Protecting company data, devices, network access control, and systems is critical for business operations. On average, businesses suffer more than 16 days of downtime (link to: https://www.coveware.com/blog/2020/1/22/ransomware-costs-double-in-q4-as-ryuk-sodinokibi-proliferate) after a ransomware attack. Even worse, costs of downtime and loss of network traffic range from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars per day.

Network security uses a combination of technology and policies to prevent attacks and reduce downtime. The goal of network security is to maintain network functionality for authorized users while preventing intrusion, data destruction, and data theft.

Various types of network security work in layers by:

• Creating a barrier between the trusted internal network and external networks like the internet
• Authenticating users so only authorized people can access the network
• Alerting administrators to intrusion attempts
• Preventing viruses and malware from infecting the network

In addition to preventing downtime, these types of network security protect sensitive information, keep businesses in compliance with regulations, and much more. Our guide to Why Cybersecurity is Important (link to:https://www.leeshanok.com/why-cybersecurity-is-important/) covers all the reasons network security should be a priority.

What is Network Security?

Network security is a combination of technology, people, and policies. These work together to protect network connected devices, IT infrastructure, and data that flows through the network. It protects the network from both internal and external attacks.

Network Security vs. Cybersecurity

Network security is a subset of cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is the broader protection of a company’s entire digital system. It includes protecting the network, but also includes protecting against social engineering, educating employees on security best practices, and ensuring technology remains safe to support continued operations.

Network security is the more specific protection of network connected devices and the data flowing between them. Network security is typically more concerned with protecting IT infrastructure with purpose-built hardware and software solutions. It protects against technical cyberattacks like:

• Viruses and worm
• Denial of service (DoS) attacks
• Trojan Horses
• Zero-day exploits

Network security is a part of cybersecurity, so the two are closely related. This can make them hard to distinguish from each other. Let’s look at a common example. Two malicious emails are sent to your company. One is a phishing email attempting to trick employees into giving up confidential information. The other is an email with a malicious attachment that will install malware on the victim’s computer.

Phishing

Cybersecurity protects against the phishing email by training employees to recognize and avoid phishing attempts. Trained employees will not respond with sensitive information. 

Network security protects against the malicious email attachment. The network firewall could prevent the email from ever making it to an inbox. If the email makes it past the firewall, content filtering could remove the attachment. If an employee does get the email and attempts to install it, antivirus software could prevent installation or remove the harmful program before it has a chance to do much damage.

There are many components of network security that work together to keep the network, and company, safe.

Elements of Network Security Work

Network security requires technology, policies, and people to all work together. These network security defined elements need to be configured to all work together to make the network security measures functional for authorized users while keeping bad actors out. 

Firewalls

Firewalls are network security devices that monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic. They are configured to allow safe data packets to pass through while blocking unsafe data packets. 

Think of your network as a castle. Your firewall is like the guards at the gate. They check everyone coming in and going out. Your firewall guards open the drawbridge for safe, trusted people, and close it when dangerous ones try to get in.

Next Generation Firewalls

Next Generation Firewalls (link to Next Generation Firewalls) include the same functionality as traditional network security firewalls plus additional features like Intrusion Prevention Systems of unauthorized users, content filtering, and real time updates. 

In the castle example, next generation firewalls would be guards at the gate who would receive updates from other castles about dangerous people to look out for. They’d also be able to remove unwanted people more forcefully.

Intrusion Prevention Systems

Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) (Link to: Intrusion Prevention Systems) are either hardware or software solutions that detect intrusion attempts to your physical network security, automatically remove them from the network, and alert IT administrators to the attempt and response. These multiple layers make up a robust network security system.

The IPS is either part of a next generation firewall or a standalone solution. Either way, it’s a necessary component of network security because it is updated to protect against new security threats in real time, and it responds to intrusion attempts instantly. This removes the potentially dangerous delay that is inevitable when a network security threat requires human intervention.

With the volume and frequency that hackers create new attacks and discover vulnerabilities, it is critical your network is protected by a system that can adapt.

Content Filtering

Content filtering protects your company in two ways. First, it protects your network from malicious websites and email attachments. Second, it protects the company from the liability of employees accessing inappropriate content on the company network.

Content filtering with targeted access control can also be either a part of a next generation firewall or can be a standalone solution. Content filters are self-explanatory. They analyze keywords, phrases, and other data strings of all content accessed on the network. They filter out dangerous content and any content that violates company policies.

Web content filtering (link to Web Content Filtering) and email content filtering are the two most common forms of content filtering.

VPN or Virtual Private Network

Virtual Private Networks allow remote employees to safely connect to the company network. A virtual private network encrypts valuable data; this is especially important for employees who are working from home. 

Physical networking infrastructure is traditionally housed in the company’s building. Employees who work in that building can connect to the network without a VPN. However, offsite employees still need access to the same applications and data housed on the network. VPNs create a secure tunnel to the company network that employees can access using their own internet connections.

Site-to-site VPN

Site-to-site virtual private networks can also be used to connect branch offices. Say your company has three offices. Your headquarters in Building A houses the physical networking infrastructure. Offices B and C don’t have any physical network infrastructure but can connect to the company network in Building A using a VPN.

Cloud Security

Many businesses are moving from physical network infrastructure to cloud services, which are more accessible on mobile devices. Security is still important even if the network hardware is owned by a third party and hosted offsite, as unwanted parties are increasingly targeting mobile devices. 

A traditional network security system focused on building a perimeter around the network. With the cloud, there is no perimeter because it is accessible on any device. Keeping data secure is the new focus. This requires more secure authentication, encryption, endpoint security, and data segmentation.

The Cloud

Moving fully to the cloud also means the business is reliant on another company to keep the physical network devices safe and operational. The leading cloud providers promise the highest levels of uptime and security.  

The cloud isn’t necessarily insecure by default, but it requires a different way of thinking and different questions to ask the cloud providers.

Network Access Control Security Professionals

The people behind network security are often the most overlooked element. These professionals design, install and maintain network security infrastructure. Without them, network security becomes outdated, and infrastructure starts to fail.

It takes a high degree of technical knowledge and certification to keep a network properly secured. Businesses have a few options for how to obtain these essential personnel. They could staff and train an internal IT department. This is a good option for businesses with a lot of resources. A full team is usually necessary to cover all IT functions and avoid skill gaps. This keeps the talent in-house, but is the most expensive option.

Managed IT Provider

Businesses could also hire a managed IT provider like LeeShanok. Managed service providers (MSPs) supply the fully trained teams and partner with you to keep your network secure. This is generally the most affordable option, and a good choice if you prefer not to have internal IT staff. 

The third option is often the best: partnering internal IT staff with an MSP. A good MSP works as a team with internal IT staff. They compliment each other’s skills to fully protect your network. The MSP can cover the gaps in the current IT department at a lower cost than hiring additional personnel.

How Secure is My Network Traffic?

Starting to think about your own company’s network security? LeeShanok’s Network Security Assessments (link to: network security assessment) are a great check-up to see how healthy your network is. We’ll give you a network security report card with actionable steps to better protect your company.

Request my Network Security Assessment

What makes cyber security important? News reports of cyber attacks are coming out more and more frequently. Ransomware has become the tool of choice for hackers looking to extort money from businesses, and email phishing is their preferred method of delivery. The details of each cyber attack are different, but there are commonalities in the results, and it all boils down to risk mitigation.

Victims of cyber attacks suffer damage, including financial loss, ransom demands, unfulfilled orders, missing contractual obligations, and the loss of a good reputation.

Cybersecurity is important because it reduces risk.

Why Protect Against Cyberattacks

Ensure Business Continuity

It’s no secret that cybercriminals are looking to steal money and data when they hack businesses. Most understand this in theory, but rarely consider the full consequences of cyber attacks and what it takes to protect their digital assets against things like identity theft. In the event of a ransomware attack, the costs are more than just the payout of a ransom.

Businesses can also face downtime, expensive recovery costs, notification costs, and costs to properly secure infrastructure once its back online. A relatively small $50,000 ransom could easily turn into $500,000 in associated costs for the business. In fact, an estimated 60% of small and medium sized businesses fail within six months of an attack.

Cybersecurity has shifted from simple antivirus software to an essential information security function to keep businesses operational. Proper cybersecurity makes it more difficult for cyber criminals to execute successful data breaches, and it makes it significantly easier to recover from data breaches when they do occur.

Follow Government Regulations

No company nor individual is immune to cyberattacks, no network or cloud environment is impervious to data breaches, and no business is free from government regulation. These regulations and legislation have been rapidly changing. The law now requires companies to report cyber threats when personal data is exfiltrated or ransomware payments are made following malicious attacks. Companies that don’t comply with these mandates and identify their system vulnerabilities may be subject to fines and other penalties.

Maintain Compliance

Some industries have government mandated compliance standards, like HIPAA for medical clinics. But it’s not only governments that are legislating computer systems’ cybersecurity standards. Companies that accept credit card payments must remain PCI-compliant due to requirements from the credit card industry. Privacy laws like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) are designed to protect consumer privacy from unauthorized access and cyber crime.

Companies that collect personal information on their customers will be subject to increasing cybersecurity preparedness and requirements for reporting if there is a data breach of that sensitive information. Compliance regulations are likely to become more far-reaching, so companies that invest now in meeting these security requirements for valuable data will be more prepared.

In May 2021 President Biden issued an Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. Although the order focuses on the federal government’s security posture and sharing of information between agencies, it also focuses on enhancing software supply chain security and cybersecurity of federal information security analysts. Ongoing compliance is usually dependent on periodic questionnaires with checklist items and less frequent audits that dig deeper for evidence of network security compliance. Tools like Microsoft 365’s Compliance Manager, provide an easy-to-use framework to check your own compliance, along with steps to boost your compliance score and satisfy audit requirements and protect you from future attacks.

Protect Remote Workers’ Sensitive Data

Many employees now work remotely, which means there are more entry points into your network and personally identifiable information than ever before. The sum total of these entry points is your attack surface. The combination of geographic distribution and diverse employee-owned mobile devices increases the attack surface available to global threats. Evaluation should be performed to identify potential entry points so that next-generation firewalls, SSL VPN, and common security configurations pushed out by group policy can be deployed. Zero-Trust policies should be implemented along with conditional access policies to evaluate each access request and apply common security policies. And “geolocation fencing” can be used to prevent attacks from known risky countries or geographies.

Restrict Terminated Employee Access

When some employees learn their employment will be terminated, they begin searching for ways to harm the firm or help their own future. This can include copying company data and contacts for personal or malicious use, and sometimes outright sabotage of their computer or company data. Without proper cybersecurity safeguards against insider threats, companies leave themselves vulnerable to these disgruntled employees.

For example, even when people are let go, most firms don’t change their Wi-Fi passphrase because that would require all remaining employees to modify credentials in all their devices. This oversight allows recently terminated employees to connect to company Wi-Fi while sitting in the company parking lot. There are better ways to manage Wi-Fi credentials such that when a user’s Active Directory account is deactivated, they can no longer connect to the domain or the Wi-Fi network.

Meet Cyber Insurance Requirements

Cyber Insurance is a great tool to mitigate the financial damage of a cyberattack, but each insurance provider has certain cybersecurity policies that must be met in order to obtain coverage. Insurance providers have cybersecurity offerings as stand-alone policies and add-on riders to existing business liability policies. When filling out the application, you’ll find questions relating to cybersecurity preparedness. The insurance companies reduce their risk exposure by making sure the businesses they cover have cybersecurity best practices in place. When filing a claim, the insurance companies may also audit the business for evidence that the cybersecurity practices claimed in the application were still being followed for the claim to be paid out.

Protect Business Reputation

Beyond the financial and legal consequences of a breach, damage to a business’s reputation may be the most difficult to recover from. Trust is one of an organization’s most valuable assets. As an example, consider a healthcare clinic that suffered a breach.

The data the healthcare clinic collects is highly sensitive. Even after the clinic recovers and implements stronger security protocols, patients may be hesitant to return because the clinic failed to protect their information. Vendors, other healthcare providers, and insurance companies may be similarly reluctant to do business with the clinic because of the stain the breach left on the clinic’s reputation. Damage to a company’s reputation is difficult to quantify, but the effects are very real. Beyond protecting data and technology, cybersecurity protects a business’s reputation.

Mitigate Individual Risks

Individuals are not spared either, as email and text based phishing attacks are growing in volume and sophistication. People also tend to use Wi-Fi hotspots where there is little protection between attached devices from multiple customers. Add the fact that many households have installed “smart” devices that are internet connected and that many still use the same password across multiple devices and accounts, and you’ve got a recipe for household chaos or worse.

Improve your Cybersecurity Posture With Managed IT

An alternative to the flawed set-and-forget strategy is a Managed IT plan with a local, reliable cybersecurity and network management provider. Most of these plans have level monthly payments, with shared service level agreements (SLA) that detail responsibilities of the provider and the client firm.

The managed IT provider proactively monitors the health of network devices and updates firmware and software when patches become available. Finding such a provider who has experience with your infrastructure devices and helps client firms comply with industry and governmental cybersecurity and privacy requirements provides huge benefits by preventing cybersecurity incidents and responding to incidents if they do occur.

Summary

Cybersecurity is very important for companies to protect:

• Data stores
• Contact lists
• Identity Theft
• Web accounts
• Access by employees
• Access credentials
• Communication capability (email, SMS, phone, voice mail)
• Company reputation
• Certifications & Compliance
• Customers & Customer Data
• Supply chain partners

Cybersecurity will help protect your company, customers, partners and employees against:

• Operational interruptions (downtime)
• Liability
• Cybersecurity threats
• Unforeseen large labor bills
• Impediments to employee productivity

Ready to Start Investing in Your Cybersecurity?

A great place to start is knowing what has already been compromised. At LeeShanok Network Solutions, we offer a complimentary Dark Web Scan to Arizona businesses that shows all of your company’s compromised usernames and passwords that are for sale on the Dark Web.

Businesses of every size in every industry use technology, but not every business is equipped to get the most out of that technology without the use of a managed services model.

Between daily security threats and constantly evolving technology, it can feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up without the help of a third party provider. It takes a fully staffed, highly trained in house team skilled in IT systems to keep on top of it all.

Enter managed IT service providers. As companies that specialize in Information Technology, they are generally the most experienced and cost-effective option when it comes to installing, maintaining, remote monitoring, and protecting your systems and data.

Even if you already have internal IT department or someone you call to fix your computers when they break, managed IT services are an especially smart investment for your business operations. Read on to learn why.

What Are Managed IT Services?

Before we look at why Managed IT is a good investment, let’s first take look at what Managed IT typically entails.  

Managed IT Services are provided by a third-party IT company, also known as a Managed Service Provider (MSP). The IT company takes responsibility for some, or all, of a business’s information technology in exchange for a monthly fee.

Every agreement is unique, but some common examples of services include:

• Security Monitoring
• Server Maintenance
• Network Administration
• IT Help Desk Support
• Phone System Installation & Maintenance
• Cloud Account Management
• Data Backup & Recovery

It’s important to talk with managed service providers to make sure you both understand which services you need.

Benefits of Managed Services

Focus on Your Core Business

You know what your business does best. Your IT infrastructure is critical for supporting your mission, but it isn’t the mission itself. Businesses that use Managed IT Services can allocate more resources (time, attention, money) into the core function of the business rather than supporting technology. Consider this example:

Sarah is the Chief Operating Officer for ABC Healthcare. She has been tasked with identifying strategies to deliver more consistent service between providers. However, network connectivity issues have resulted in frequent unplanned downtime in ABC Healthcare’s clinics.

Because the IT department reports to Sarah, she has to focus on resolving the immediate downtime issues rather than the more strategically important task of standardizing services. A Managed IT Provider would be able to diagnose, resolve, and proactively monitor the network, thereby freeing Sarah up to focus on improving patient experiences.

Improve Cybersecurity

Hackers using ransomware, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, and other malware are working 24/7 to infiltrate businesses large and small.

Breaches at large companies make the news, but according to the Department of Homeland Security, 50 – 70% of ransomware attacks are committed against small and medium sized businesses that never make it into the news. What’s more, roughly 60% of attacked small businesses fail within six months of an attack.

Managed IT services take two types of actions to protect your business. First, preventative actions reduce the likelihood that you will be attacked. This includes technologies like enterprise-grade firewalls, geo-fencing off risky countries and geographies, security monitoring services, and most importantly, education for your employees to recognize and stop attempted breaches.

Second, preparation actions reduce and contain the effects of a security breach. A best practice is to operate under an “assumed breach” mentality, meaning it’s not a matter of if a breach will occur, but when.

Managed IT services can help separate (segment) systems and networks so that breaches can be contained, then back up data for recovery, and create a response plan to ensure business continuity.

Supplement Your Current IT Staff

Managed IT services can be designed to work in conjunction with your current IT staff. This is called Co-managed IT, and it’s a cost-effective way to amplify the capabilities of your IT department. Let’s look at three common examples.

• You have an IT generalist – Your generalist is a technical whiz at day to day tasks. You can count on them to reliably fix any technical issues and keep your systems up to date, but they don’t have the certifications or skill set to handle higher level tasks like cloud migrations or strategic technology planning to give your business a competitive edge. Well managed IT services companies often have a large internal team with diverse expertise in proactive maintenance who can step in to be sure the job is done correctly. This frees your IT generalist to focus on what they’re best at.
• You have a strategic IT leader – The IT leader has the valuable knowledge and skills to handle high-level, high-value IT tasks, but they’re bogged down with routine help requests and maintenance. A managed IT services company can step in and handle lower-level IT tasks at a fraction of the cost of hiring an internal technician.
• You have an IT team – Medium-sized businesses often have multiple people in the IT function, but even with full teams, skill gaps often emerge. Managed service providers fill in those gaps by having robust teams with wide-ranging skill sets at a much lower cost compared to adding headcount. With a strong managed IT service provider, IT tasks are handled seamlessly by both teams. Firms that have an IT department sometimes contract with an MSP for “Top Gun” support, where the IT department triages support tickets and routes the really tough issues to the MSP. This is an example of how the MSP can be an extension of your own IT staff.

Ease of Budgeting

Some firms prefer to retain an MSP with a Time & Materials relationship. Under this type of plan, the MSP is only contacted when problems occur.

Unfortunately the MSP is often not contacted to periodically install patches to infrastructure devices and software suites. When problems occur, the MSP will usually apply multiple out of date patches in addition to the troubleshooting and configuration testing that must occur for resolution. This often results in large labor bills that were not budgeted for, as well as operational downtime that would have been minimized or eliminated under a Managed IT plan.

Managed Services vendor plans are generally billed monthly for a fixed amount, so you can easily budget for IT expenses as a part of the business processes. In a traditional break/fix model, you may go several months without paying much for your IT, but when critical systems fail, you’re suddenly stuck with a five-figure bill you didn’t budget for.

Under a Managed IT plan, monthly bills are consistent with a monthly fee for clearly defined services covered in the service level agreement (SLA). Some Managed IT Service providers charge a flat monthly rate, while others will charge based on the number of devices or number of employees your business has. In either case, it’s very easy to calculate monthly bills. Important to note is that managed service plans typically cover IT services.

Hardware costs, like new laptops for employees, will need to be budgeted for separately. Your Managed IT Provider can often help identify & budget for equipment upgrades, and in securing hardware at preferential pricing due to volume discounts with technology distributors.

LeeShanok authored several budget-related articles:

• IT Budgeting Tips
• Combating Cybercrime on a SMBs Budget.

Better Service Than Break/Fix Services

Ever hear the expression, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” Just as Managed Services are better for predictable budget planning, they also provide better service with faster response times. In the long run, Managed IT services save businesses money and time by proactively managing IT.

Break/Fix services are IT services done on request. When you need work done, you call an IT service provider and they perform the work, billing you for time any materials.

IT Managed Services take a much more complete view of your IT than a typical IT team or support services. Plans often include routine maintenance and proactive monitoring along with repairs.

Substantial Cost Savings

Hiring a Managed IT Services company allows you to fulfill the same IT needs at a significantly lower price than hiring additional personnel. By specializing in IT, managed services providers have personnel and technology that are more efficient than most in-house capabilities. With these cost savings, clients can often shift budget to activities that produce a greater ROI.

Consider this example – A&B Construction needs to improve their network infrastructure so their on-site supervisors can securely send daily reports back to the home office. They know they’ll need to hire a new IT person to oversee the network. At the same time, the company has been eyeing a new, more efficient piece of heavy equipment that would reduce job cycle times. If A&B Construction only has funds to support one, which do they choose? Hiring a Managed IT company would allow them to do both. 

Outsourcing to an IT Managed Services Provider is less expensive than adding personnel, so the money A&B Construction saves can be used for the new equipment. More money is invested in profit-driving operational activities than in cost centers, but both objectives are achieved!

Peace of Mind

You know you’ve found the right IT managed services provider when the anxiety of system failures and data breaches disappears. A good IT services company gives you confidence in your technology, from day-to-day operations to long-term strategy.

For some, there’s a sense of relief in bringing managed services provider experts aboard that identify, solve, and prevent problems. When issues do arise, there’s comfort in knowing you have a trusted team with a plan to restore operations as quickly as possible. Not only does an MSP proactively manage your infrastructure, but will also help you plan for business continuity and disaster recovery should failures occur. This too brings peace of mind, as issues can be resolved in hours instead of days or weeks.

Ready to Explore Managed Service Providers for Your IT Needs?

You know why you need a managed services provider for your IT needs, so what’s the next step? Evaluate potential IT managed services providers with our Guide to evaluating IT Service providers. It includes questions to ask that will help you identify the managed services providers with the skills and capacity to properly support your business. LeeShanok Network Solutions has been providing managed services in IT to Arizona businesses for 25 years. We have a dedicated team and proven track record of delivering proactive monitoring, cloud computing, technology services, and strategic initiatives as your business grows. Enjoy these benefits and more by scheduling a complimentary consultation with us today to see if we’re a good fit for your business.

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