Why Proactive Network Security is Essential to the Success of your Business... and How to Achieve It

When it comes to network security, a strong reactionary defense is needed just in case something goes wrong. However, relying on a reactionary defense all the time will only hurt your business in the long run. This is because your business will begin to rely solely on damage control and fixing issues as they occur instead of preventing them from happening in the first place. You don’t need psychic powers to achieve this, all you need is a proactive sense of security. 

Security is a broad term and can reflect many things, but for now, we will focus on network security and how making it proactive is an essential part to the success of your business. After all, achieving success but being vulnerable to attacks and network breaches that can undermine everything you’ve worked for is no success at all. Having your network security breached can be devastating. At its least harmful, it will still cause your business tons of IT downtime and wreak havoc on systems, but at its most harmful it will cause all of that plus thousands of dollars in damages and the power to ruin your business’ reputation. 

You can avoid this by having a strong proactive security network that allows you to achieve success and stay protected. 

The best way to achieve network security is to first make sure that your business is equipped with the proper tools. One such tool is antivirus software. This may seem like an obvious solution but many businesses are becoming afflicted with ransomware, phishing attacks that deliver malware, and other malicious entities breaching business networks. Many businesses still do not have antivirus or rely on a free service to protect their network. Free antivirus services are weak and not effective against these intrusions and not having any antivirus makes malware that much easier to enter your network. The potential damages caused by malware and ransomware can be upwards of over $10,000. Don’t end up paying for damages and instead invest in a solid antivirus system that can protect your network from costly sabotage. 

Having a VPN and setting up a wireless encryption is vital in maintaining a secure network. A VPN will help maintain privacy and security by creating an encrypted layer that allows data in your network to travel through safe tunnels which maintains privacy, security, and requires authentication to access. Wireless encryption also serves to bolster the strength of network security and help keep your business safe from any potential threats. Having these enabled and set up on your network is a key aspect of achieving strong network security that will aid in the success of your business. Along the same lines, an Intrusion Detection System (IDS)/Intrusion Protection System (IPS) is a great asset to have, these tools proactively scan and make sure your VPN is kept safe from harm and can potentially stop attacks should they start to cause damage.

It is also essential to make sure that your wireless router is kept up to date with its firmware through security patches. All of your operating systems and applications should be kept up to date and patched accordingly to stop threats before they cause any issues. Make sure to use a wireless router with a built-in firewall and configure it accordingly to your business. Most firewalls are scalable to the number of users so always make sure that your firewalls are kept up to speed with the size of your business. A strong firewall on your wireless network will help close up any potential vulnerabilities that may be present in the security network. While it is impossible to be perfect all the time as false flags or lapses may occur, a firewall should not be underestimated when it comes to securing a network down properly. Firewalls are often disabled because an individual may want to download something without a firewall impeding their progress, so make sure that firewalls are password protected and that they are always kept on. 

Work closely with your IT department and dedicate time to going over any other potential exploits that may be on your security network. Keeping up with the news about new security threats is also an integral part of a proactive defense system. Knowing what vulnerabilities to check up on and remedy is half the battle when it comes to proactive security. It is near impossible to close every single vulnerability, as new ones pop up every time, but being vigilant and aware of the new ones that occur means that you are already taking the initiative to prevent any attacks before they happen. Making sure that everything is kept up to date on a monthly basis as well as being well versed in current events will go leaps and bounds in creating a strong security network for your business. 

Above all, make sure that your business has a strong security culture and security policy. Many of the exploits that harm businesses today are tailor-made to trick employees into allowing malicious threats access to business networks. Whether you are a small business or large corporation, it is irrelevant, all malware will threaten all businesses. Having a strong culture of security can further create a proactive defense against potential threats. Make sure your employees know what phishing attacks look like, have a standard on what can be downloaded and what cannot, ensure that all employees have a basic understanding of the security protocols and programs in place on the network, and ensure that employee mobile devices are free from harm. Mobile devices are great vectors for malware to potentially harm the security of your business network, so it’s necessary to make sure that employees are not downloading harmful content on their phones via the business network. With an ever-growing BYOD culture, it is more important now than before to make sure human error is eradicated as much as possible through proper employee training.

Success is on every business owner’s mind, and without a doubt on yours as well. It is extremely important to know that success comes in preparation and neglecting preparation for the security of your business is inviting hundreds of cyber threats from sweeping all of the hard earned work from you. A proactive security network is one of the most important ingredients in the formula for success. Protecting what you have built and safeguarding what is most important to you are things that definitely need to be accounted for when it comes to running your business. The best road to success? Be proactive and protect your network security instead of fighting a costly war reacting against cyber invaders.