Network Security Services You Need for Data Protection

What is Network Security?

We all know that keeping customer and company data private is a must, but what you might not know is how network security plays a role in that process. Network security is protecting your data, apps, devices, and digital resources safe while operating over computational networks. These can be wireless networks, networks connected to the internet, or private intranet systems that power mission-critical connections. By implementing network security, you protect your business by restricting access to confidential information, apps, and resources. However, no one system will provide you with comprehensive protections. Instead, you need various types of network security services to build layers of protection that prevent cyber criminals from gaining access. In this article, we talk about network security services, why you should invest in NSS for your business and the various technologies and strategies that keep your sensitive data safe. Looking for a software hosting provider that takes security seriously? Summit Hosting offers comprehensive software hosting solutions while maintaining top-of-the-line security practices. Check out a demo to see how we marry the best of both worlds — lightning-fast hosting and total security.

What are Network Security Services?

Network security services are a collection of technologies designed to secure networks from cyberattacks. They are security layers, each implemented in conjunction to stop various types of attacks, and many well-known service providers like Red Hat, Mozilla, and Oracle helped establish what it means to maintain a zero-trust architecture. These providers helped establish the first SSL software security protocols, and now NSS encompasses both software and hardware solutions. Each new piece of technology takes a proactive stance against attacks like malware or phishing attempts and evolves from the core need to keep data and information safe. Because more businesses are utilizing cloud and hybrid cloud data center solutions, more users require remote access to files and applications. As more users access data remotely, the need for network and cloud security services will continue to rise. But thanks to the open-source and API-supported NSS foundations, businesses remain secure. Businesses can invest in on-site network security solutions or outsource security to a managed security service provider. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but both will benefit your overall security posture.

Why Invest in Network Security Services?

With business costs seeming to balloon out of control, another charge is the last thing leaders want to consider. Unfortunately, cybercrime is far more expensive than investing in cyber security services. These services decrease the risk of ransomware, spyware, and adware, leading to a mountain of benefits, such as:

• Lower remote worker risk – remote workers can pose a security threat if the proper security isn’t in place. With network security, you can work toward eliminating the dangers of decentralized employees.
• Boost productivity – Attacks like a denial of service (DDOS) can severely impact business operations, decreasing performance. Through robust cybersecurity measures, you can keep business moving, as cybercriminals cannot exploit vulnerabilities.
• Enhanced consumer trust and loyalty – Data leaks deteriorate public confidence in companies. When businesses prioritize data security and privacy, they also build brand loyalty.
• Protect bottom lines – data leaks and cyberattacks are costly, averaging $4.35 million lost per data breach in 2022. That’s a massive chunk of change that many businesses can’t fork over. Protect your bottom line with comprehensive network security services.
• Compliance requirements – Stay compliant with HIPAA and PCI regulations and avoid costly fines with NSS. You could even avoid potential investigations and lawsuits.

Types of Network Security Services

We have already touched briefly on how there are different types of network security services. Each service is an extra layer in the security cake, and each prevents a nasty intrusion through various means. Let’s explore a few essential components and how they contain security threats.

• Network Segmentation

  • Network segmentation is dividing and sorting network traffic based on specific requirements. These segmentations are handy when implementing new security policies and access controls, as IT experts can quickly tell which network traffic is legitimate and which is attempting to infiltrate sensitive data.
  • Along with firewalls, network segmentation can help isolate threats or vulnerable endpoints to perform necessary incident responses. You can even assign access control via network segmentation to assign, approve, or deny personnel, keeping sensitive information in authorized hands.

• Behavioral Analytics

  • Behavioral analytics helps identify cyber threats before they wreak havoc on your organization’s infrastructure. First, establish a baseline control of what normal behavior looks like. This baseline should include as much detail as possible, from authentication to secure access attempts, everything your network experiences daily.
  • With this picture of normalcy, threat intelligence software can signal when there is a threat. In some cases, security automation can detect and eliminate these intrusions before anyone even knows there is a potential attack.

• Data Loss Prevention

  • Information is just as valuable as physical goods, meaning your security operations need to include data loss prevention. Data loss prevention is software that prevents employees from sharing sensitive corporate data or information, either by accident or malicious intent.
  • Data loss prevention implements security information and event management (SIEM) principles to monitor, detect, and block sensitive data at user endpoints, during transfers, or while stored in real-time. Popular data loss prevention activities include email security, where sensitive data often ends up in attachments.

• Application Security

  • Keeping applications secure while operating over a network is as important as data security. Application security involves developing, testing, and implementing security features within your apps to prevent vulnerabilities. The most common way to ensure your applications are secure is to keep everything up-to-date with frequent software updates and backups.
  • By keeping applications up-to-date and constantly improving your application’s network security posture, you can deter cyber attacks. Robust application security means exposed and compromised weak points don’t exist long enough for cybercriminals to get a chance to attack.

• Vulnerability Management

  • When people imagine hacking, they often think about a cloaked figure gaining access to secure networks and making away with precious data and money. However, another type of hacker, known as white-hat hackers, acts like a cyber criminal to test the holes in security systems ethically. The process of testing your own network is vulnerability management.
  • Vulnerability management or vulnerability patch management is identifying, repairing, and reporting security weaknesses. IT teams who perform vulnerability management take assessments made through penetration testing and perform critical security updates by programming patches.

• Wireless Security

  • A form of information security that is absolutely critical is wireless security. You can protect users accessing data over a Wi-Fi connection using state-of-the-art wireless security practices. Wi-Fi security is so essential because wireless networks are prone to attack, especially as businesses introduce new Internet of Things (IoT) objects.
  • Wireless security involves technologies like virtual private networks (VPN), multi-factor authentication (MFA), software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN), and WPA2 protocols.
  • Suppose network security is a top priority for you. In that case, you’ll value Summit Hosting’s potent security, which includes EV SSL, VPN, MFA, and dedicated servers to keep your data secure at an affordable pricing structure. Check out a demo today!

Secure Your Network with Summit Hosting

Network security is crucial for businesses to remain safe, especially with the growth in remote work. Although we now have many more options for network security than when SSL first hit the scene, we must remain vigilant that new and unpleasant attacks are just around the next corner. Network segmentation, data loss prevention, vulnerability patch management, and wireless security all complement each other and help build layers of protection more formidable than the average cybercriminal. Putting security in just anyone’s hands can create anxiety for even the most seasoned business professionals. Don’t trust the average Joe with your data; instead, partner with Summit Hosting. At Summit, we value the security of every client and provide layers of security managed by professionals so you can rest easy. Give us a call today to experience our security options for yourself!