Network Infrastructure is the foundational framework that enables your business to operate efficiently and securely. It’s the digital nervous system connecting employees, customers, and systems. Think of it as the highway system for your business data.

Just like a well-designed highway network supports economic growth, a robust network infrastructure drives business success. It ensures smooth communication, rapid data transfer, and access to critical applications. By investing in a strong network foundation, you’re empowering your business to adapt to changing market conditions, improve productivity, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

The network infrastructure is the backbone of your digital operations, supporting everything from email and file sharing to complex enterprise applications and cloud services – protecting this system is essential to securing the business.

The following are key Network Infrastructure Security systems:

Firewalls

A firewall is a device that monitors, filters, and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules. Acting as a barrier between trusted internal and untrusted external networks, it works by inspecting data packets and choosing to block or allow them.

For example, a financial institution might configure its firewall to block traffic coming from unauthorized IP addresses while still allowing legitimate traffic to pass through. This mitigates a potential breach without interrupting core operations.

Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a modern iteration that goes beyond traditional solutions, incorporating deeper packet inspection for more robust protection. NGFWs often package many essential network security capabilities into one comprehensive offering, including intrusion prevention, antivirus and file sandboxing, web and DNS filtering, and more.

With a hybrid mesh architecture — firewall’s next evolution — organizations can centralize control and visibility of formerly disparate tools. This makes it easier to coordinate and control policies across on-premise and cloud-based firewalls, not to mention multiple branches and campus locations.

Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)

Intrusion prevention systems detect and block known and suspected threats before they can impact the network core or devices at its edge. In addition to north/south and east/west deep packet inspection, including inspection of encrypted traffic, they can also provide virtual patching, which mitigates vulnerabilities at the network level.

Using an IPS, organizations can rapidly detect attack signatures and abnormal behavior. The system automatically takes action to block malicious traffic while alerting administrators for further investigation.

Antivirus and Sandboxing

Antivirus and sandboxing tools are key to determining whether a file is malicious. While antivirus blocks known malware threats, sandboxing provides a safe environment to analyze suspicious files.

Let’s say a user downloads a file from an email attachment. The antivirus software scans it for known attack signatures and behaviors. If it’s a confirmed threat, the software quarantines or removes the file. For an unknown file, sandboxing isolates it into a protected space where it can be tested to determine if it’s malicious.

Some security vendors are leveraging these capabilities in concert with AI, allowing them to perform sub-second analysis of never-before-seen threats.

Web and DNS Filtering

Domain Name System (DNS) filtering allows organizations to stop domain-based attacks, such as DNS hijacking, tunneling, etc. Likewise, URL filtering prevents users and applications from accessing suspicious URLs, which could be linked to malicious websites. These web security tools help enterprises enforce acceptable-use policies while protecting them from harmful content.

For instance, if a user attempts to access a malicious website, the web filter checks its database of categorized sites. If the domain has been flagged, it’ll block access entirely.

Attack Surface Management

Some firewall solutions now include Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management tools that can help organizations automatically identify network IT, OT, and IoT assets, and assess those assets for potential risks. The tools can also assess existing security infrastructure and controls for misconfigurations and less-than-optimal settings that can then be updated to strengthen an organization’s security posture.

Remote Access VPNs

Remote access VPNs allow users to securely access the corporate network from outside their organization’s office. They create a private, encrypted connection from a public Wi-Fi network, enabling employees to safely use critical resources from their personal devices regardless of location.

These solutions are especially useful in hybrid work environments, allowing remote workers to stay productive with the assurance their data is safe from malicious interception.

Network Access Control (NAC)

Network access control governs access to the network, ensuring that only authorized and compliant devices gain entry. NAC solutions identify and authenticate devices, granting access only if they meet predefined compliance policies.

For example, enterprises might configure their NAC to block certain device types. This prevents users from accessing the network on unprotected personal devices, but it also can help the company manage IoT and operational technology (OT) deployments.

Hardware that fails to meet the criteria may be quarantined, redirected to a remediation network, or denied entirely.

Emerging Trends and Considerations

• • Zero-Trust Architecture
  • Hybrid Cloud Security
  • Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning