What is Network Infrastructure Security?
The most private information of organizations has been compromised in the current digital era. This is a genuine and rising threat, not simply a nightmare scenario. Since your network infrastructure is the foundation of your business's defense against cyberattacks, protecting it is more important than ever. Safeguarding the underlying networking infrastructure by putting preventative measures in place to stop unauthorized access, alteration, deletion, and theft of resources and data is known as network infrastructure security, and it is usually used in business IT environments.
Network security architecture has become crucial to monitoring and protecting this increased digital attack surface as business networks are bigger and more dispersed due to the growth of cloud computing and remote work.
Access control, network firewalls, behavioral analytics, wireless security, virtual private networks, endpoint security, antivirus software, data loss prevention, and intrusion detection systems are a few examples of these security methods.
The many forms of network infrastructure security are covered in this article, along with best practices for strengthening your defenses, insights into network infrastructure security, significant and typical network advantages, and an explanation of how it operates.
The following are detailed titles.
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How Does Network Infrastructure Security Work?
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What Are The Different Network Infrastructure Security Types?
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Access Control
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Application Security
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Network Firewalls
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Behavioral Analytics
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Wireless Security
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Virtual Private Networks
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Endpoint Security
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Antivirus Software
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Data Loss Prevention
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Intrusion Detection Systems
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Why is Network Infrastructure Security important?
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What Are The Benefits of Network Infrastructure Security?
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What are the Best practices for Network Infrastructure Security?
How Does Network Infrastructure Security Work?
As a multi-layered defensive system, network infrastructure security uses tactics to strengthen various network components. The following five layers are present in network infrastructure security.
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Physical Security: By limiting physical access to network components, physical protections like access control systems, security cameras, and secure data centers minimize theft and illegal manipulation.
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Access Control: It controls access to network resources and guarantees that only authorized people and devices may connect to the network or access sensitive data. Acces control is related to methods like firewalls, authentication protocols, and the zero-trust security paradigm.
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Network Surveillance: Tools for continuous network monitoring examine network traffic patterns and spot irregularities that can point to possible threats or suspicious activities.
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Vulnerability Management: Frequent vulnerability scanning and patching procedures find and fix software and network device flaws, lowering the attack surface.
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Incident Response: Procedures for identifying, looking into, and fixing security breaches, limiting damage, and returning to regular operations are outlined in incident response plans.
What Are The Different Network Infrastructure Security Types?
When it comes to cybersecurity, experts developing defense strategies are always at a disadvantage versus hackers. Finding flaws in someone else's system is always far simpler than coming up with a strong defense against different types of attacks. Because of this, network security solutions often concentrate on one or a few areas.
Network Infrastructure Security (NIS) is a crucial component of every organization's cybersecurity plan in the digital era. Network infrastructure security is a continuous, active process of security implementation and maintenance to work successfully and dependably while guaranteeing data safety; it is not only about putting in place a predetermined approach and security rules based on recognized cyber threats.
By implementing preventative security measures, also known as security controls, to prevent unauthorized access, deletion, alteration, and theft of critical data and resources from a cyberattack, Network Infrastructure Security (NIS) aims to safeguard the underlying network infrastructure. The 10 categories of security infrastructure systems that make up the foundation of NIS will be covered in further detail in this article: Access Control, Application Security, Network Firewalls, Behavioral Analytics, Wireless Security, Virtual Private Networks, Endpoint Security, Antivirus Software, Data Loss Prevention, Intrusion Detection Systems.
Network infrastructure security types are listed in the following table.
| NIS Types | Description |
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| 1. Access Control | Preventing devices and people from accessing the network without authorization. |
| 2. Application Security | To fix any possible weaknesses, security features are added to both software and hardware. To fix any such vulnerabilities, the administrator implements particular procedures. |
| 3. Network Firewalls | Devices for gatekeeping that have the ability to permit or prohibit particular types of traffic from entering or exiting the network. Checking the network's incoming and outgoing traffic is more akin to a gatekeeping measure. |
| 4. Behavioral Analytics | Preventing devices and people from accessing the network without authorization. |
| 5. Wireless Security | The technology prevents unauthorized users from connecting to the wireless network. Wireless security uses access control lists, network segmentation, and robust encryption methods to prevent unwanted access and eavesdropping on wireless networks. |
| 6. Virtual Private Networks | VPNs provide a secure "tunnel" of internet communications by encrypting connections between endpoints. |
| 7. Endpoint Security | Uses endpoint firewalls, antivirus software, and anti-malware software to safeguard network-connected devices, including laptops, desktop computers, and mobile phones. |
| 8. Antivirus Software | These applications identify, track, and resolve any software-related issues. |
| 9. Data Loss Prevention | Technologies known as data loss prevention, or DLP, can prohibit users from sending, publishing, or even printing sensitive data in a hazardous way. |
| 10. Intrusion Detection Systems | IDS keeps an eye out for, logs, and reports any harmful activity that takes place within a network. |
1. Access Control
One way to determine which devices want to join your network is through access control. This is about keeping unauthorized individuals from having physical or virtual access to hardware, software, networks, devices, and applications. Their IDs, secret files, or other methods can be used to build up different mechanisms. Only a few devices are able to connect to the network; the rest will be denied access. This may significantly improve the cybersecurity of your company by making it more difficult for hackers to breach your network. From digital access to databases and apps to physical access to buildings and server rooms, access controls may be put in place at several levels. One essential component of access control is the use of strong passwords, which serve as a first line of protection against unwanted access.
2. Application Security
A complete security approach that addresses the hardware and software, or applications, is called application security. It guarantees that all hardware and user applications are properly patched. When new vulnerabilities are made public, hackers can search for them and utilize them to get into systems through weak apps. Because the safety of the utilized assets is closely related to the safety of the infrastructure, this section is one component of the wider IT asset management assignment.
Finding and fixing security flaws in organizational applications is the aim of application security. In order to assist in avoiding attacks, this procedure entails locating and repairing vulnerabilities as well as revealing flaws at the application level. It covers procedures like vulnerability scans, code reviews, and routine security testing.
3. Network Firewalls
A firewall is a type of network security device that keeps track of all incoming and outgoing network traffic and uses a predetermined set of security rules to determine whether to allow or prohibit particular types of data. As the gatekeeper, it examines incoming connections and determines whether to permit them based on a predetermined set of guidelines. In order to prevent disruptions to work-related tools, network managers preconfigure which traffic should be permitted. For safety reasons, additional connections are often prohibited. By blocking certain types of communication from entering or leaving the network, firewalls shield it from possible dangers.
4. Behavioral Analytics
A proactive strategy for cybersecurity that centers on data analysis is behavioral analytics. Through the use of behavioral analytics, businesses may track and examine user, system, and network traffic patterns in order to spot irregularities, spot possible dangers, and improve security in general. The system notifies the IT administrator when it notices a departure from the norm, such as when a user downloads a lot of data at once. Once the network log has been examined, the administrator can use the information to determine whether to disable or restore the connection.
Establishing a baseline establishes a predefined parameter for normal vs. aberrant behavior. This enables network security to detect unusual network activity that can point to a data breach, compromise, or the existence of malware or ransomware before a real danger materializes. Network behavioral analysis (NBA) solutions use machine learning algorithms to identify typical user behavior and notify security teams of any unusual activity.
5. Wireless Security
The use of wireless (WiFi) networks to prevent unwanted access or harm to machines and data is known as wireless security. It covers safeguarding the wireless network itself from adversaries that aim to compromise the network's availability, secrecy, or integrity. Wireless networks are frequently secured using WiFi security protocols like WiFi Protected Access (WPA) and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).
Since wireless networks are typically less secure than hardwired networks, wireless security is especially crucial. Data infiltration vectors are growing in number as new endpoints (mobile devices) and apps proliferate.
6. Virtual Private Networks
One popular method for remote access is the usage of virtual private networks or VPNs.Your internet traffic is hidden from prying eyes using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). In contrast to unencrypted data, which is accessible to everyone with network access who wants to see it, it offers an additional layer of security in the form of a secure communications tunnel. Your internet activities will stay secure and confidential since a VPN prevents hackers and thieves from decoding this data.
Traffic is sent from the user's endpoint to the company's server via an encrypted tunnel via a virtual private network. This makes eavesdropping and hijacking very difficult. Strong tunneling protocols free of vulnerabilities and exploits are necessary for the finest VPN configurations.
7. Endpoint Security
The security procedures and solutions put in place to safeguard specific endpoints, such as desktop computers, laptops, servers, and mobile devices connecting to a network, are referred to as endpoint protection. These solutions are intended to defend endpoints against a range of dangers, including viruses, malware, illegal access, and data breaches.
Cyber dangers may enter through endpoints, such as laptops, mobile devices, and Internet of Things devices. These devices are protected from malware, data theft, and illegal access by endpoint security solutions such as device management systems, encryption tools, and antivirus. software. This kind of network security guarantees complete defense against attacks that target susceptible endpoints and strengthen the network's perimeter.
8. Antivirus Software
The end user can still infect the device even though many programs can filter user traffic to find harmful files. The best way to clean up the device or prevent malware from running unsigned code is to use antivirus software. In order to obtain the most recent libraries for use as a reference for the analysis, antivirus software periodically establishes connections with malware laboratories. Antivirus software should thus always be kept up to date and never disabled. In addition to infections, antivirus software guards against phishing scams, spam, keyloggers, adware, and URL dangers. The finest antimalware software continually monitors files to identify irregularities, eliminate malware, and repair damage, in addition to scanning for malware as files are entered.
9. Data Loss Prevention
One way to guarantee the security of the most important bits of stored data is to avoid data loss. This keeps critical information safe from outside the company by blocking its uploading, downloading, and distribution through unauthorized methods in addition to managing its backups. Data breaches can pose a costly and detrimental security risk to a company. Businesses may classify sensitive data and stop unwanted removal or exfiltration of this data by using data loss prevention (DLP) technologies.
10. Intrusion Detection Systems
IDS keeps an eye out for logs and reports any harmful activity that takes place within a network. When an intrusion detection system (IDS) detects unusual activity on a system or network, it sends out notifications. Malicious assaults like malware and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks can be detected by an IDS, which can then notify the security team. In order to identify anything unusual, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) carefully examine network data, looking for patterns and behaviors.
Why is Network Infrastructure Security Important?
To safeguard a company from cyber attacks that might compromise confidential information, interfere with business processes, and harm the firm's reputation, network infrastructure security is essential. Because of this, any organization must make sure that its network infrastructure is secure. It assists in preserving system integrity, averting expensive breaches, and guaranteeing adherence to laws like GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA.
Hackers and unreliable apps pose a risk to the security of network infrastructure as they want to take complete control of the routing architecture. All of the equipment required for network communications, such as servers, load balancers, routers, firewalls, switches, intrusion detection systems (IDS), domain name systems (DNS), and storage systems, are considered network infrastructure components. Hackers who wish to install harmful software on target networks can access each of these platforms.
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Gateway Risk: A hacker can monitor, alter, and block network traffic if they manage to get access to a gateway router.
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Infiltration Risk: A hacker can monitor, alter, and block traffic between important hosts within the network by gaining additional control over the internal routing and switching devices. They can take advantage of the trusted connections between internal hosts to migrate laterally to other hosts.
Even though hackers can launch a variety of destructive assaults on a network, protecting and safeguarding the routing architecture should be the first priority in order to stop deep system intrusion.
What Are the Benefits of Network Infrastructure Security?
The ability to manage and protect the underlying hardware and software while it is operating on the network is one of the primary advantages of network infrastructure security. However, when properly managed, network infrastructure security offers a number of significant advantages to a company's network.
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Costs are reduced by better resource sharing: Network resources may be used by several users without risk because of protection, which eventually lowers operating costs.
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Improved bandwidth utilization: A strong and secure network architecture improves the control of bandwidth usage. Quick identification of flow parameters, such as the amount of bandwidth used, when it was used, and for what reason, saves enterprises a great deal of money.
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Licenses for shared sites: Site licenses are less expensive than licensing each computer, thanks to security.
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Enhanced performance of the network: Improved network performance results from increased uptime, which is guaranteed by a secure network infrastructure. Businesses benefit from faster market times, improved application performance, and calculative expansions.
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Sharing files increases productivity: File sharing between users on the internal network is safe.
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Reduced blast radius: The defense team is automatically alerted by the security measures whenever an unauthorized individual attempts to access the network systems. The network prevents lateral movement, and the attacker has a limited amount of time to cause harm.
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Internal correspondence is safe: Systems for internal communication and email will be shielded from inquisitive eyes.
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Finding underutilized assets quickly: It is possible for a network asset to be essential in one location yet underutilized in another. By promptly identifying this danger and relocating the resources to their designated location, a competent network infrastructure security system may save a significant amount of money.
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Compartmentalization and secure files: As opposed to utilizing computers that several users share, user files and data are now shielded from one another.
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Data protection: Important intellectual property is safeguarded by the easy and safe backup of data to local servers.
What are the Best Practices for Network Infrastructure Security?
An organization's capacity to defend its systems and data against cyber attacks, guaranteeing ongoing business operations and adherence to security requirements, may be greatly improved by putting best practices for network infrastructure security into effect. A business network security architecture may be made more effective and efficient by implementing the following best practices.
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Network Segmentation: The process of dividing a business network into several parts according to the tasks of the systems and the degree of trust is known as network segmentation. If an intruder tries to cross these network boundaries, network segmentation helps stop them from moving laterally within the network.
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Security Monitoring Around-the-Clock: Cyberattacks can happen at any moment, and reducing the cost to the business depends on the capacity to identify and address a cybersecurity event promptly. An organization's ability to promptly detect and address security events is guaranteed by a security operations center's (SOC) round-the-clock security monitoring.
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Incident Response Plan: For frequent cybersecurity events like malware infections or account takeovers, organizations should establish an incident response strategy. Having such a plan in place before a cyberattack increases the likelihood that the security event will be responded to promptly and accurately.
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Regular System Update and Patching: Maintaining network infrastructure security requires routine system updates and patches, which assist in guarding against known vulnerabilities and attacks. The text already has the appropriate formatting, including bold text and paragraph tags. No additional formatting is required.
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Robust Password Policies: To improve overall security and guarantee that only authorized users have access to network systems, it is imperative to implement strong password regulations.
Complexity requirements are a crucial part of a strong password policy. Passwords are made more difficult to crack by using a combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Regular updates lower the chance of unwanted access by ensuring that compromised credentials are quickly changed. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and requiring the usage of strong passwords might help lessen an organization's susceptibility to account takeover threats.
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Security Awareness Training: Employees are frequently the subject of cyberattacks through social engineering, phishing, shadow IT, and other tactics. Regularly doing cybersecurity awareness training helps to guarantee that staff members are knowledgeable about the most recent risks and do not attempt to go around an organization's cyberdefenses.
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Cyber Threat Intelligence: Information and indications of compromise (IoCs) regarding the most recent cyberattack campaigns are provided via threat intelligence feeds. Potential cyberattacks can be more successfully detected, blocked, and remedied by the company by subscribing to cyber threat intelligence (CTI) feeds and incorporating this knowledge into their security program.
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Intrusion Detection Systems and Firewalls Deployment: Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and firewalls are essential parts of network infrastructure security. They support the monitoring, detection, and blocking of cyber-threats and illegal access. By filtering incoming and outgoing traffic according to pre-established security criteria, firewalls serve as a barrier between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks. They offer different degrees of protection and might be cloud-based, software-based, or hardware-based.
However, by continuously scanning network traffic for unusual behavior and possible security breaches, intrusion detection systems (IDSs) function in tandem with firewalls. To find irregularities, send out alerts, or take appropriate action, they examine packets and patterns. To stop network exploitation, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPSs) take it a step further by actively blocking or neutralizing threats in addition to detecting them.
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Routine Security Assessments: Organizations may find weaknesses, guarantee adherence to security standards, and improve defenses by regularly conducting security audits. These audits entail in-depth evaluations of networks, systems, and security procedures in order to identify vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit. Organizations may protect their sensitive data from possible breaches and keep ahead of developing cyber dangers by routinely performing these checks.
For businesses that manage client data, adherence to laws like GDPR and PCI DSS is essential. Frequent security audits assist in ensuring that businesses adhere to these legal obligations, preventing significant penalties and harm to their reputation that may result from non-compliance.