How to Choose the Right Network Security for Your Office Needs

Network security is a big topic for every company these days. As the lines between home and work continue to blur, network security has become more complex as more business is conducted online. With the staggering variety of technologies available to protect your network, it can take time to know which one will suit your needs best.

1. Identify the Nature and Extent of the Threat

As your company’s business grows, you will likely add employees and contractors to your network. It is important that everyone knows what they can and cannot do while they are on the network. A security policy should define which activities are allowed, permitted only with specific permission, and forbidden.

2. Identify Your Corporate Objectives

Numerous security measures are available to protect your company’s data and assets. You should select those that best meet your company’s needs. For example, if you have a lot of sensitive data on the network and require authentication for access, you’ll need to install a network authentication server.

3. Define Who is Responsible for Security

It is important to identify which individuals have responsibility for managing the security policies on the company’s network. The person responsible for the information security policies must understand the current security technology and industry best practices to select the right tools and technologies.

4. Identify Your Incident-Response Plan

You should have a plan for what you will do if an attack occurs on your network. This response should include a list of people who are authorized to take action, a strategy for handling the situation, procedures for keeping legal counsel informed, and emergency contact information. It would help if you also established policies regarding computer forensics and data retention documents.

5. Develop an Annual Review Plan

Although you may not immediately know something has changed in your network, you must review your security measures every year. Make any necessary changes to your policies and test the effectiveness of these changes by running through as many scenarios as possible.

6. Develop a Business Continuity Plan

Your business continuity plan should contain information about how you will recover from different types of network failures. Fundamentally, this plan will depend on your availability requirements and the amount of data that needs to be protected.

7. Test the Plans Regularly to Ensure Consistency and Efficiency

It is important to test the effectiveness of your security policies when a new device is added, or a new employee starts working on the network. When you test your plans, you must consider various scenarios that might impact business continuity, such as natural disasters, hardware failure, or human error.

8. Train Those Who Will Implement the Plan

Security policies must be implemented through thorough staff training, and supervisors should monitor the outcome of their work. Ensure each employee knows how to handle different security-related incidents, such as fraud or theft, virus or worm infection, or denial-of-service attack.

As your company grows, you will likely increase the number of technology systems you use to conduct business. You should design and implement network security measures that provide appropriate protection for your infrastructure, applications, and data to support your business’s needs.

Brett Sartorial
 

Brett is a business journalist with a focus on corporate strategy and leadership. With over 15 years of experience covering the corporate world, Brett has a reputation for being a knowledgeable, analytical and insightful journalist. He has a deep understanding of the business strategies and leadership principles that drive the world's most successful companies, and is able to explain them in a clear and compelling way. Throughout his career, Brett has interviewed some of the most influential business leaders and has covered major business events such as the World Economic Forum and the Davos. He is also a regular contributor to leading business publications and has won several awards for his work.