4 Network Security Tools That Your Biz Needs

To correct this, you must update applications and equipment to succeed. Here are four network security tools that your business needs.

The healthcare industry is the most susceptible to cyber-attacks. Taking this as an example, let's say you run a company that relies on a Lab as a Service (LaaS) tool to consolidate operations. For organizations that sell this application, Quali, as an example, network security is built into the product.

Why? Because these tools tend to be cloud-based. Users access information from various platforms. Thus, the application must verify the access is coming from a reliable source. If not, malicious actions can retrieve gigabytes of personally identifiable information (PII) from the LaaS tool.

Testing tools go beyond the healthcare sector. No matter the industry, your business should constantly review your security setup at the software and hardware levels. This maximizes the strength of your network shield.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is vital for businesses that allow their employees to work remotely. With the proper authentication, a worker's access into their company portal is masked. The destination's address, the Internet Protocol (IP) number, is rendered invisible to cyber extortionists.

While this security tool can be expensive, especially for large businesses with a heavy remote presence, the return on investment is enormous. While not 100% effective, VPN is powerful enough to eliminate most forms of cyber-attack. Furthermore, access through a private portal stops others from reviewing activity logs.

Scanner tools examine various points on a network. In many cases, it looks at entry points to determine their vulnerability. The reason is there are more ways for cyber extortionists to enter a business' network than a simple login.

For instance, cybercriminals can get into a business through printer and scanner ports. They can get into ports that aren't blocked by firewall rules. In many cases, they're able to pull the superuser password and access a network through an administrative port.

Port and vulnerability scanners regularly examine every point of entry to determine the chance of access. In a way, it's an ongoing risk management tool. It gives network administrators the necessary data to shore up security by closing specific ports or updating firewall rules for others to limit logins.

Sandboxes are the next level of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). When first implemented, IDS applications monitored network traffic for the possibility of malicious activity. They did this through a review of individual data packets for corrupt signatures.

Eventually, cyber extortionists learned to pass this by making only subtle changes or pushing through before security tools as McAfee or Norton, noticed them. With the introduction of sandboxes, network analysts utilize dynamic and static data to conclude if an attack is underway or about to occur. Through this, they can stop malicious programs from entering a network before an attack occurs.

The use of this quartet of security tools for your business isn't intuitive. It takes a team of network administrators and, unfortunately, successful attacks to make a company think about strengthening security. To do this, all branches within a business need to conduct a risk management review.

This analysis determines the possibility of future attacks and their consequences. Once these are defined, the team in charge of the review decides what tools must be implemented to mitigate these possible outcomes. The top options are then tested. For instance, this is when a company might choose to implement a VPN or network sandbox.

These options are then tested for their worthiness. If they don't work, then the risk management team implements another suggestion. If they do, the tools are made permanent through new company policies. They're also enhanced to ensure proper compliance.

Network security must be taken seriously for businesses of every size. Not only for your protection but also that of your customers. Strengthing your data network through the proper security tools maintains your productivity and your revenue.