If you have ever paused to think through the devastating effect and monumental loss in revenue that a breach in your company’s data security can cause, then you will know just how important it is to implement a network security plan. Depending on the type of data involved, you could suffer a loss of intellectual property, leaks of confidential information, and destruction or corruption of databases. A good network security system helps protect your workstation from harmful spyware. It also helps protect your shared data. So, the big question is this, how do you go about developing and implementing a network security plan.

Assessing your network and knowing what to protect

When you run a business that has an online presence, you need to know that it is susceptible to cyberattacks. Knowing how to build a website with the right platform is very important in the first place. It has a part to play in your online security. For you to put a sordid network security plan in place, you need to be able to assess what you have at the moment. This involves evaluating all the hardware and software components of your network. All incoming and outgoing traffic need to be considered also to know possible access points for hackers. For some years, professional threat blockers were only concerned with inbound traffic. They assume that all outgoing traffic was approved. Well, that isn’t the case anymore. Once you have been able to assess your network, you would know what to protect exactly. Setting strict network access permissions makes it easier to identify breaches.

Planning

A deep assessment of your network will present you with a clearer picture of your security needs. This assessment can even help you know which experts you will need to help you design, and implement a good network security plan. You can decide to replace or upgrade compromisable components, integrate new software, or improve permissions to network access. Making use of the latest encryption methods can also be very useful. Knowledge on Secure remote access methods and tips on responding to some specific threats are needed as well.

Deployment

Depending on how smooth the planning phase was, the installation could be easy. Ideally, your network is supposed to run all the time so you can start installations when traffic is at its lowest. If doing all your installations at once will cause some disruptions in your business, they can be done in phases addressing the most critical susceptibilities first. You can also go with non-office hours as a time to do your deployments. Weekends would be a good idea. After your installations, you can run a test to see that everything is working fine.

Auditing and Government regulations

This has to do with monitoring the effectiveness of the plan you have put in place. During monitoring, whatever reports you get may require an immediate response of adding more strength to your security. This aspect is very important. There are some Government regulations that you need to consider when you are doing your audits. The trails of your audit have to be kept for this purpose. So, in case, there is some cut-off, you will have to replay the network events again. A security information and event management system may need to be implemented to help monitor the robust data that your security devices can produce. Depending on your company, compliance can be an issue. Companies that deal with healthcare, financial, and other sensitive data have specific legal requirements that have a direct effect on their network security plans. Your legal department can help in this case.

Keeping your network secure after implementation of a security plan

In addition to planning, making new installations or partnering with a software development company, you can put a top-notch network security solution in place to support a well-defined strategy. Some of the things to consider are:

Isolating and segmenting networks: You can separate your networks according to the traffic that flows in and out of them. You can also create subnetworks to lock out some people from parts of it that are sensitive.

Getting employees to embrace a security-focused culture: No matter how good your network security plan is, you need to consider the human factor as they interface with this every day. Your employees need to be updated on basic cybersecurity measures.

Securing wireless networks: Wireless networks make it easier for hackers to be able to get a hold of your network. Your wi-fi network must be part of what you will be securing. You can upgrade this by changing your SSID, adding two-factor authentication, and changing passcodes.

Final Word

A network security plan provides the path your organisation should follow to go about business activities safely online. So, developing and implementing a plan for it requires a deep knowledge of the business and support from the executive leadership. This plan has to be understandable by all employees so they can do the right thing for security purposes.