Having the right network support is crucial to running your business smoothly. Robust network infrastructure is necessary to guarantee proper support. What would be the best way to achieve the best results from the network infrastructure? How could that be accomplished? Today, networking is crucial for every business, since hardworking employees are the ones that boost productivity. To ensure smooth operations within the company, you will need a robust and secure network infrastructure.
If you do not possess the right network infrastructure then you may have to face poor user experience and network-related security issues that will become a factor for impacting employee productivity, impact your brand image and cost you unnecessary money for managing the company. So, it is important for you to understand the technicality of a network infrastructure. Make sure that you overcome all the challenges and open arms for more opportunities. Once you understand, you will get improved productivity and help the business in enhancing the performance level.
In this article, we will understand what network infrastructure is, its benefits, types, how it works, why it is important, its challenges, and how you can reduce the attack surface.
What Is Network Infrastructure?
First, we need to understand the concept of network infrastructure before moving ahead. You can refer to the network infrastructure to all the required resources of the network that helps in making the network and its connectivity, managing the network, and making the communication possible. It consists of the required hardware and software, various devices, and managing the communication between the user and applications and various processes.
Anything that resides on the network like servers, routers, and any other devices all combined together to form a Network Infrastructure. It even helps in maintaining effective communication among various users, services, and devices that are present over the network connected to the internet.
Benefits of Network Infrastructure Security
Ensure that the network infrastructure is properly implemented to reap the below-mentioned benefits.
- Any user can leverage various resources that are available on the network thus saving the cost of operations. As a result of advanced security, every user is free to use the shared resources without being threatened.
- It is better that you have a shared site license that will be a cheaper option for you than licensing every machine on the network.
- Multiple users on the network are allowed to share several files present on the network securely. They can just place the files on a shared network and allow them to make and save changes that will be readily available to other users on the network.
- Having a network infrastructure will save your internal communication from external threats and hackers for avoiding any vulnerabilities to the system and business.
- It helps in making compartments to the system that will protect the user files and data saved on the network from the other users on the network.
- It helps in taking the backup of the data to the local systems securely that will help in protecting the intellectual property of the company.
Different types of Network Infrastructure Security
Here, we have mentioned various approaches for network security infrastructure. This course introduces you to various methods of broadening network defense.
- You can ensure the security of your Network by using the access control, where you can manage the access of the unauthorized and authorized users for accessing the devices on the network.
- You can also ensure security using the application security where you can prevent the hardware and software from getting the potential vulnerabilities.
- You can implement firewalls where you can prevent the devices by blocking the specific traffic both incoming and outgoing.
- You can implement virtual private networks for ensuring the encrypted connections that are being made between the devices over the network.
- You can implement the behavioral analytics that will help in detecting the malicious network activity and deviates them from entering it to the network.
- Additionally, you can take better measures to prevent attacks from compromising security at wireless devices. To avoid possible threats to the network, you can hardwire the network, use the proliferation of new connecting devices, etc.
How does Network Infrastructure Security work?
It is imperative that you take some steps to ensure that the underlying network infrastructure is secure and safe completely. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says that you can implement some approaches that will help in addressing the proper implementation of methods in various scenarios. We have outlined some of the most effective techniques here.
- You need to give extra attention to the overall layout of the infrastructure. If you implement the proper segmentation and segregation, you can limit the exposure of potential intruders to other parts of the internal network. You can easily create the boundaries for traffic filtering by separating the networks with routers. As a result of these small segments, traffic will be restricted and shut down as soon as an attack occurs. Using routers, the virtual segmentation will operate similarly to the physical separation without the hardware.
- You must ensure that the peer to peer communication should not be overlooked. Sometimes, such communication over a network can allow intruders to roam around freely. In such cases, attackers will try to establish their presence in the target network by creating backdoors or installing harmful applications impacting the performance of the systems.
- In order to improve the security of the network infrastructure, it is essential to harden the devices available on the network. It is recommended that you adhere to the standards of the company for implementing the network encryption, restricting the physical access to devices, backing up required configurations, and frequently testing the security settings of systems.
- It is a better approach to restrict access for certain users. You can even implement multi-factor authentication for ensuring the authenticity of the users.
- You can implement the out-of-band network management that helps in maintaining the dedicated communications path for managing the remote devices. This helps in strengthening the network security by separating the user traffic from the management traffic.
- Make sure you use the right device on the network as illegitimate products tend to have pre-installed malicious software that will be easily introduced in the network. So make sure you carry out frequent integrity checks on your devices and software to avoid such harmful products being added to the network.
Why is Network Infrastructure Security important?
One of the major threats of the network infrastructure is from hackers, intruders, and malicious applications that will attack and try to gain complete control over the routing infrastructure. A network infrastructure consists of routers, firewalls, load balancers, etc. They are vulnerable, making them an entry point for hackers so they can target the networks with malicious software.
There may be a gateway risk that will provide the access to the hackers to the gateway router for monitoring, modifying, and denying the incoming and outgoing traffic to the network. Also, you can face the infiltration risk where hackers will get more control from the internal routing and devices so that a hacker can monitor, modify, and deny the traffic among hosts and impact their relationship.
There are several attacks that a hacker can inflict on the network. Thus securing and defending the network infrastructure and placing the right security measures in place for complete security over the network is of utmost importance.
Main Challenges Surrounding Network Infrastructure
You may come across various challenges in running a network infrastructure model. Here, we have mentioned some of those challenges which need to be looked at while you are running various devices on the network.
- Centralizing traffic
There can be a possibility that an organization consists of various subnets or sites. If you do not implement a centralized network system, then it is difficult to monitor and manage the network. Many companies implement the simple approach of network infrastructure for centralizing the traffic for getting a better understanding and monitoring of the data that has been flowing through the network. This helps in improving the security methods and addressing network-related performance issues.
- Managing the duplicate data
Make sure you manage the duplicacy of the data being traversed through the network as it results in heavy network traffic. Removing and managing duplicate data is critical and somehow challenging as it impacts the effectiveness of network security. If the implemented security approach gets too much duplicate data then it will be less effective in detecting malicious attacks and potential threats to the network.
- Managing the sending of data
Different companies follow different approaches for managing cyber attacks and implementing cyber security. For many companies transferring and getting the data is chargeable thus it is important that they manage the data being traversed over the network and reach the right destination without costing in unnecessary data transfer. It’s Better you choose the right tool for sending and receiving the data as it may incur your extra cost for managing such transfers.
Reducing the attack surface.
For reducing the attack surface, it is important that you are able to identify the attack and take appropriate actions for hardening the system and network using the following methods.
- You must change the default passwords for all the user services and the devices that are connected over the network.
- You should try to uninstall and remove the unused applications.
- Make sure that you monitor the technical new versions and vulnerabilities.
- Make sure to implement the right approach for managing access to the services and devices on the network.
- Make sure to partition the network with critical systems.
Conclusion
One of the most crucial factors for the proper operation of the system is the network infrastructure, which creates the foundation for all devices on the network. Having a simple and efficient network infrastructure makes the operation of the system easy and efficient. This will definitely help in improving the performance of your business. Ensure that you understand how important the network infrastructure of any business is and how you can implement it effectively. Implementation can present you with some challenges, but overcoming them will ensure a great system operation.
You can refer to this article for a better understanding of network infrastructure security and how it can be maintained.