Your company’s network security is at risk. What are you doing to protect it?

1. Firewall Protection 2. Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) 3. Regular Security Audits 4. Secure Access Controls 5. Employee Training 6. Patch Management 7. Encryption Protocols 8. Incident Response Plan 9. Monitoring and Logging 10. Network Segmentation 11. Endpoint Security 12. Third-Party Security Assessments 13. Regulatory Compliance 14. Regular Security Updates

As a CISO/CIO, execute a risk assessment of your current security posture and business requirements. Sometimes, the organisation may be in possession of a product/solutions or a licence which may not be deployed well or in the process of deployment. Once complete, understand if the security posture can be enhanced by fine-tuning the existing solutions. If not, focus on modernizing parts of infrastructure to align with security, compliance and business goals.

We once had a security breach at work because we needed to do more risk assessments. From what I've seen, the best way to find security holes and decide where to focus your efforts is to do a comprehensive risk assessment. Keeping the risk assessment up-to-date and reviewed on a regular basis has helped me deal with new and different types of threats.

Adhering to a security framework like CIS or NIST is a great way to verify you are meeting basic security controls. Implement additional measures based on unique needs and environments.

Password policies, firewall settings, and access restrictions are some of the most basic security measures that should be in place. In my experience, informing staff about the controls and why they are important is beneficial.

At one point in time, we encountered security issues while moving to the cloud at work. If you want to keep your assets safe on the cloud, my recommendation is to use cloud-specific security solutions and follow best practices. Using encryption and cloud security services to safeguard data while it is in motion or stored has been useful for me.

If your aim is to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks within your network, you need a monitoring solution that can automatically detect threats. Nowadays, the majority of network traffic is encrypted (e.g., HTTPS), making it often difficult to discern how malicious traffic differs from legitimate traffic. If your budget permits, I would advise considering a Network Detection & Response (NDR) solution that utilizes machine learning for threat detection. Connect it to a SIEM or SOAR platform to enable automatic correlation with other security solutions (e.g., endpoint, cloud, and email). This is all easier said than done. If you need assistance in selecting the best solutions for your organization, don’t hesitate to reach out.

If you want to catch suspicious or malicious network activity early on, you need to monitor and audit it regularly. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems allow for the detection and reaction to incidents in real-time, which is something that has proven useful.

Quantum Encryption: Incorporate quantum resistant encryption for unparalleled security. AI-Driven Anomaly Detection: Utilize AI to detect subtle breaches. Deception Technology: Employ decoy assets to divert and expose attackers. Neuro-Linguistic Analysis: Detect malicious intent in communications using natural language processing. Red Teams: Engage red teams to continuously assess security. Cyber-Physical Integration: Integrate cybersecurity with physical infrastructure to enhance overall protection.

One thing I have found helpful is conducting penetration testing and vulnerability assessments to identify weaknesses. Regularly testing security measures and improving them based on findings is essential for maintaining network security.