If your technology team is short on resources or needs additional support, look to the ICN for assistance. We offer professional support hours to help customers with firewall modifications, network designs, and security initiatives. Contact your ICN account manager to learn more about this new support opportunity.
Start by Building a Network Map
Every security standard starts with a baseline. It's important to know which networks you have before figuring out whatβs on them. Our experts say this is the first and most important challenge, acting as the foundation for security in every area. A solid starting point is to map your networks, and then you can create your internal asset inventories afterward.
Why do Cyber Defenders Need Network Maps?
Effective mapping practices can identify network blind spots, enhance efficiency, and reduce response time during emergencies. Here are a few more reasons to invest time in making a network map:
- Serves as a starting point for internal asset inventories.
- Pinpoints paths that attackers might take to compromise your systems.
- Helps in recognizing opportunities to enhance visibility.
- Add more security measures.
- Reduce the damage from attacks.
A network map shows the areas where attackers could sneak through systems without being detected by network tools. Knowing when and where they might strike is a game changer. This is a key point because having a map can make it easier to communicate with incident response teams during an emergency. It gives back precious time when every second counts because your data and your business are on the line.
Maximize your Investments with your Firewall
Mapping will really enhance your firewall practices. By adding more preventative measures, such as segmentation, users can maximize their network detection and prevention tools, especially with their firewalls. As segmenting occurs, more data is being pushed through the firewalls, making them work harder. At some point, you may need to increase the size of the firewall or split the segments into new firewalls to share the workload. Contact the ICN for your firewall needs or for professional support hours if you have segmentation questions as you map your network.
The key point here is to be sure to maximize your investments!
How Often Should Network Maps be Updated?
A network map is an evolving and dynamic document that requires regular updates, maintenance, and periodic reviews. It relies on your organization's capacity and workload, including aspects like team dynamics, skills, time, ability, etc. Our security experts suggest refreshing network maps every year, whenever a new segment is introduced, or if there are any changes in the network setup. You should also update maps when you get alerts from your automated configuration checks or if there's a tweak to your routing table.
Need More Help?
ICN is ready to assist our users and improve their networks. Get in touch with your account manager to discover how your team can secure professional support hours with our security specialists to guide you through mapping your networks and help you with any other cybersecurity needs.