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Why you need layered security and defense in depth
Which is why network security experts recommend layering solutions and strategies to shrink your attack surface and defend you from all angles against a wide range of threats. With multi-layered protection, the strengths of each layer, cumulatively, cover and back up any gaps in the others, working together as one comprehensive solution.
So the premise behind multi-layered security (that there is no such thing as 100% protection) presupposes the need for defense in depth—which assumes the probability of a breach at some point, and so focuses on slowing the progress and minimizing the damage while working to shut it down. That said, by taking a layered approach to security, you create the very defense in depth you need.
Best practices for layered security
Another way of looking at multi-layered security is to think about defending all the levels of your infrastructure from an attack, including your perimeter, network, host, applications and data. It is not layer upon layer of the same protection. Rather, it is an arsenal of different types of security measures to protect all of the levels, “surfaces” and possible points of entry.
For example, web content and URL filtering to protect employees who try to visit websites infected with malware. Application control to prevent unauthorized users from accessing critical software and applications. IPsec VPN for secure, private, remote access between locations and to your network. And Remote Worker Network Access, extending your stateful firewall to remote workers’ devices while encrypting all traffic over your VPN.
Depending on the size of your business and number of employees and locations you have, your security solution will include many or all of the following layers. With Frontier Managed Firewall, the first five solutions listed below are included in every one of its 12 Managed Firewall package combinations, because they are considered critical for organizations of all sizes, defending against the most significant threats likely to cause the greatest damage.
- IPsec VPN
- Stateful firewall
- Remote Worker Network Access
- Application control
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
- Web content/URL filtering
- Antivirus/antimalware
- Intrusion prevention systems
- DNS filtering
- Cloud Sandbox
- Botnet protection
- Content Disarm & Reconstruction
Best practices for a defense in depth strategy
Not to be all doom and gloom, but defense in depth assumes your business will be breached at some point—it’s just not realistic to think an organization can avoid cyberattacks entirely. Given that sad reality, defense in depth looks at all aspects of a business that will be impacted by an attack and aims to slow and stop the damage both from escalating and from spreading to other areas of a business.
Layered network protection: Multiple levels of security for your network, hardware, software and systems, including Managed Firewall and Cloud Continuity.
Security policy training and awareness: The procedures and processes you teach and enforce, including protecting logins and passwords, restricting third-party applications, locking screens on unattended computers, avoiding public WiFi and following stringent protocols for sharing sensitive data.
Managed Firewall: A strategic approach to layered security and defense in depth
As enterprises rapidly evolve, transform and migrate to hybrid and cloud networks, their vulnerable surfaces expand and opportunities for cyberattacks increase, at the same time as their infrastructure becomes more complex and difficult to manage.
[The Truth about SD-WAN Security: Q&A with Frontier’s Scott Irwin]
Working with a managed services provider to secure your business with a Managed Firewall Solution can help. It will defend and harden your entire organization from your perimeter to your applications, your data to your devices, your people to your processes, while providing strategies for minimizing any damage and recovering quickly from an attack.
In addition, a Managed Firewall Solution includes best practices for adaptive awareness, and proactively monitoring and maintenance around the clock, providing immediate alerts and notifications of anomalous behavior and traffic, so you can take action to stop threats before they escalate.
Another benefit of having an expert security partner through Managed Firewall is gaining the expertise of professionals who are trained to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats and technology. They have helped numerous organizations recover from attacks, and will use their experience to guide your decisions and help you navigate the complexities of network security.
So now that we’ve defined and differentiated layered security and defense in depth, here’s something else we all can agree on: You need them both, and you can achieve them both with a multi-layered security approach.