What network security knowledge do you need to know?

What is network security? How should enterprises use security technology? Five hot issues that need to be answered by partners in the introduction of network security. What is network security? In most cases, when you leave the office after a day's work, you will turn on the alarm system and lock the door to protect the office and equipment. In addition, you may have a safe or locked filing cabinet for storing confidential company documents. Similarly, your computer network needs such protection. Network security technology protects your network from being stolen and abused by others, while preventing malicious attacks by Internet viruses and worms. Without network security technology, your company will face risks such as unauthorized intrusion, network downtime, service interruption, violation of laws and regulations and even legal proceedings. How does security technology work? Network security does not depend on one method, but protects your enterprise in different ways through a set of settings. Even if one solution fails, there are other solutions to ensure that the company and data are not threatened by various network attacks. For the important information that you depend on in business operation, the security layer on the network can ensure that you can use this information at any time and protect it from security threats. In short, network security technology can resist internal and external network attacks. Security threats may exist inside and outside the enterprise. An effective security system can monitor all network activities, mark abnormal activities and take corresponding measures. Ensure the confidentiality of all communication materials anytime and anywhere. Employees can access the company network at home or on the road, and the communication materials are always confidential and protected. Access to information is controlled by accurately identifying users and their systems. Enterprises can set their own data access rules. Then, according to user identity, job function or other business-related criteria, access rights are granted or denied. Improve your reliability. Because security technology can make the system stop all known attacks and take corresponding measures against new threats, employees, customers and business partners are always convinced that their information is safe. How should enterprises use security technology? Network security has become the demand of all enterprises, especially those that rely on the Internet. Your customers, suppliers and business partners may want you to effectively protect the information they share with you. Although network security has almost become a prerequisite for enterprise operation, it can still benefit enterprises in many ways. The following are the advantages that enterprises can gain from a secure network: ensuring customer trust and privacy, and encouraging collaboration. Strong security makes customers believe that others can't access and spy on their sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or company confidential information. Business partners will be more confident to share data such as sales forecasts or plans with you before the product is released. In addition, this technology can prevent intruders and enable partners to access your network information safely, thus improving collaboration efficiency. Flexibility: you can also access the network safely on the way and improve work efficiency outside the office. Powerful network security features enable your employees to access the company network safely on the road or at home without any virus or other threats. For employees, safe and convenient network access means that they can use important information when they need it, and they can work efficiently even if they are far away from their desks. Efficiency: Don't waste time dealing with spam. Staff morale and collaboration efficiency are higher. An effective network security plan can greatly improve the company's work efficiency. Employees will not have to spend too much time on redundant tasks, such as filtering spam or dealing with viruses. Your network and Internet connection are always in a safe state, ensuring that you and employees can access the Internet and email normally. The cost is low, business interruption is avoided, and advanced business develops steadily. No matter what kind of enterprises, network downtime will make them suffer heavy losses. If you can ensure that the network and Internet connection always work normally, you can also ensure that customers can contact you at any time when needed. Effective security technology enables your company to easily add new services and applications without affecting the performance of existing networks. At the same time, proactive data protection can also ensure that your company's network always works normally when customers need it. With the development of the company, your network needs will constantly change. Building a strong and secure network today will ensure that your company can add more advanced functions in the future, such as secure wireless networks or voice and conference calls. Back to the Introduction to Network Security When starting a network security project, the first step is to match your company's requirements with the appropriate security technology. At the beginning, please refer to the following list of precautions: Your current security level lists the current security functions of your network. This list helps you identify vulnerabilities in current protection methods. Does your network have the following functions: firewall, virtual private network, intrusion prevention, virus prevention, secure wireless network, anomaly detection, identity management and compliance verification? Is there a connection between these functions? Your assets will generate an asset list to determine what level or level of protection your system needs. What assets are most important to the success of your company? Is it most important to protect the company's internal information? Protecting customer information is the most important thing? Or are both the most important? What are the values of these assets? Where are these assets kept in the system? Information delivery evaluates how information is enjoyed inside and outside the company. Do employees need quick access to internal information to do a good job? Do you like the data outside the company? How to control users' access to this information? Do you provide different access levels for different network users? Development Plan Does your company intend to add advanced functions to the existing system? How adaptable and flexible does your system need? Your security solution should be able to add new network traffic or advanced applications without affecting existing services. Risk assessment determines whether the impact of security vulnerabilities far exceeds the impact of reduced productivity or service interruption. What is the regulatory environment of your company? What are the risks of non-compliance? How long can your company tolerate downtime before a financial or reputation crisis occurs? Simple and easy to use If a technology can't be easily installed or used, then we can't say it is the best technology. Make sure that you have all the necessary resources to manage the installed system. Back to the top of the page, five hot questions that need to be answered by partners. Channel partners are the most important helpers for you to choose and use network security solutions. Experienced partners can help you evaluate the current level of protection and guide you to choose the right solution, thus helping you design and develop a secure and flexible network. Here are five hot questions you must ask potential partners who are responsible for providing SMB solutions: Do you specialize in serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMB)? Cisco has a huge network of certified partners to provide technical solutions and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Many of these partners are SMEs themselves, so they can fully understand your problems and your business goals. Cisco certified partners have proved their qualifications in the field of professional technology. They provide training, support and services to help your company design, deploy and optimize network solutions. In addition, they will learn about the latest software and hardware trends and upcoming Cisco products and solutions. What kind of after-sales service and support will you provide? Ask the partners in detail about the after-sales support they provide. For example, does the partner provide after-hours or emergency support? If so, what are the service hours? The specific level of support should be detailed in the service level agreement (SLA). Please also note that many Cisco partners provide excellent technical support services, and Cisco engineers are always at your service and provide a lot of technical resources. How to integrate the new solution with the existing IT environment? Cisco partners will discuss your company's specific requirements and evaluate your current system and network infrastructure. Therefore, Cisco partners will introduce a variety of solution options that not only meet your current needs, but also grow with your business over time and meet your budget requirements. How will the new solution help me save money and control costs? Compared with multi-vendor solutions, Cisco's end-to-end solutions are easier to maintain and support. Moreover, when making the network upgrade budget, we should also consider the following costs: all software costs that were not provided when purchasing hardware, maintenance costs, training costs, support costs, additional personnel (if necessary) costs and other factors. According to the statistics of Gartner, a professional market research company, these indirect costs can reach up to 60% of the total technology expenditure of enterprises. Therefore, through Cisco partners, you can achieve the best total cost of ownership. What preparations do we need to make? Before installation, please ask partners what specific information they need to know about the company's network, users, business processes and security requirements in order to successfully complete the network upgrade. In addition, you need to ask your partners: What are the most common mistakes or problems that companies like yours make in the process of network upgrade, and the countermeasures. Question? Contact a Cisco partner to learn more and get the help you need. Return to the peak