Network security is more important today than it has ever been. Businesses are more digital than ever before, and they need appropriate cybersecurity measures to protect them against the many digital threats that exist in the modern world. However, most organizations have woefully inadequate protections. These are some tips to help you manage and protect your network from threats.

1) Build Layers of Protection

Frankly, any single network protection is unlikely to be effective. You need to develop multiple layers of security to minimize the likelihood of a breach and the impact of one that does occur. It is risk management for network security.

Layered security includes techniques such as firewalls, end-user protections, encryption, policy management and more. The goal is to slow down would-be intruders so they can be properly addressed before becoming a serious issue.

2) Keep It Visible

One of the keys to effective cyber protections is to make your network highly visible to your security team. Monitoring is essential to finding unwanted data and access. There are numerous ways to approach this including software and hardware monitors.

Consider applying a TAP port monitoring system. This hardware solution copies all traffic on your network so you can easily monitor and analyze it. Using a TAP solution is superior to a software approach in many cases because it helps avoid network congestion. However, both should be used in most cases.

3) Leverage Encryption

Many organizations don’t make use of data or packet encryption. It is often viewed as being too complex and expensive to implement. However, the reality is that it is a must-have security feature. It is one of the best ways to stop cybercriminals from accessing data or devices that they shouldn’t.

Certainly, it doesn’t make sense to encrypt all your data, especially if you are already hesitant about using the technology. However, using built-in firmware encryption, HTTPS and encrypted storage for high-value data is easy and worthwhile.

4) Use Multi-factor Authentication

Authenticating users and devices is one of the surest ways to ensure that only those you want to allow on your network are on it. Of course, one of the main challenges of authentication is getting users to follow good practices for their credentials. People create weak passwords and reuse them for numerous logins.

The best solution in multi-factor authentication. This requires your users to not only enter their credentials to authenticate but also a one-time code generated by and app or sent to them by your authentication server.

5) Patch Regularly

Good policies and advanced technologies can go a long way toward keeping your network safe. However, cybercriminals are getting more skilled every day. They are also advancing their methods and technologies simultaneously.

Patching is an essential step to avoid excessive vulnerabilities on your network. While it won’t avoid zero-day attacks, patching can often help to close up holes before anyone can exploit them. Getting your organization’s information technology resources up to date takes time and effort but it is worthwhile.

6) Apply and Enforce Policy

All the tools in the world cannot protect a network if its users are allowed to do whatever they want. The fact is that people are the weakest point in every organization’s security. This is because humans are overly trusting and often thoughtless. Furthermore, it may only take a single mistake to expose your network.

There are two solutions to this: strong policy and training. They should go hand in hand. Plan policies about who can access what, how people should manage their email, what login credentials should be and more. Don’t count on people to be secure by themselves. Then, educate them on those policies and enforce them.

These tips will help you manage your network and protect it against intruders. Although it can take some effort to create a more secure network, it is an essential undertaking in the modern business world. Get started today.