Cyber threats are becoming more common and more sophisticated than ever, and a higher amount of your business’s data and systems are transitioning to online solutions as well. In other words, you can’t afford to go without proper cybersecurity.
A network security assessment is the perfect first step to reinforcing your defenses and ensuring your organization remains resilient against potential attacks. Let’s take a look at the “how”.
What a Network Security Assessment Is
A network security assessment evaluates your current IT systems and protections in order to identify any gaps in security. It involves evaluating different cyber threats, including the likelihood of each one happening and the impact it would have on your business. This gives you clear, actionable goals and helps you prioritize methods for improvement.
Each type of assessment will evaluate different things. For example, this post will focus on vulnerability assessments, which focus on finding any weaknesses in the various entry points (firewalls, routers, servers, etc.) into your network. Penetration testing, on the other hand, mimics a cyber attack in order to determine how well your current protections are performing.
How This Assessment Typically Works
There are a variety of ways you can approach your network security assessment, and the best method depends on your business’s size, goals, industry, etc. The steps below outline a basic structure for running your tests, but the best way to ensure you’re performing effective assessments is to partner with a professional IT company who can offer personalized guidance.
Step 1: Map Out Your Assets
The first step is to create an asset map. Make a comprehensive catalogue of all your digital assets, including hardware, software, applications, digital tools, users, etc. Be sure to take into account things attackers will target, like data and intellectual property. Classify assets by category, sensitivity, accessibility, etc., and organize them accordingly.
Step 2: Determine Threats and Vulnerabilities
Next, it’s time for one of the biggest steps: identifying potential threats, how vulnerable your systems are to them, and the impact they’ll have on business. There’s a wide variety of tests and scans you can use to evaluate different kinds of threats, so it’s best to consult an IT pro who has experience with network security assessments and get their recommendations.
We recommend looking for ways to automate this process as much as possible in order to save time and increase the accuracy of your evaluation. Make sure you test for a wide variety of incidents, including cyber attacks, insider threats (both intentional and accidental), natural disasters, server failures, etc.
Step 3: Prioritize Threats
Once you have an idea of the different threats you face and vulnerabilities in your system, rank each one based on both severity and likelihood. Consider which asset(s) will be most affected by different incidents, as well as the associated recovery costs. This process will help you know which improvements to work on first, based on the necessity of each.
Step 4: Make a Plan
Armed with actionable data and a clear list of priorities, you can now develop strategies for filling gaps and strengthening your infrastructure. Carefully plan out how and when you’ll implement physical, virtual, and other forms of security (e.g. employee education) in order to minimize current vulnerabilities and decrease the impact of different incidents.
Step 5: Launch Your Strategy
Now it’s time to get to it! Install new software, update hardware, launch programs, train your employees on new policies, and follow through with any other plans you made in step 4. Make a habit of consistently evaluating efforts and set a goal to run a new network security assessment regularly to be sure you’re consistently improving and keeping up with current threats.
Why Prioritizing Network Security Matters
Network security assessments are invaluable when it comes to protecting your business from cyber threats. Managers and IT leads can use the detailed data gleaned from the assessments to make clear, actionable goals that are informed and effective, making your protections stronger and more relevant.
Beyond this boost in cybersecurity, running a network security assessment offers additional benefits you won’t want to miss out on:
- Stay in line with common compliance regulations
- Develop stronger incident response and disaster recovery plans (IRPs and DRPs)
- Identify and resolve any security-related bottlenecks, increasing productivity
- Optimize both IT and security budgets and ensure they’re being used on the most important items
- Present real-life data to team members to help them understand the importance of cybersecurity
Schedule Your Network Security Assessment With Velocity IT
At Velocity IT, your security and success are our top priority. With us, you’ll have access to the tools and experience you need to run a thorough, personalized security risk assessment. Your business and data deserve quality protection, and now’s the time to get started on it. For a positive, stress-free IT consultant experience, just give us a call.
