Whether your business is large or small, protecting your network is critical. Organizations that fall prey to security breaches can suffer millions of dollars in damages. The first line of defense is prevention. The second is detection. Detecting unauthorized access and responding can prevent a data breach from occurring or minimize the damage if it does happen.
Encryption
Encryption protects data by converting it from an easily readable format to one that an authorized user can only decipher. It is essential for protecting sensitive information, which is often deemed confidential and should be kept inaccessible to unapproved parties.
Information is encrypted using an algorithm that transforms it into ciphertext using key and mathematical operations. The ciphertext is then sent to the receiving party. The receiver then has to use a key, which may be the same for symmetric encryption or a different value for asymmetric encryption, to decode the ciphertext and return it to its original form.
It is easier for someone to try without a key, so encryption is an effective way to protect data from being read by unauthorized people. Many companies and organizations use encryption to keep sensitive information safe, especially when it is transferred over networks or stored on computers.
Various technologies are used to protect data, including firewalls and a secure web gateway. A secure web gateway (SWG) stops data leakage and bans or filters out harmful information. The SWG processes all Internet traffic from employees. In addition, authentication is a standard security measure that ensures users are who they say they are when they access a system.
The first step to protecting a network from unauthorized access is determining which parts of your network are at the highest risk and implementing the best encryption systems to secure them. It requires teamwork between security specialists, management, and operations.
Firewalls
Firewalls are essential to protecting your network and computer from malicious attacks. They are software or hardware devices that filter incoming traffic and prevent outsiders from accessing your systems and data.
Based on their structure and functionality, there are several types of firewalls to choose from. These include software and hardware, which you can install on your network or use as a cloud-based firewall service (FaaS).
Application-layer Firewalls: A hardware appliance, software filter, or server plug-in monitors connections to a defined application. This security mechanism identifies and blocks attacks on specific applications like FTP servers or HTTP connections.
Packet Filtering Firewalls: This type of firewall examines all packets and decides whether they should be allowed or blocked based on the contents of the IP and transport header fields. It is the most basic form of protection for small networks and is an excellent way to protect a local area network.
Stateful Inspection Firewalls: This type of firewall combines a state table that stores open connection information with packet analysis to determine new connections. It also maintains a list of trusted sources and allows only those connections to pass.
These types of firewalls are effective at blocking malware attacks because they can sift out harmful packets based on patterns in network data. However, it can be challenging to configure them correctly. Additionally, they are vulnerable to a denial-of-service attack that takes advantage of established connections that this type of firewall often assumes are safe.
Monitoring
Monitoring is one of the most effective ways to protect a network from unauthorized access. Security monitoring can help prevent data breaches by identifying anomalies that indicate malicious activity in the system. Typically, monitoring relies on agents that install on monitored devices and collect hardware and software performance data. These tools then report the data to a central management server. Another monitoring form is agentless, which uses existing communication protocols to emulate an agent. These technologies can gather a wide range of performance data and are useful in detecting malicious activity that conventional agents don’t see.
Unauthorized access is the most common cause of data breaches and can significantly damage an organization’s reputation and finances. Investing in a proactive, defensive approach to data protection is critical.
In addition to protecting the perimeter, a robust defense requires monitoring of user accounts. These credentials are a prime target for attackers, as they provide lateral movement and access to critical resources in an organization. User account monitoring and behavioral analysis can flag potential compromise of the accounts, preventing the attacker from successfully stealing them for access to data or moving laterally. It also establishes a baseline that can be used to detect abnormal behavior. This approach should be customized to meet organizational and user needs.
Authentication
Authentication is a process that checks a user’s identity when they attempt to access a system or resource. It is also the first step in preventing data breaches.
During authentication, users provide their credentials compared to those on file in a database of authorized users. Once a match is made, the user is granted access.
Many systems, including web servers, software, APIs and other applications and services, require authentication to work. In this context, authentication can mean anything from verifying that a web server is legitimate to checking whether an API integration is functional.
In addition to traditional passwords, biometric factors such as fingerprints or retina scans are gaining popularity and increasing use. These can be difficult to duplicate and offer increased security. Another common form of authentication is a unique object like an access card or key fob that users must carry when logging in to their systems. It removes the need for a password but can be expensive and difficult to track. Besides these traditional methods, additional factors like location (where you are) and time can be used to confirm identity. However, they are less specific than other measures and cannot be relied upon alone to prevent unauthorized access.
