Tips for Maintaining Network Security

By
Ryan Young
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Network security is absolutely essential for every business in this day and age, given the plenitude of entry points for cyber attackers. In fact, the threat of cyber attacks becomes more real every year, as yet another large corporation loses millions of personal financial information – which becomes a very costly proposition once consumers assess the damage and litigate.

As such, securing your systems should be at the top of your information security technician’s list. The best way to avoid costly litigation and loss of consumer trust is to adhere to compliance and regulatory standards, which is precisely what eDiscovery services secure. What follows are some of the essential tips to maintaining the security of your network.


Cybersecurity Training to All

Sure; you may already have an IT infrastructure team, but truly robust cybersecurity means that everyone in your office is in on the act. If necessary, you should run a course that teaches everyone about the importance of using strong passwords, how to recognize fraudulent emails (phishing attempts, etc), and be initiating regular software updates on their workstations. A sizable percentage of successful cyber attacks are simply due to negligence on the part of the company. Use all the resources you have available to protect yourself.

Update Your Servers

Although servers are not necessarily the most vulnerable part of your system, they are the conduit via which attacks often occur when negligence is an issue. Every time a new security patch emerges, have it installed as quickly as possible – the patch may be released because the software manufacturer discovered a vulnerability in the system and is trying to correct it. Most viruses and malware are programmed specifically to exploit known vulnerabilities in operating systems and software.

Use Antivirus and Antimalware Programs

All of your servers and workstations should have a capable antivirus program installed; it should be the same one to avoid conflicts that actually make it easier for malware to infect your systems. Having this protection specifically on your servers helps limit the damage done if a virus or worm does get through somehow.


Use a Firewall

This should be most obvious, but a surprising number of businesses don’t have password-protected firewalls up and running to act as the first line of defense against any intended intrusions. Most viral programs have a function that specifically seeks out open ports that might be vulnerable; your firewall is the best protection against these sniffing attempts.

This goes for ports for web browsing, printer jobs, and other functions. If the port doesn’t need to be open, it should be closed by your network administrator. At the very least, make sure the firewall has rules for which ports these should be to make everything easier to deal with.

Lastly, don’t forget to password-protect your firewall. The necessary hardware arrives with a preset login and password for the first-time setup; unfortunately, many people forget to change these once they get everything working. A hacker or Trojan virus can find these details on the Web and gain access to your network if you don’t make them unique.


VPN for Mobile Devices

If your office culture includes remote access and a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) lifestyle, then you also need to protect access to information from those endpoints. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides an encrypted “tunnel” via which people with the necessary login and password credentials can access the network. It, essentially, extends the reach of your existing firewall to those devices and further protects your network from unwanted intrusions.

Tomi Adewole is an influencer marketing pro with brownboxbranding.com who is passionate about building authentic relationships and helping businesses connect with their ideal online audience. He keeps his finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving digital marketing world by writing on the latest marketing advancements and focuses on developing customized blogger outreach plans based on industry and competition.

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