Seven truths about network security

There are many misconceptions surrounding network security requirements

As security threats continue to evolve, businesses are forced to adapt. Keeping up with these growing risks, and understanding how to protect networks from them, often causes headaches within organisations. There are many misconceptions surrounding network security requirements and these misconceptions can cloud an organisation's judgement when it comes to selecting a security vendor.

Here are seven truths about network security:

1. Size doesn't matter

Many business leaders in small companies don't believe their organisations are at risk of cyberattacks. The truth is, attacks can occur in organisations of any size. The number of attacks simply scales up as organisations grow. While a global organisation with more than 10,000 employees may receive anywhere from 100-500 attacks per month, an organisation with only 1-10 employees is still vulnerable and can expect up to 50 attacks per month.

2. Special solutions make all the difference

Decision makers and budget controllers may see "special" solutions as an unnecessary expense, but operating with only network perimeter devices puts businesses at risk. Sixty-four per cent of security administrators say they need a special security intelligence platform to collaborate security data and combat security attacks. Specialised solutions like SIEM are now mandatory for protecting business networks against attacks.

3. Preparation does not guarantee protection

Proactively protecting against possible attacks isn't always feasible. Only 24 per cent of businesses are able to mitigate attacks before they occur. Most attacks can be dealt with only after they actually occur. Enterprises have to speed up the attack discovery process and react accordingly to ensure complete network security.

4. Attacks don't stick to predictable patterns

Attacks are dynamic, and can change patterns randomly and without warning. Businesses operating under the belief that all attacks follow the same pattern are putting themselves at risk. Just because businesses in a particular sector seem more susceptible to certain types of attacks doesn't mean they're immune to other, less common ones. Organisations need blanket protection from all attacks rather than picking and choosing which types of attack they're most likely to encounter.

5. Network security goes beyond audit reports

Thirty-five per cent of business leaders believe annual audit reports provide a total overview of their organisation's IT security. In reality, continuous monitoring is the key to securing networks.

Simply submitting security reports to establish a security policy, and laying idle for the remainder of year, is not enough. Sixty-four per cent of security administrators believe network security goes beyond audit reports. Year-round monitoring keeps network security up-to-date.

6. Compliance is no longer the biggest challenge

Stringent compliance requirements are often seen as the biggest hurdle when it comes to network security, but with the security landscape rapidly changing, compliance is no longer the only challenge. Cloud adoption, increased BYOD usage, and evolving threats are beginning to overshadow compliance issues.

7. The consequences of an attack go beyond finances

If an organisation believes that security breaches only result in financial penalties, they're mistaken. Seventy-five percent of security administrators say the cost of a data breach goes far beyond the costs of fixing the issue and paying penalties. There's the obvious risk of lost revenue if an organisation can't operate during an attack, but there's also the danger of customers losing trust and withdrawing their business.

To combat the myriad of evolving cyber threats, businesses must look to intelligent software-based solutions rather than rely on IT security teams to reactively solve these issues themselves.

Budgeting for over-priced licenses and costly consulting fees are no longer valid issues either because there are inexpensive network security solutions available. If a business is proactive with its network security, it won't have to include costly fixes into its budget. If done correctly, the costs associated with security breaches will be as mythical as the misconceptions we've just debunked.

Click here to learn more about the statistics used in this article.

Subhalakshmi is product analyst at ManageEngine