The way digitization has transformed this world affects every aspect of our lives. In this current scenario, it is paramount that the networks on which organizations operate are secure. Network security is a combination of software and hardware products that protects the underlying network architecture from unauthorized access, misuse, or theft.
Firewalls are the largest segment of network security in today’s market. Firewalls control the flow of incoming and outgoing traffic between the internal and external networks.
In early 2018, more than 1.1 billion Indian citizens had their names, addresses, photos, phone numbers, and emails, as well as biometric data like fingerprints and iris scans exposed when the Aadhaar database was infiltrated. The database also had the bank details linked to the 12 digit unique number causing this to be classified as a credit breach as well. The Aadhaar database was infiltrated through the website of Indane, a state-owned utility company connected to the government database through an application programming interface(API) which allowed applications to retrieve data stored by other applications. As Indane’s API had no access controls whatsoever, the data was rendered vulnerable.
In 2013, two Lativian hackers hacked into Yahoo’s database causing one of the world’s worst security breaches ever. 3 billion users had their names, email addresses and passwords leaked. The hackers orchestrated a ‘spear-fishing’ campaign. sending out emails to specific Yahoo employees which contained a link that would give them access to Yahoo’s network. One employee clicked on the link enabling the hackers to find the user database and the management tool. Yahoo had to provide a settlement fund of $117.5 million in 2019 according to court orders. They also had to pay a fine of $35 million for hiding information about the breach for 3 years.
700 million users of the professional networking giant LinkedIn had their data posted on a dark web forum in June 2021. The hacker who goes by the name “God User ” exploited LinkedIn’s and other companies’ APIs by using data scraping techniques. The leak included user information such as email addresses, full names, physical addresses, phone numbers, LinkedIn user names and profile URLs, information relating to users’ other social media accounts, geolocation and more.
Preventing Network Security Breaches
Vulnerabilities in network security create opportunities for hackers to cause untold damage to your network while also exposing potentially sensitive and confidential information. Network security was developed to implement measures to protect data on your computer network from loss, theft or manipulation.
Restricting access to a network is the first step in protecting it. Organizations should opt for a ‘Zero Trust policy’. Zero Trust is a security framework that requires every user to authenticate their credentials as well as verify their authorization before being granted access to the network. Zero Trust assumes that there is no traditional network edge; networks can be local, in the cloud, or a combination or hybrid with resources anywhere as well as workers in any location This model restricts unauthorized access into the system, which can cause a major data breach.
Performing regular security audits is not only important for assessing the security of the organization but also to assess compliance with security legislation. Network security audits are paramount in identifying and correcting any vulnerabilities in the network to ensure that the system remains uncompromised. Network security audits can be done manually by professionals or organizations can also opt to use network testing tools.
Detailed, text-based records of events occurring in a network are called log files. These files are generated by a host of devices and applications like system utilities, firewalls, servers, workstations, etc. They provide an audit trail that is vital for monitoring and keeping records of activities within the network, identifying policy violations, suspicious or unusual activities and highlighting security incidents. Security log management consists of the generating, transmitting, storing, analyzing and disposal of security log data thereby ensuring its confidentiality, integrity and availability.
What is Access Management?
Access management is a software solution that ensures that the right users have access to the right resources at the right times for the right reasons. This solution is used to authenticate and authorize any and all users, say, employees or contractors that will be accessing the organization’s network and resources. It provides an extra layer of security to businesses’ networks. Access management solutions can be as simple or intricate based on an organization’s requirements. There are customization options available for revealing certain files, documents, records, and more.
How can Access Management strengthen Network Security?
Access Management can be broadly classified into Identity Access Management(IAM) and Privileged Access Management(PAM). Any organization implementing access management tools can make use of its tools and functionalities to strengthen its digital security.
MFA or multi-factor authentication is one of the most popular functionalities used by access management solutions. This requires a user to be able to authenticate themselves using more than a single credential. This requires a user to have a secondary(or more) authentication other than the primary one which is usually a password. Things like biometric authentication, linked devices, answers to security questions and geographic locations can be used.
SSO or Single Sign-On is another popular functionality used by these solutions. SSO enables users to access their applications and services using only a single set of credentials. It vastly improves user experience by not requiring them to remember a host of different credentials for each different service that they may need to access. One of the major security benefits of this functionality is that it drastically reduces the risk of users using risky password-storing methods or using the same passwords for multiple applications.
Privileged Identity Management is an access management solution that tracks, manages, and secures the privileged accounts, i.e, accounts with heightened access and permissions, in an organization. Privileged accounts like Administrators, CEOs, and CIOs need to be tightly managed.
Other functionalities like Just-in-Time(JIT) Access, provisioning and de-provisioning, access certification, etc. are available access management solutions. The functionalities implemented by the organization are customizable based on the tools selected.
How can SecurDI help?
SecurDI helps implement and manage leading access management solutions to protect organizations from cyber threats and data breaches. Our teams comprise of seasoned professionals who have years of experience in providing robust security solutions across several organizations. SecurDI offers comprehensive services including but not limited to security assessments, addressing concerns raised as a result of the assessments and implementing those solutions for you. In today’s threat filled digital landscape, SecurDI can help to keep your business safe and secure.