As cyber threats continue to grow, organizations must take proactive measures to protect their networks. Adopting a defense-in-depth security strategy is crucial, and network security serves as the first line of defense to safeguard network traffic. Here are some best practices companies can adopt to ensure a defense-in-depth security strategy:
- Segment network zones and subnets to reduce the blast radius.
- Leverage Zerotrustnetwork architecture to have centralized access to policy-based, authentication accountability and auditability
- Implement an edge firewall in a proxy subnet to track, monitor, and prevent web traffic intrusion.
- Apply ingress and egress network access control policies and govern them periodically by the least privileges.
- Utilize proper tools such as network firewall cluster, NAT, bastion host, and data loss prevention at Layer 3 of the OSI model.
- Define security groups and firewall inbound/outbound rules at each layer to ensure defense in depth security strategy.
- Connect on-prem networks to cloud service providers using IPSEC VPN and direct connect for resiliency and high availability in hybrid cloud approaches.
- Use a web application firewall at layer 7 of the application layer to protect against common web application attacks.
- Harden hosts operating systems using the Center for Internet Security (CIS) security best practices.
- Automate regular patching cycles to reduce threats and vulnerabilities and create a golden image according to organizational security baseline standards.
- Collect and monitor all network device logs, such as switches, routers, ILOs, VPN, and firewalls, and send them to SIEM for further log analysis, aggregation, analytics, retention, and to track for security event issues.
By following these network security best practices, companies can reduce the risk of cyber-attacks and protect their networks. Remember, a strong defense in depth security strategy are vital in today’s digital landscape