from access control, using a virtual private network (VPN) has become increasingly popular as the need for network security becomes more pronounced. They can be beneficial for individual consumers and enterprises alike.

VPNs protect data sent through a network from being intercepted and read by encrypting it at each endpoint.

Without a VPN, data sent through a network is traceable. An attacker with access to the network a user is connected to can capture data from insecure applications and extract information such as account information, passwords, web browser cookies, etc. VPNs make doing this virtually impossible; even if the bad actor somehow intercepted the data, they would have no way of reading it because of the end-to-end encryption.

Zero Trust networking with VPNs can be especially effective. This type of networking monitors every attempt to access a network, including those that come from within.

#3: Set up cross-domain solutions for your network security

A cross-domain solution secures data as it traverses networks with multiple classification levels. This enables networks to share data with each other without introducing new vulnerabilities that are usually inherent to transferring information this way.

CDS is an extremely unique form of network security. But because there’s no such thing as 100% guaranteed network security when data is transmitted and received, an information security analyst does constant lab-based security assessments and penetration testing to look for any potential exploits.

Ensure maximum network security and access control with these three pillars

Modern cyberattackers are sophisticated, resourceful, and patient. As cyber defenses evolve, attackers develop new methods of compromising network security, infecting computers with viruses and malware, and stealing sensitive data. The complexity of modern attacks can be hard to detect, difficult to prevent entirely, and require constantly evolving security measures to maintain secure cyber defenses. 

Following these three pillars of network security can help you protect your data and ensure only authorized users have access  

At SealingTech, we understand the defense sector’s strict standards when developing our comprehensive network security architecture. Contact us today to learn more.