Network security. Instead of introducing

    In today's global world, network security is critical. Enterprises need to provide secure access for employees to network resources at any time, for which a modern network security strategy should take into account a number of factors such as increasing network reliability, effective security management and protection against constantly evolving threats and new attack methods. For many companies, the problem of network security is becoming increasingly complex, as Today's mobile employees using personal smartphones, laptops, and tablets to work bring new potential problems. At the same time, hackers also do not sit back and make new cyber threats more and more sophisticated. A recent survey of network security IT professionals [conducted by



    Slashdotmedia ] showed that among the important factors when choosing network security solutions, almost half of the respondents put the reliability of the chosen network solution in first place. 

    Asked question: When you choose a network security solution, what factors are most important for your company?



    Vulnerabilities associated with network security leave open a number of potential problems and expose the company to various risks. IT systems may be compromised through them, information may be stolen, employees and customers may have problems accessing the resources that they are authorized to use, which may force customers to move to a competitor.

    A simple service related to security problems can have other financial consequences. For example, a website that is inactive during rush hour can generate both direct losses and a powerful negative PR, which will obviously affect the level of sales in the future. In addition, in some industries there are strict criteria for the availability of resources, the violation of which can lead to regulatory fines and other unpleasant consequences.

    In addition to the reliability of solutions, there are a number of issues that have come to the fore today. For example, about 23% of the IT professionals surveyed identify the cost of the solution as one of the main problems related to network security; which is not surprising, given that the IT budgets of the past few years have been significantly limited. Further, about 20% of respondents identified ease of integration as a priority parameter when choosing a solution. What is natural in conditions when IT departments are required to perform more with less resources.

    Concluding the discussion about the key parameters in choosing a solution, I would like to note that only about 9% of respondents named network functions as a key factor in choosing solutions in the field of network security. When choosing a solution for ensuring network security of corporate systems and minimizing the risks associated with this, one of the most important factors for almost half (about 48%) of the respondents was the reliability of the network and the solution associated with it.

    Question asked: What type of network attack is your IT organization most worried about?



    Today, hackers use a variety of attack methods on company networks. The study showed that IT professionals are most concerned about two specific types of attacks: denial of service (DoS) and eavesdropping attacks - these attacks are listed as the most dangerous and priority in about 25% of respondents. And 15% of respondents each chose IP Spoofing and MITM (man-in-the-middle) as key threats. Other types of threats were prioritized for less than 12% of respondents.

    Question asked: In terms of mobile vulnerabilities, what is most worrying about your IT team?



    Today, the number of mobile employees is growing and the adaptation of the policy of using their own electronic devices for work (BOYD) present new requirements for network security. At the same time, unfortunately, the number of insecure network applications is growing very rapidly. In 2013, HP tested more than 2,000 applications, which revealed that 90% of applications have security vulnerabilities. This situation poses a serious threat to corporate security and it is not surprising that 54% of respondents rated threats from malicious applications as the most dangerous.

    Summing up the intermediate result of the above, we can draw the following conclusion: modern solutions for ensuring network security, among other things, must necessarily possess the following properties:

    • Be able to work at the seventh level of the OSI model (at the application level); 
    • Be able to associate a specific user with the traffic content;
    • have an integrated system of protection against network attacks (IPS) in the solution 
    • support built-in protection against attacks such as DoS and listening; 
    • generally have a high degree of reliability.

    A few words about the practice of ensuring Information Security in our country; Let us briefly describe the current legal field that defines IS aspects in the Russian Federation. In the Russian Federation, all issues related to information security are governed by the following basic laws: 

    • Federal Law 149 “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection”;
    • Federal Law 152 “On the Protection of Personal Data”;
    • Federal Law 139 (amendments to Federal Law 149, Law on Communications and Federal Law 436 on the protection of children from information);
    • FZ 436 (on protection against children's information);
    • FZ 187 (on the protection of intellectual property and the Internet);
    • FZ 398 (on blocking extremist sites);
    • FZ 97 (on bloggers who equated them with the media);
    • FZ 242 (on the placement of personal data on the territory of the Russian Federation).

    At the same time, laws governing activities in areas related to information security imply serious liability for violation of certain provisions, for example: 

    • under article 137 of the Criminal Code (illegal collection or dissemination of information about a person’s private life) - deprivation of liberty for up to four years;
    • under article 140 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unlawful refusal to provide documents and materials collected in the established manner) - a fine or deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of 2 to 5 years;
    • under article 272 of the Criminal Code (unlawful access to computer information protected by law) - imprisonment for up to 5 years.

    For most Russian enterprises, the relevance of network security issues is primarily due to the fact that they somehow process the data of individuals (at least, the data of their employees). Therefore, regardless of the type of activity, any company must take into account the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation and is obliged to apply various organizational and technical measures to protect information. Specific measures to protect this or that information are defined in the relevant Russian IS standards (GOST R ISO / IEC 15408, GOST R ISO 27001, etc.), as well as the guidelines of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (for example, FSTEC order No. 58 dated 05.02.10, defining the methods and methods of protecting systems that process personal data).

    Compliance with federal requirements by enterprises is currently monitored by three government agencies: the Federal Security Service (FSB), Roskomnadzor and FSTEC. Control is carried out by conducting scheduled and sudden inspections, following which the company can be held accountable.

    Thus, ignoring the problem of ensuring network security in our country can not only bring great losses to the business, but also entail the criminal liability of specific company executives. 

    Conclusion


    Threats to information security are becoming more complex, hackers and cybercriminals are using new tricks and implement more sophisticated attacks to hack systems and steal data.

    The fight against new attacks requires network security solutions and the development of a network security strategy that meets the requirements of reliability, cost and integration with other IT systems. The developed solutions must be reliable, provide protection against attacks at the application level and allow traffic identification. 

    A simple conclusion suggests itself from the foregoing: in the modern world, information security issues cannot be ignored; In response to new threats, it is necessary to look for new approaches to implementing an information security strategy and use new methods and means of ensuring network security. 

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