Social Network Security

Best practices for enterprise network security: Creating the policy

Posted by Christopher Bartik 

Today's businesses rely on their infrastructures more than they may realize. Without a secure network, protecting processes on each individual device and supporting hardware would be impossible. Therefore, it is essential that administrators follow best practices when establishing their enterprise network security plans to ensure that company-owned property is adequately safeguarded from the prying eyes of hackers.

But where should decision-makers begin with these efforts? According to TalkTechToMe contributor Christina Goggi, step one should include the creation of an enterprise network security policy, which will also serve as an outline for the implementation of the discussed security measures.

 WatchGuard Technologies white paper noted that one obstacle that administrators must accept in these efforts is the fact that security policies are almost never perfect or 100 percent complete. This falsehood puts unreal expectations and pressure on an organization's security policy that no plan can realistically live up to. Once decision-makers accept that their policy will require continual rewrites as technology advances and new systems and devices are added, they can move forward with a new flexible spirit.

"'Security policies have to be nearly perfect, or 100 percent complete,'" the report stated as an example. "No. Good enough security now is better than perfect security never."

The next step is to determine what will be included in the enterprise network security policy. As network resources touch nearly every aspect of the business, this list may be expansive at first, and only grow as more endpoints are utilized.

For example, Goggi stated that the policy can include sections on the acceptable use of network and Internet resources, as well as a section on email and communication platforms. The security plan can also include information on remote and BYOD access to the network, employee privacy and any encryption technology leveraged to protect sensitive information. Additionally, the white paper's authors suggested adding sections on password use, available online storage, server standards and how wireless access is managed.

This site is updating
Thank you for your patience!

AC

Related articles

• Best practices for enterprise network security: Creating the policy
• How to use defence in depth to secure endpoint machines
• iOS vs Surface: Why Apple is not a patch on Microsoft