CONTAINING CYBERSECURITY THREAT THROUGH NETWORK SEGMENTATION

Cybersecurity attack is expanding as the reliant on technology gathers momentum daily. Cyber attackers have grown more sophisticated posing greater significant risk on individuals and organizations.

Just like leaders of organizations and owners of businesses work daily to expand and meet up daily needs of their clients, or even working harder to stay ahead in a world of competitive business atmosphere, so also cyber criminals are strategizing on how to compromise security protocols and cause data breach.

Considering the rising cases of cyberattack, there is the need to stay informed by adopting all necessary and effective method to safeguard company data. While there are so many security measures to adopt or that has been adopted, there is the need to reemphasize the need for network segmentation.

Organizations should utilize network segmentation, which involves the isolating of network into zones to limit the lateral movement of ransomware. This has to do with the breaking of computer network into smaller or sub-networks which can be achieved either through firewalls, virtual local area networks (VLANs, subnetting, routers, or network virtualization.  By this, an attack or infection of one part of the network won’t spread to other segments. By carrying out network segmentation, organizations would reduce the volume of data contained in a single boot or storage.

 For example, here are some of the ways of segmenting company data as contained below.

Segmenting network can be based on data sensitivity i.e. public, internal, or confidential data or segmentation by device type i.e. IoT devices, laptops, servers, etc.

Networks are segmented also based on departments such as IT, HR, finance, marketing, sales, customer service, logistics. etc.

There is the segmentation of networks based on physical locations such as headquarters, branch offices, remote sites, etc.

Network segmentation by DMZ (demilitarized zone) which involves the placing of public-facing services like web servers, email severs in a demilitarized zone to separate them from internal network.

Hybrid segmentation of network involves the combination of multiple segmentation methods like VLANAs and firewalls for enhanced security.

There is also the tired segmentation of network which involves the segmentation of network into tiers based on functionality such as applications, presentations, and data.

Network segmentation can equally be done as guest network where guest network is separated from the main corporate network.

An organization can also decide to adopt the flat network segmentation which involves the dividing a flat network into smaller segments using VLANs or subnetting.

Carrying out segmentation comes with numerous benefits.

Segmentation of network ensures the safety and protection of critical systems and the isolation and better protection of data.

Network segmentation helps limit the lateral movement of ransomware spread across networks by containing the attack in smaller area.

Network segmentations make it harder for ransomware attack due to an added layer of security because of the segmentation and equally facilitate the easy detection of unusual activities and possible ransomware attack.

Network segmentation minimizes downtime and help contain damage should there be any attack, creating room for easier incidence response and recovery, which helps to reduce impact of attack on businesses.

Staying informed about latest cyber threats and doing little or nothing is another danger waiting to be manifest, as such organizations should prioritize even the simplest safety measures available and ensure nothing is left to chance.

While it may be entirely false to assume ransomware attack can be eliminated completely, network segmentation plays a key or critical role in reducing the risk of a potential ransomware attacks and minimize the impact should it occur and by so doing improve data security.