Cybersecurity is an important and necessary aspect of both small, medium and enterprise networks that exist today.  Cybersecurity refers to the practices and technologies that are used to protect against cyber threats, such as hacking, malware, and ransomware attacks. There are three aspects of cyber security which are Confidentiality, Availability, and Integrity.

Confidentiality (C)- This metric measures how confidentiality of a system is breached due to an attack because of a system vulnerability. Confidentiality means to limit access to only people who need access ,and to prevent access to others who do not specifically need access to the system.

Integrity (I) – The integrity metric is based on whether information that should not be accessed are ableto be accessed by the hacker, or whether certain information can be modified because of a vulnerability.

Availability (A). – The availability metric is based on the impact of availability of the system. Availability of the system includes factors such as network bandwidth, processor cycles and disk space that all contribute to the availability metric score of the system.

Here are 10 essential steps to securing a network and implementing cyber security measures:

  1. Perform an audit of the current network environment and inspect the firewall for unused or unneeded port forwarding rules.   Adjusting the firewall’s access policies, including attributes IP address and protocol values, application protocol filtering, user identity methods and network activity controls, is important for security a network on a baseline level.
  2. Use a site to site VPN (Virtual Private Network) such as IPSec or Wireguard to access the internal network devices , as opposed to having to open ports on the firewall. A VPN can be secured via handshake encryption, using RSA public and private key authentication methods, instead of a traditional password. This ensures the confidentiality user or system accessing the network is the person they claim to be. 
  3. 2 Factor Authentication –  This method of authentication blocks all traffic to your network by default, until a one-time password is generated and sent to the user via email or text message. Once the user successfully authenticates via a secure web access portal, the user is allowed to access network resources. 2FA can generally be used with an email, authentication app, or SMS message. 
  4. Use certificate based authentication methods instead of passwords. Certificate based authentication methods use hashing techniques such as MD5. —  This uses the asymmetric encryption and digital signature handshake encryption technique, as described above.  
  5. Implementation of an IDS (Intrusion Detection System)  and IPS (Intrusion Prevention System).  These devices are installed on your network to monitor and detect abnormalities in network traffic, thus helping further protect your network from outside threats and abnormal network packets 
  6. Perform regular updates to all network accessible systems, and install the latest security patches. Companies such as Microsoft, Apple and the Linux communities are constantly pushing updates with patches for bug fixes. Additionally, to further secure a system, remove unnecessary services, features, applications and protocols, configure resource controls, and configure user groups and permissions appropriately.
  7. Enable a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) and VLAN. If you have a publicly accessible servers, such as an FTP or DVR system, these devices can be configured to be on a separate VLAN (with applicable firewall rules) from your primary network. This means that the internet intruders would potentially only have access to the DVR system itself, and not the primary network. If a network intruder successfully gains access to a system in a properly configured DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), they will not be able to access other systems. 
  8. Audit permissions for files, folders and applications on file servers and server resources. Ensure that only necessary users have access to the resources they need, and do not have root or super user permissions that could affect the entire file system. 
  9. Implement a reasonable password policy to change passwords on a regular basis. This is a basic, traditional approach however by doing this it can only assist the prevention of a possible breach due to password guessing attempts.  
  10. Train your employees on essential security best practices. As technology is constantly evolving, cyber security needs to be addressed accordingly. This includes the implementation of security controls, including management controls, operational controls, and technical controls to implement security policies, appropriate planning and using the correct use of hardware and software to secure systems. It is important for individuals to understand the risks of cyber threats and to know how to protect themselves and their devices.
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