The battle to protect your network and data from cyber threats seems neverending. The number of cyber-attacks, breaches, and ransomware attacks were at record levels in 2021 and have continued to increase in 2022. The average company now fends off 270 attacks annually, a 31% increase over prior years.
It is not a matter of whether you will be forced to deal with a cyberattack, but when. So, what steps should you take to ensure you are prepared for an attack? Your ability to successfully prevent a cyberattack will depend on whether your current IT services provider has implemented best practices to mitigate today's emerging threats.
One of the most common ways to protect network resources is with an integrated software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) and security solution. If you do not have an integrated SD-WAN security solution in place, you may not have the protection you need. If you already have an SD-WAN solution, you must ensure it is deployed correctly.
Not All SD-WAN Security Solutions Are the Same
Even if you utilize an SD-WAN solution on your network, you should know that not all SD-WAN solutions work the same way. Today's best practices strongly recommend that an SD-WAN solution include a next-generation firewall (NGFW) for superior protection.
SD-WAN vs. Firewall
Many businesses solely deploy a stateful firewall. While that can help protect your environment, it falls short in many ways. A stateful firewall inspects incoming and outgoing network traffic, but It can create security challenges by failing to address other issues.
A NFGW provides additional security features, such as application awareness and control, integrated intrusion prevention, and real-time threat intelligence updates to protect against emerging threats. If your current IT services provider is not using a NFGW, you may be lacking essential security tools that could help safeguard your network.
Zero Trust Network Access
Is your current IT service provider employing zero trust network access (ZTNA) across your entire network? ZTNA creates a secure work environment by monitoring remote access to applications, data, and network resources. It assumes no user or device can be trusted and continuously monitors and verifies identity and authorization.
For example, ZTNA only allows devices and users to access applications or data for which they are authorized. They will not have access if they do not need the application to perform their jobs. ZTNA also authenticates devices and users each time someone tries to access different resources within your network.
By comparison, a VPN uses network-level access. Once users gain access to your network, they have complete access. With ZTNA, users are not granted access unless they are specifically authorized. ZTNA dramatically reduces the attack surface and helps prevent lateral movement within networks. IT teams can create software-defined perimeters and divide networks into micro-segments.
Consolidating Security Architecture
As networks have continued to grow in complexity, so have security solutions. For example, some enterprises now deploy as many as 76 different security tools. Monitoring and managing all of these tools is an expensive and time-consuming challenge.
When IT or security operation center (SOC) teams have to chase down a growing number of conflicting alerts, it can be challenging to prioritize them. Alert fatigue can also degrade the overall quality of security monitoring. The overwhelming number of alerts requiring manual intervention means nearly two-thirds never get analyzed and resolved.
A consolidated security architecture is essential to streamline and simplify your security posture. Rather than managing different devices and security tools, you need a centralized platform for threat monitoring and security management.
LOGIX SD-WAN Secure
LOGIX SD-WAN Secure provides flexibility, control, and ease of use for a complete network security and operations solution. You can protect your network from threats by overlaying LOGIX SD-WAN Secure on any LOGIX network or third-party carrier service, including LTE.
LOGIX SD-WAN security includes a next-gen firewall with unified threat management, automated endpoint detection, and ZTNA features in a comprehensive platform to manage your security from one dashboard.
Is your IT security provider missing current best practices for security? Be sure by contacting one of our network security experts at 281-.688.6231 or request a quote online.