There are 8 steps to managing your network’s security including:
- Be Organized.
- Develop and enforce a strong password policy.
- Build a vulnerability management program.
- Install endpoint and antivirus protection.
- Ensure firewalls are properly configured.
- Set user access permissions.
- Develop data backup solutions.
- Don’t forget spam and email security.
Free Security Policy Templates
Get a step ahead of your cybersecurity goals with our comprehensive templates.
Managing and securing your network from threat actors begins with a well-designed strategic plan.
The purpose of the security strategy is common across any organization today, that is, to continuously secure the network from threats that could potentially disrupt the profitability or reputation of your business.
Due to the globalization of the internet and the shift to a mobile workforce, threats targeting organizations who utilize the internet for email, web applications, or information sharing are prime targets for phishing, ransomware, and other nefarious cyber activity to name a few.
For these and many other reasons, network security management is critical and undoubtedly a must-have for your organization.
In this article, you will gain an understanding of the definition of Network security management, and why it is important to implement, and we’ll analyze the components of what comprises an effective Network Security Management strategy for your organization.
What Is Network Security Management?
Network security management is the act of managing access to network resources and controlling the access to these resources by both internal and external parties.
Policies and procedures are created to support your network security management plan and to ensure it is aligned with the mission of your organization’s objectives.
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An integral component of network security management is the effective identification of all network assets.
The adage ‘you can’t protect what you don’t know’ is true, therefore, asset management is a requirement for an effective network security management program.
Each asset within the business should be categorized according to its type and value to the business.
A file server that contains classified information will have a higher value than a desktop that contains non-sensitive data on its hard drive.
An asset management system will provide an inventory of corporate issued devices, identify ownership of the asset, identify software installed, and track the lifecycle of the asset within the organization.
Physical Asset Management
Physical devices connected to the business network. These can be on-site or at a colocation center (Colo) that is operated in another physical location:
- Servers
- Printers
- Mobile Devices
- Workstations
- Hypervisor hosts
Virtual Asset Management
Virtual assets are business systems that do not require hardware owned by the business directly, but are hosted on the cloud or through a managed services provider:
- Cloud-based assets (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
- Virtual desktop services
- Security and software agents
- MSP provided systems
Storage Management
Technology that utilizes computer components and devices to store data in a digital format to be retrieved later time:
- Physical and Virtual Backups
- Removable Storage Media
- Network Attached Server (NAS)
- Storage Area Network (SAN)
- Cloud Storage
Software Management
The set of instructions used to perform computer instructions and execute specific tasks:
- Open source – programs or code available for public distribution, can be modified and shared.
- Closed source – proprietary code, not available for public modification.
- Freeware – Software that can be downloaded and installed free of charge.
- Software licenses – Contractual use of software, perpetual or subscription-based
- Shared software licenses – Allows multiple users to share an application at the same time on the same computer.
Asset identification/management is a core component of an effective network security management plan.
The asset identification system provides IT teams with visibility on where sensitive data resides and how to protect it from unauthorized use.
8 Steps To Improve Your Network Security
Step 1: Be Organized
You should begin with an up-to-date inventory of your network resources including current network and architectural diagrams.
Then create a repository of documentation including up to date procedures, protocols, technical responsibilities.
Always ensure IT staff have clear directions on their day-to-day network management tasks. Make the daily checking of network security a routine activity.
Finally, delegate assignments and tasks, encourage cross training within the team.
Step 2: Develop And Enforce A Strong Password Policy
Develop a password security policy that ensures your passwords are complex enough to avoid being breached.
Complex passwords consist of at least twelve characters, including three of the following four character types:
- Uppercase letters
- Lowercase letters
- Numeric digits
- Non-alphanumeric characters such as & $ * and !
Be sure to train employees to avoid writing down passwords on sticky notes or storing them in a file on the desktop. Avoid any passwords that could be guessed like names, address, cell phone.
The policy can also recommend utilizing a password management system to store passwords for security tools.
Develop and document a process for vulnerability management of the network.
Ensure the Operating System and any running software is current and patched to the most recent level per vendor recommendations on a regular basis.
This will help reduce opportunities for threat actors taking advantage of vulnerabilities.
A good vulnerability management system should also include a process for deploying network OS upgrades when zero days are released.
You must patch all the software on the network, including operating systems across devices and servers, applications, and firmware in the devices/hardware.
It is critical not to overlook that network, storage, and other enterprise devices also run operating systems and firmware and must be patched regularly.
Step 4: Install Endpoint And Antivirus Protection
Antivirus protection is another layer of defense for network clients.
All endpoint systems should have endpoint protection enabled and configured to receive updates automatically.
Centralized endpoint protection systems, such as McAfee ePO or the Department of Defense’s Host Based Security System (HBSS), make the management of larger enterprises much easier for network administrators.
Endpoint protection also includes data loss prevention and software execution prevention.
Step 5: Ensure Firewalls Are Properly Configured
Network firewalls should be strategically placed in your organization to control outbound and inbound internet access, as well as cross-domain and lateral access between environments.
Enterprise assets that host web applications are best protected by a Web Application Firewall.
Next-Gen Firewalls provide application-based services as well as network-based security signatures.
Maintaining firewalls can quickly become complicated; consider finding a firewall partner for more complex enterprises.
Step 6: Set User Access Permissions
Set clear user access policies based on Zero Trust or least privilege.
Maintaining strict access control of enterprise identities makes system administration easier by creating clear maps of access.
In Active Directory environments, administrators should place a priority on group objects and policies.
Access controls based on department and job create a clear delineation of privileges and access that is required for users in each group.
This makes limiting access to sensitive data much easier.
Auditing and logging must also be enabled for all of these groups to monitor access requested, granted, and denied across the enterprise.
SIEM solutions and threat hunting can use this data to identify potential attacks or insider threats; as well as make life easier during audits.
An important step that should never be forgotten is disabling inactive accounts and archiving the data of terminated users.
Step 7: Develop Data Backup Solutions
Backup solutions and tools—while it is practical to back up data manually, the majority of organizations rely on a technology solution to ensure systems are backed up routinely and consistently.
- Backup Administrator — Every organization should designate a person to be responsible for backups. That person should ensure that backup systems are properly configured, verified on a routine basis and that critical data is actually backed up.
- Backup Scope & Schedule — An organization must develop a backup policy, specifying which files and systems are sufficiently important to be backed up and how frequently data should be backed up.
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO) — An organization’s tolerance to sacrifice data in the event of a disaster is defined by the frequency of backups. If backups are conducted once daily, the RPO is 24 hours. The lower the recovery point objective (RPO), the more data storage, computational, and network resources are required to do regular backups.
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) — An organization’s recovery time objective (RTO) is the time it takes to restore data or systems from backup and restore regular operations. Cloning data and restoring systems can take time when dealing with complex data volumes and/or off-premises backups, and robust technical solutions are required to achieve a low RTO.
Step 8: Don't Forget Spam And Email Security
Initially, ensure that your team receives professional training.
Regardless of the threat, depending solely on tools will not always secure your organization’s assets. Your security system will have holes in it.
Your team should be required to participate in security awareness training.
You should prioritize training programs to educate your team about email threats and how to respond to them.
Regular simulations and training sessions guarantee that your internet-facing users are aware of the ever-changing cyber threats targeting your company’s data.
Additionally, it ensures that they are applying what they are learning and monitoring their inbox for phishing emails.
Protecting Your Business With Network Security
Below are relevant areas that network security management covers:
- Manage Network Infrastructure – Network firewalls, HIDS, IPS/IDS
- Automate System Update Policies for Client Computers/Systems – Patch Software
- Restrict Access to Secure Resources – Multi-factor authentication, access permissions
- Manage Device Updates – Devices should have the latest version of software
- Roll-Out New Software – End of life software versions should be prohibited
- Control & Monitor Access To Internet – Web filtering technology, Secure Gateways
- Detect Security Threats – An EDR (Endpoint Detection Response) solution should be installed and managed from a centralized management console for alert detection
- Manage Endpoint Security – Implement a comprehensive/centralized solution that manages all endpoints, similar to the EDR solution but includes the lifecycle of the endpoint.
- Generate Reports – Log events to a SIEM (Security Incident Event Management) solution for real-time and historical reporting.
Examples Of Network Security Management Tasks
Securing and managing the network covers the entire infrastructure – starting at the endpoints, web application servers, directory services, email, network gateways, and the cloud.
These systems can be complex depending on the number of applications, users, and endpoints.
To manage effectively, each area can be broken down into its requirements and maintained by various teams simultaneously to perform the associated task.
The objective of creating sub-components of each task is that it provides the opportunity for efficiency and continuous management.
Listed below are several tasks that are vital to the success of your security program.
- Secure local network resources – Ensure anti-virus is current and functioning on all endpoints. Adding EDR to endpoints is necessary due to malware evasion techniques by threat actors today.
- Enforce least privilege or need to know model – Secure data by limiting access to only authorized personal within the organization.
- Secure access to corporate devices – Ensure laptops/desktops are within directory services and accessible via username and password.
- Secure mobile device infrastructure – Mobile devices should be managed by a mobile device management (MDM) solution.
- Ensure computer images are current – New devices created from a ‘gold image’ should have latest operating system and approved software. Once connected to network, updates should be pulled down to ensure devices have the latest patches.
- Ensure new policies are applied immediately – Any changes to policies that are new, or zero day should be pushed out across the organization by some form of push management software.
- Incident response – Ensure policy for lost computers is communicated to support administrators to deal with data loss or detect attempts to break into systems.
- Enforce Email protection/Spam detection – Ensure your corporate email solution has antivirus protection enabled for outbound and inbound email. Enable spam filtering and include a method for employees to self-report an attempted phish email.
Wrapping Up
In this article, we defined Network Security Management, its purpose, and provided recommendations on how your organization can implement based on the strategic plan of your business.
We also discussed the challenges of managing network security in complex environments along with examples of tasks your teams can perform to ensure your business data is protected and continuously monitored for internal and external threats.
Finally, we reviewed 8 steps your organization can reference as a guide to improve the overall security of your business.
By following the recommendations provided in this article, your company will stay one step ahead of threat actors and protect the most valuable assets of your organization.
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