Network & Security

What Is Network Security?

Network security is a line of defence tasked with protecting the usability of the network and your data. A combination of hardware and software technology has to be robust to target threats and invaders to your network. It is meant to stop them from entering, dangerously spreading on your network, and potentially stealing information that is important to your employees and your business.

An important gatekeeper, network security ensures that only authorized users can access your network after getting past the multiple layers of defence with their secure passwords. To easily access the proprietary information essential to execute their jobs with velocity and push your business to the next level. Digital transformation has changed our world, and with everything going digital, you need the proper security to protect your assets.

The History Of Network Security

The topic of network security began around 1950 when people began to realize there was value in protecting their data as computers emerged. Jumping into the 1960s and 1970s, significant digital storage flourished as large, room-sized mainframes stored this information, but to access it, you needed to directly plug into it. At this point, network security was more of a discussion. However, in less than a decade as more and more data was stored on mainframes and other devices, the realization that data had a significant value and had large amounts of personal information including credit cards, account numbers, personal details and more, the need for network security grew.

There was now a significant risk that this information could end up with the wrong people, which was only exacerbated by the introduction of online access with the form of the Internet. Cybercrime became a significant issue, and with it, layers of defence such as firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection systems, and intrusion prevention systems were created.

Like a castle, the least significant information would be behind the first layer, but as you got deeper to the most important, the more layers you had to work through, making it incredibly difficult to enter your system. This is called the Defence in Depth strategy, which came about as the demand for security grew with the digital storage space we had.

Types Of Network Security

Firewall

Think of firewalls as a control. They will control the incoming and outgoing traffic on networks, which are set by the system administrator. These will keep out hostile traffic that could potentially steal your data. The primary focus of these is to block malware or attacks on the application layer.

Network Segmentation

This security defines the boundaries between your network segments where the assets within the group have a common use, risk, or function within an organization. Through this, potential threats outside the network are prevented.

Access Control

This defines which people or groups and the devices that will have access to your business's network, applications, and systems. This control will deny anything that is unauthorized by the system.

Remote Access VPN

This provides remote and secure access to your company network for individual hosts, clients and consumers. The privacy and your information’s integrity are ensured using encryption, multi-factor authentication and compliance scanning.

Data Loss Prevention

A combination of technology and best methodologies prevents the exposure of any sensitive information outside of the organization including personal information data.

How Does Network Security Help My Business?

The digital age has forced more information than ever to be passed through networks and systems that all require robust protection. But, are your current methods up to standard? Have you ever been a victim of a cyber attack or believe your system has weaknesses? If you have been or believe the system you have in place has holes, then you know the damage can be significant and possibly irreversible to your business and client base. So why take the risk in the first place?

How Can LT3 ATG Implement Network Security?

At LT3 ATG, we will evaluate the security of your systems in place and, if changes are required, suggest alterations that make sense for your business, so you never have to worry about how secure your network is again.