Network Security
Vulnerability Management
Privileged Access Management
Endpoint Security
Threat Hunting
Unified Endpoint Management
Email & Collaboration Security
Contents:
Last time, we got to know better what network segmentation means. We defined the concept, found out how it works, how to use it and what benefits its implementation can bring to your organization.
You can check out the first article I wrote about network segmentation, but you’re probably here because you decided to give it a go and are curious about how to implement it to benefit you the best. This is what we are going to discuss today, so without further ado, let’s see what are the best practices to follow when implementing network segmentation in your organization.
How to Get the Best Out of Network Segmentation
Network segmentation can prove to be a time-consuming and costly practice, which if done incorrectly can attract significant additional investments in fixing costs and network architecture building. So, if you’ve finally decided that segmenting your network can benefit your business mostly, make sure you take into consideration these practices to avoid costly mistakes and downtime.
1. Follow the Principle of the Least Privilege
Once network segmentation has been implemented, each network should follow two principles, the zero-trust model, and the principle of the least privilege.
It is important for a company to minimize who and what has access within and across systems. The split should be done according to the actual need of the user, so not everyone in the company needs access to every part of the network. The “principle of least privilege” (POLP), also known as the “principle of least authority” (POLA) or “the principle of minimal privilege” (POMP), refers to a cybersecurity best practice focused on allowing a user the least amount of access necessary to complete a task. Separation of privilege also helps prevent unauthorized access and protect the network.
By following it, you can limit services, users, hosts, and even networks from accessing data and functions outside of their responsibility. Doing this will strengthen the overall security of your network, while also making monitoring and tracking traffic across networks easier.
2. Avoid Over and Under-Segmentation
This is probably the most common mistake you can make when approaching network segmentation. Under-segmentation will give the impression that the network control may be precisely targeted, and over-segmentation will bring you back to square one, and defeats the initial intent by leading to an excess of network segments.
Under-segmentation can also be harmful if there is not enough separation between the networks. Most likely, threat actors might increase their access rights by utilizing overlaps between sizable network segments.
To ensure optimal conditions for monitoring and implementing security measures, segmentation should be balanced. Network security must always be consistent with your overall cybersecurity objectives.
3. Restrict Third-Party Access
Restricting and managing third-party access should be done by every organization. It is important to give our thirds limited access and permissions to our network to minimize exploitable entry points. Third-party remote access risk is a key vulnerability for many organizations, due to the increased risk of breaching.
Unfortunately, third-party data breaches are common today. A study made by the Ponemon Institute in September 2022 and published in October 2022, involving over 1,000 IT and IT security professionals familiar with the approach of their organizations regarding third-party data risk, uncovered that 59% of respondents have experienced a data breach caused by one of their third parties.
One way to give third parties limited access to areas of your network necessary to them is to create isolated portals.
4. Make Legitimate Paths Easier to Access
When planning your network architecture, you need to pay close attention to how you plot access and what paths users have to take to connect to your network. It shouldn’t be necessary for a legitimate user or third party to travel through more access points than it takes for malicious actors to get past firewalls.
Make sure your network architecture offers greater security against cyber threats between your vendors and the information they require access to than firewalls.
5. Perform Regular Audits and Monitoring on Your Network
Every network segmentation procedure should undergo a thorough assessment to make sure the setup is flawless. To be absolutely certain that there are no holes in the system, penetration tests and auditing are helpful. Your security must always be impenetrable.
Performing regular audits can be one of the best ways to capture the pulse of your network, as networks are never static and the number of connected devices shifts constantly with users joining and leaving the network all the time.
6. Implement Endpoint Security & Protection
Threat actors target endpoint devices as they are often unsecured and under-protected. Make sure to implement an endpoint security & protection solution to keep cyberattackers at bay. Heimdal®’s Endpoint Detection and Response EDR Software gives you special threat-hunting, prevention, and cleanup features that let you react to sophisticated threats with ease and speed.
Due to its emphasis on prevention in addition to detection and response, Heimdal’s EDR suite, which consists of practices of prevention, detection, and response (EPDR), is a standard for cybersecurity.
Wrappin’ Up
As stated both in my previous article on the subject and in this one, network segmentation can prove to be a great solution to implement in your organization that will not only boost the security of your company but also the way in which you manage it, providing you with easier monitoring over your entire network.
- Next-gen Antivirus & Firewall which stops known threats;
- DNS traffic filter which stops unknown threats;
- Automatic patches for your software and apps with no interruptions;
- Privileged Access Management and Application Control, all in one unified dashboard
Hopefully, you found this article useful and you will keep these practices in mind when planning to segment the network of your organization.
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Cristian is a Content Editor & Creator at Heimdal®, where he developed a deep understanding of the digital threat landscape. His style resonates with both technical and non-technical readers, proof being in his skill of communicating cybersecurity norms effectively, in an easy-to-understand manner.
