Cyber-attacks cost organizations millions of dollars every year. If you become a victim of a cyber-attack, you could have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and your internet could be down for days, weeks, or even months.
Would your company be able to handle spending that much money on a cyber-attack? Can your company go days, weeks, or months without being connected to the internet?
Cyber-attacks can devastate an organization or even run an organization out of business. With today’s ever-changing technology, network security is a must for every organization to combat these attacks.
Coeo has helped secure the network of thousands of different organizations and we know how important it is to combat cyber-attacks. We’re here to give you all of the information you need on what network security is and why it is important.
By the end of this article, you will know what network security is, some network security applications, and why you should invest in network security.
What is network security?
Network security is the protection of the underlying network infrastructure. It protects the network from unauthorized access, misuse, and theft.
To exploit the vulnerabilities within your network, attacks can come in many forms from various sources. To combat these different forms, network security can be made up of a variety of applications, configurations, and tools.
The variety of different network security forms such as applications and tools will help you cover as much ground and secure your network. The more security features you have implemented into your network the better off you’ll be.
Not only do the different types of network security help protect your data and network from cyber-attacks but it also gives access to authorized users so they can perform their work safely and efficiently.
Types of network security options
There are more than a handful of network security options on the market and many of them are more than serviceable solutions.
The quality of service and different features of each option of course varies across different service providers but some of the main solutions include firewalls, ZTNA, and SASE.
Firewall
This is probably the most popular form of network security and everyone who has a device connected to the internet, has a firewall. The firewall is the first line of defense when it comes to network security.
Contrary to popular belief, however, a firewall is not supposed to be set up once and forgotten about. Firewalls must be maintained and managed with updates to remain effective.
You can have a regular firewall, one that you or your IT team have to manage, or a managed firewall managed by someone else. With a managed firewall, the managed service provider monitors and updates the firewall for you.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is a security method that requires verification from anyone looking to access resources on a network. This method is a reaction that fixes some of the shortcomings of the perimeter-based network security model.
Firewalls protect the edge of your network and differentiate between trust and untrust to protect your network. Inside of your firewall is known as trust and outside of your firewall is known as untrust.
When it comes to ZTNA, there is no trusted network because if someone compromises a device that is on your trusted network, your trusted network is now untrusted. ZTNA takes the angle that every network is untrusted.
SASE
Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE, is a cybersecurity product that combines a WAN or wide area network and a security system into one cloud-based system.
SASE helps when employees leave the office and continue to work or are working remotely.
It helps prevent your network from being vulnerable to attacks even when employees are connected to a Starbucks wifi or working remotely on their home wifi.
These are just some of the top network security options that you can choose from. For more information on network security options and how you can secure your remote locations, check out this article.
Why network security is a good investment
There are many reasons to invest in network security. Times have changed and with advancements in technology come advancements in cyber-attacks.
Investing in network security will help not only your company internally but also your customers if your customers rely on your network.
How network security benefits your internal organization
Network security is of course good for helping your internal organization. You may have important, sensitive data that should be kept private and if that is not secure, cyber-criminals could cause havoc within your network environment.
Additionally, everything today runs over the internet. The internet is a big part of our world in today’s workforce and if you do not have your network protected, you could lose access to the internet causing downtime for some time.
How network security benefits your customers
If you have customers that rely on your network, network security should always be a priority. If any kind of customer data no matter what your company does get leaked via a cyber-attack, you could be held accountable.
Making sure your network is secure so your customers are secure is a huge priority. Your customers should be your number one priority and ensuring their data is safe is very important.
Next steps to securing your network
Now you know what network security is, the different ways you can secure your network, and why you should invest in network security. This should help you understand the importance of network security.
Cyber-attacks cost companies millions of dollars each year. If you could avoid this disaster and a hefty repair bill with network security options why wouldn’t you?
Coeo has secured the networks of thousands of different customers. We know just how frightening it can be to be a victim of a cyber-attack and we want to give you as much information as possible so you can secure your network properly and not have to worry about these issues.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about network security or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment. 
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