The importance of network security has surged while its management has become increasingly complicated. Modern enterprise networks no longer exist strictly within a data center or defined perimeter; they now include SaaS applications, cloud platforms, branch offices, remote users, and third-party integrations.
Attackers are also gaining speed, automating their processes, and taking their time to execute attacks, so it’s no wonder that traditional means of securing our networks are unavailable to keep pace with today’s attackers as per Netpicker.
This article will discuss the changes in the management of network security, the essential strategic frameworks organizations utilize to protect themselves against cyber attacks, and the tools available that enable an organization’s security teams to continuously stay ahead of the risk without creating delays to its ability to conduct its business.
Why does network security management look different today?
The management of it has changed over the last decade because, 10 years ago, the primary focus of it was to protect a defined perimeter around a company’s assets. Traditional methods of doing so were firewalls, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), and VPNs.
This perimeter concept was based on the assumption that an organization’s assets lived within the organizational location and that users were being granted access to them from predetermined, known qualifications as per Netpicker.
According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average time it takes an organization to discover and contain a data breach continues to be more than 270 days. One of the main reasons why this continues to occur has to do with the lack of visibility that exists in the complexities of the network environment.
What are the primary objectives of Network Security Management?
It has become increasingly complicated. However, the main objectives of it have not changed much over time.
- To begin with, its principle purpose is still to provide protection to sensitive data and systems from being accessed by those who do not have authorization.
- Second, to guarantee the availability and performance of those critical services.
- Third, to support compliance with all regulatory and industry standards.
- Lastly, to accomplish these objectives without creating an unnecessary burden on the ability of the business to function.
To meet these objectives, there must be a healthy balance of control and agility. If an organization has overly restrictive security policies, then those restrictions will create bottlenecks. When the balance of security is on the side of being overly permissive, it will increase its risk of being attacked as per Netpicker.
Risk can be managed through a process known as Network Segmentation (NS)
Network Segmentation NS is a key approach to protect information from hackers invading your computer systems, but in today’s environments, the technology has expanded beyond simply separating a computer from another with VLANs.
Tools for managing these policies validate that the policies for segmentation are being properly implemented within your network.
These tools provide the ability to monitor and validate that sensitive systems are segregated from the rest of your networks and that all exceptions to segmentation have been documented and are intentional.
Over time, without constant validation, network segmentation can break down due to changes in temporary rules being made permanent and added complexity from new equipment and devices connected to the same network.
How is policy management done in a changing world?
These policies define how network traffic should behave. When there are static environments, the policies are not changed frequently. In contrast, policies must change now due to:
- Cloud migrations,
- Application changes, and
- Reorganization of businesses, etc.
The manual management of these changes while trying to keep the policies current can lead to the introduction of potential errors and inconsistencies.
The centralized management of these policies means that there is one definition of the policies that are enforced in your organization.
Detecting and responding to threats at the network layer
While the endpoint and application security layers have received a great deal of attention from an information security perspective, the network layer is critical to detecting security breaches.
Many security incidents leave behind a “trail,” or signals/evidence within the network, including:
- Unusual network traffic patterns,
- Many users trying to connect to a system
- Policy violations
To detect security incidents sooner, organizations that use of these tools use the signals generated from network traffic patterns to identify threats at an early stage.
Today’s tools rely on behavioral analysis to detect threats, rather than using static signatures. Tools develop normal traffic baselines for each organization; consequently, any traffic deviation from its baseline is an indicator of compromise as per Netpicker.
Automation of these activities provides immediate response to detected threats; automated responses:
- Isolation of infected systems
- Restriction of access
- Initiation of system investigations
Let’s see the role of automation in managing network security.
As one of the many critical components of today’s world, automation is no longer something that can be accomplished through manual processes due to the large amount of information and the speed and scope of changes in today’s world.
Instead, automation’s critical functions provide constant discovery, validate policies, verify configurations, and respond to threats. Additionally, through reducing the potential for human errors (which are among the top three causes of security incidents), automation allows security teams to be more proactive versus reactive when it comes to their strategic initiatives.
Security teams can evaluate trends and patterns rather than just respond to alerts; therefore, the team is capable of creating better processes and controls due to having a more in-depth view of their risk profile. However, caution must be exercised when implementing automation because poorly-designed automation systems can have an adverse impact on the system itself and other security functions.
Best-in-class tools for effective network security management
The tools available for managing security in a networked environment have increased dramatically. Although no single tool is capable of addressing every issue, effective security management relies on the use of multiple tools that provide integrated solutions.
The primary tools available for Network Security Management include:
- Network discovery and inventory,
- Firewall and policy management,
- Traffic analysis and monitoring,
- Automation frameworks.
Additionally, as networks continue to evolve and expand into cloud environments, security teams require tools that provide visibility and control commensurate with the new paradigms of cloud technology.
What is next for commanders-in-chief of network security
As networks continue to evolve, security management will also evolve from a humandriven model to an intelligence-Driven one.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will become increasingly responsible for identifying anomalies and predicting risks. The policy management function will also be transformed to an ‘Intent-Based’ approach, thus reducing complexity associated with managing security policies.
In the near future, automating tasks such as remediating and optimizing security controls will become more common.
For senior leaders, the question is not whether or how network security will change, but how quickly it will change. Organizations that act now, will protect their networks and provide confidence in business continuity for the future. For more information, contact us at Netpicker!