The quality of your network security can make or mar your business. When your business is facing concerns about the digital information you capture, analyze, or share to grow your business, it is time to boost your network security.

Stats published online reveal that about 8 billion records had been breached within the first six months of 2020. With the ever-increasing threat of internal and external cyberattacks and the relatively low number of IT personnel available to address them, the security of your network should be a top priority.

Here are some of the necessary precautions you must take to improve network security.

1. Carry Out a Security Audit

Invest some time to perform an audit of your corporate network. An audit enables you to know all the components included in your network. You should know the number, location, and model of your:

• Routers
• Switches
• Firewalls
• Ethernet ports and cabling
• Wireless access points

You also need to know all the computers, servers, printers, and any other machines or mobile devices connected to the network.

If you carry out the audit with a network security expert, you will discover vulnerabilities. Your consultant will also reveal ways in which you can improve security, reliability, and performance. Your network audit should be adequately documented with a map or network diagram.

2. Update Your Network

Keeping your network components up-to-date will make them more secure. You can check for software or firmware updates for each component.

Take each component and log in to the admin console to ensure that all the default login details have been altered. Check all settings for any signs of security loopholes.

After that, examine all devices and computers connected to the network. Check for the latest driver and operating system updates and make sure personal firewalls and antivirus software are updated.

3. Secure Your Network Physically

Don’t overlook the importance of physically securing your network. It may be just as important as installing a firewall. Physical security protects against internal threats, while your firewall protects against viruses and hackers.

If your corporate network does not have adequate physical security, a decadent worker or a hacker in the neighborhood may sneak in and carry out a security attack. A good example is plugging in a wireless router into an ethernet port to give someone in the vicinity unauthorized access to your network. Protecting the ethernet port from easy reach will prevent such an attack.

4. Consider Using VLANs

Use virtual LANs to group your users, wireless access points, and ethernet ports into different virtual networks. You can separate your network into VLANs based on traffic type to boost performance or user type for security reasons.

VLANs also offer the benefit of dynamic assignment. This means if you connect a laptop to the network anywhere in your workplace, the network will instantly put you in your pre-assigned VLAN. However, note that if you want to use VLANs to segment your network, your switches and routers have to support it.

Take Steps to Improve Your Network Security

Call Garden State Computing at 973-636-7350 for a free consultation on network security or reach us through our contact page today.