Tag Archives: network compliance

Keep Your Network in Compliance, and Healthy Too

A company’s network is the backbone of its IT infrastructure, depended upon for connection to customers, potential customers, vendors and employees, as well as public and private cloud infrastructure. Not only that, your network’s health is one of your best defenses against cyber threats. However, to stay healthy and in compliance with standards and regulations, you need to be proactive. Read on to find out how to keep your network in good health and compliance.

Marks of a Healthy Network

According to an article on network health, a company’s computer network is ideally flexible, efficient and secure. It links you to services essential for your business-critical applications to remain available and run smoothly. Offsite backup is also dependent upon the condition of your network. Just as important as working well, it needs to be secure, with no intrusions by malware, viruses, or unauthorized users. Your data needs to be protected whether or not your business is subject to industry regulations like HIPAA or PCI-DDS. Provided your network is already in good shape, network compliance will be easier as will avoiding fines for non-compliance.

How to Improve and Maintain the Health of Your Network

Both technological and human resources can work together to keep your network in tip-top shape. Your servers need to have up-to-date operating system patches (ideally automated) and current anti-virus and anti-malware definitions; these definitions need to extend to every device connected to your network. Make sure to monitor your network, looking for possible intrusions, weak spots, and any element possibly out of compliance. Consider an offsite network monitoring application that can work twenty-four hours a day. Another resource is your employees. Educate them regularly in such matters as password policy, recognition of phishing schemes, and maintaining data privacy.

Keeping your network healthy and secure is a huge step forward in establishing and maintaining compliance. According to Forbes, a company that can find and correct security problems via automation–and document these corrections–will not only avoid penalties and fines but operate more efficiently.

Don’t wait until an audit to be in compliance. If you are unsure about your network health and compliance, contact your trusted technology advisor today for an assessment.

Technology Trends

Is Your Network Ready for Business?

Your network is under continuous pressure to keep up with the growth of your business. Broadband networks providing instant connectivity are a core requirement for most businesses.  Your network needs to provide fast access to Cloud Services including Email, Online Backup, Unified Communications, Call Center and other applications.  Business systems will be expected to be constantly accessible by customers and employees alike, and your network needs to be ready for this demand. Not only does your network need to be efficient and flexible, it needs to be secure.

Consider SD-WAN for Efficiency and Flexibility

Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology, which has been a recently emerging technology, is expected to become common in the next few years. Research firm IDC expects this technology to grow by 69% by 2021. Revenue from this technology is expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2018 alone. Companies pursuing SD-WAN can mix and match networking solutions to get the most efficient and effective wide area connectivity.  Customers and employees have constant access to the Internet. With this access, however, monitoring and network security are vital.

The Role of Network Monitoring and Security

To have your network ready for business, it needs to be safe and secure. Not only does the network need constant monitoring, industry standards require rigorous compliance. For instance, online retailers need to keep their customers’ credit card information secure. Hospitals and doctors’ offices are required to comply with HIPAA. Even if your business is headquartered in the United States, you may need to comply with General Protection Data Regulation (GDPR). Endpoint security concerns include keeping anti-virus and anti-malware protections up-to-date.

Employees are the Front Line of Defense for Network Security

And don’t forget the human element. Train your employees to identify scam emails and phishing schemes, and not to click on unfamiliar links. Emphasize the importance of reporting malware, so you can keep your system secure.

If you are uncertain about whether your network is ready for business, contact your trusted technology advisor today for a network assessment.

The Importance of Maintaining Network Compliance

Network SecurityLast month’s blog provided information about ways to “Avoid Being Held Hostage by Ransomware.” Eight days later, on May 12, 2017, there was a global outbreak of the Wanna Cry Virus. With Cyber Threats on the rise, the importance of maintaining network compliance is top of mind with business owners and IT professionals alike. Industry compliance regulations, including PCI, HIPAA, and SOX, drive best practices in Network Compliance. However, most businesses today rely heavily on their systems to access Cloud Services, Voice, and Data Networks for mission-critical applications that run their business. What can you do to maintain network compliance?

Automate Your Network Administration

Keeping operating systems and network configurations up to date is a top priority for network compliance. Each device that connects to your network needs to have up-to-date operating system security patches, anti-virus definitions, and malware threat prevention in order avoid un- intended intrusion of your network. There are abundant tools and managed services to help your business stay up to date without adding to your internal labor cost.

Proactively Monitor Your Network

Monitor your network to identify any systems that are out of compliance. Proactive monitoring can also identify unauthorized devices connected to your network. You can monitor your network traffic to identify unusual use of network bandwidth. Aside from slowing down your systems, excessive bandwidth may be the result of a malware-infected device that is exploiting your network.

Documenting Your Network Security Controls

Achieving compliance with documented security procedures including password policy, systems maintenance, backup procedures, and compliance measures, is critical to following most industry compliance regulations. It is a  best practice to update these procedures annually. Reviewing your Network Compliance policies gives your business an opportunity to stay up to date and serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining network compliance.

Contact your Technology Advisor if you have questions about maintaining network compliance or other concerns regarding ransomware and other related Cyber Threats.