6 Vulnerabilities in Your Network You Need to Fix

Any business that stores data needs to comply with a growing roster of legal compliance directives from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to various financial, regulatory and industry-based rules. Failing to do so risks huge fines as well as reputational damage and loss of business.

To defend your business networks and clouds, no matter how niche or remote your business feels from these threats, you need the right tools to block these vulnerabilities.

Here are 6 network vulnerabilities and the tools you need to fix them.

1. Network hardware management

Every business needs an accurate and up-to-date map of its network hardware, ensuring that every device has current firmware or drivers. If any routers, switches, Wi-Fi routers or other hardware is outdated or no longer supported, it needs to be replaced by a modern equivalent to ensure some degree of security.

From updating an existing network to building a new cloud-native network for a business, the edge-to-cloud approach and use of Zero Trust eliminates the reliance on legacy hardware and applications. Modern tools keep the network focused on operational realities and reduce the legwork for IT security, keeping them focused on business expansion goals.

2. Avoid generic VPNs

There are many virtual private network (VPN) products on the market, all with grandiose security and privacy claims. But, in reality, most are little more than basic applications with a lot of marketing hype. To secure business applications and users, you need enterprise-grade remote access VPN solutions for total protection and a professional quality of service.

These enforce all the business security policies, no matter where the user is or what they connect through. As hybrid working becomes more common, more users will rely on VPNs and your automations and robots will use them from remote sites, requiring VPNs that are 100% reliable.

3. Outdated network firewalls

Just as most businesses no longer rely on classic antivirus software, the traditional firewall is no longer enough to prevent the variety of attacks that most firms face. Next-generation firewalls are designed to tackle the many modern threats against business, including network intrusions, ransomware and email spam, while providing protection for all endpoints, not just one network or local devices. They’re also easier to manage and respond to any attempted breaches, making it easier for hard-pressed IT departments to use.

Modern policy enforcement firewalls (PEF) enable a centralized control approach to dynamic segmentation. Overcoming weak configuration issues, they ensure strong security through Zero Trust, role-based access across wired or wireless networks, wherever your users are.

4. Manual and automated security weaknesses

The growing volume of threats require security applications that are always up to date. Those that are updated daily can’t keep pace with the variety of ever-changing automated attacks. To fight them, businesses need a modern frontline tool which is always up to date and scanning for new threats to keep the business secure.

SASE, the Secure Access Service Edge, turns your business IT security applications, whatever they are, into one easily managed and largely automated service. This is helpful to operators and users as the business network grows across clouds and cloud services.

5. Risks from mobile devices

Networks are also threatened by the growing risk of BYOD and mobility, with personal devices potentially carrying payloads that can breach or scan for vulnerabilities across the business. Similarly, their use of Bluetooth and insecure Wi-Fi networks creates the chance of back doors into the business network or services. Using devices with enterprise-class security and segmentation like on-device security platforms help protect business data and limit the risks, while IT can be alert to any issues, whatever the device or application.

6. Lack of secure backups

One of the common features of businesses that fall victim to a breach is that they don’t have proper and secure backups, or their backups are still connected to the network. Keeping current backups off the network or very securely protected will help a business get back on its feet faster than paying a digital ransom (most attackers never return your data anyway).

Fighting online threats is a never-ending battle for business IT leaders. Leaving as much of it as possible to automated modern, always-on and always-up-to-date services takes a lot of the manual effort out of it, leaving teams to respond to the occasional real threat. But training all staff should also be a top priority, from the day they join, and ensuring they lose all access to business services and their accounts are deactivated on the day they leave is essential.