Modern businesses operate across many networks, with hybrid workers and worldwide communication often factor to consider. The root of it all is to have a solid network which you then protect and reinforce, then provide access to that network in a safe and organized way. This article will address these three areas of network, protection, and access to make your business safer on every level.
Setting Up a Secure Network
- Using a Router. Choosing a secure, robust router is a good first step to having a secure business. Every system you attach to your network is going to go through this device, so it’s pivotal to your network’s efficiency and safety. Using a router with inbuilt scanning, monitoring, and even VPN capabilities can help prevent cyber threats from targeting you.
- Consider both LAN and WAN. While a lot of work will take place in the office, a lot of it won’t, too. Hybrid workspaces need to set themselves up not just locally but also over a Wide Area Network. This generally means slower speeds and less secure data, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When setting up your Secure Network, make sure the two are unified and supported by one supporting backbone: a firewall.
Protecting Your New Network
- Using a hardware-based firewall. Once your network architecture is established you need to protect it. A firewall that is made for 2022 does more than just unify your networks, it actively bolsters them too. SonicWall are a prime example of how firewalls are more than just protection in the modern world. Your firewall can apply VPNs over your whole network, redistribute bandwidth, create a WAN that feels like LAN, and more.
- Set clear instructions for employees. A second note on protection, once your hardware is established, is to engage your employees in this process. Learning about email threats like phishing and getting users to generate passwords rather than making their own both go a good way to securing your network. While your hardware firewall will protect against most of these threats, the awareness of your employees is still a vital part of a smooth-running business.
Accessing Your Network
- Provide work systems to employees. We all saw in 2022 how portable storage is not a good idea. Moving such data between a workplace and home both physically and digitally is a risk, but you can minimise that risk. In providing your employees with a dedicated system, you ensure the data and the hardware that holds it is both safe and secure. Also, you ensure that corporate data stays separate from personal data. If a person attaches their home PC to a work network, all sorts of security issues arise, and the system becomes a prime target for hackers.