Small business owners often make the critical mistake of neglecting the security of their networks. They may not believe they are a viable target, they may have budgetary concerns, or they may simply not know that security is a top priority.
Anyway, what are accessible strategies for improving network security in small businesses?
Address your network architecture
First, and perhaps most importantly, you need to address your network architecture. Your network architecture should be designed and implemented in a way that prioritizes security. There are many strategies and acquisitions that can help you in this endeavor.
For example, you could focus on segmenting your network, reducing it to more isolated parts so that the entire network is not widely vulnerable. Segmenting your network also allows you to apply different security settings to each individual network, allowing you to use your resources more widely and protect against the most relevant threats.
You can also implement firewalls and network access controls (NACs), as well as other devices and mechanisms that can help you improve network security. Firewalls allow you to not only monitor but also control network traffic, so you can filter out malicious users, bots, and other threats. It is highly customizable, so you can modify it to suit your business needs. Network access controls work similarly, verifying devices and users before allowing network access, thus ensuring that only approved traffic can access your network.
Use network monitoring software
It is essential if you want to keep your network secure. Network monitoring software allows you to continuously monitor your network, monitoring any unusual or suspicious activity, so you can act on it immediately if necessary.
Good network monitoring software makes it easier for security professionals to maintain a high-level view of the entire network, and they often visualize patterns so they become more intuitive. You can also set up automatic alerts, so you’ll be notified when there’s something actionable.
Stay up to date
If you want your network to remain secure, you need to keep it updated. This means practicing routine maintenance, replacing hardware and components when necessary, and installing the latest software and patches whenever you have the opportunity. Companies suffer from security breaches simply because they did not address a serious security vulnerability. Since this is very simple, cheap and quick to do, there is no reason to make your business vulnerable in this way.
Use strong passwords
It can make your life as a security manager much easier. Every user on your network should practice strong password habits, virtually ensuring that no user on your network is compromised by nefarious users.
Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Good password habits are easy to teach and remember, but difficult to ensure they are implemented consistently by all members of your team. Strong passwords contain many characters, combinations of characters, and no recognizable patterns. Your team members should also use different passwords for each application. You can enforce some of these things, like requiring users to choose passwords of sufficient length and complexity, but it’s very difficult to force employees to use different passwords for each application — and there’s no guarantee that your employees won’t fall victim to phishing scams.
User access control
It is also a good idea to control user access. Simply put, if a user never needs access to a particular system, they shouldn’t have it. This reduces your potential exposure and makes it so that if any user in your network is compromised, the impact should be minimal.
Backup everything (all the time)
Back up all your data and systems
On an ongoing and renewable basis. This won’t necessarily make your network safer or more secure, but it will give you a reliable recovery point if your business is threatened. The more consistently and completely you back up your information, the stronger this protection becomes.
Train and educate your employees
Make sure your employees are trained and educated on the importance of network security, as well as some of the most common threats your company may face. Individual employees may not have much power to protect your business from DDoS attacks, but educating them about phishing scams and other social engineering threats can help them overcome those attacks.
Pursue continuous learning and development
This is just the beginning of your journey to improve network security. Once you have mastered the basics, it is important to commit to a path of continuous learning and development. There are always new basics to learn, there are always new strategies to use, and there is always room to make your organization and its network more secure.