Network Security Assessment
It’s easy to assume that attackers are more interested in giant enterprises, but the reality is that they actually prefer small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). These attacks can have a significant financial impact on SMBs — around 70% of cyber breaches on SMBs in 2024 resulted in losses between $250,000 to more than $1 million.
If you run a small or medium-sized business, you need to understand the threats you face, where they are likely to come from and how they can affect your business. That’s where network security assessment comes in.
What Is a Network Security Assessment?
A network security assessment is a thorough evaluation of a company’s IT network. It aims to identify potential threats and weaknesses by evaluating and reviewing the network’s policies, configurations and other measures.
Network security assessments allow IT experts to design more robust security controls based on the insights they gain from diving deep into the business’s security infrastructure.
Why Do You Need a Network Security Assessment?
Every business is vulnerable to cyber attacks. SMBs are particularly at risk because if any of these attacks are successful, they can send them out of business due to the high costs of remedies involved. Assessing network security protects your intellectual property and sensitive data from breaches by identifying and closing loopholes that attackers could exploit.
The benefits of network assessments include:
- Data protection: One of the most important assets to a company is its data, both owned property and sensitive customer information. What makes data breaches so serious is that they could lead to heavy financial losses, legal repercussions and damage to brand reputation. Securing your business data begins with conducting a thorough network risk assessment, highlighting weak points in the infrastructure that could lead to unauthorized access and breaches.
- Cost savings: A network security evaluation offers cost savings on a cybersecurity budget because it takes a proactive stance instead of a reactive one. Through an evaluation, you get a picture of what needs changing and where to invest in preventive measures. While the upfront costs of conducting a security audit may seem high, the costs involved in responding to an attack are far greater.
- Regulatory compliance: Since customers entrust businesses with personal information, regulatory bodies like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and federal healthcare privacy laws have set strict guidelines to ensure businesses protect sensitive information. Conducting a network assessment helps your business meet regulations surrounding data protection by detecting and strengthening vulnerabilities.
Types of Network Security Assessments
There are different approaches to network security assessment. As you seek network management services, it’s important to know how each of these solutions will impact your security infrastructure. Here are the three most common types of network security assessment:
Vulnerability Assessment
Network vulnerability assessment is a test that scrutinizes your entire IT environment, looking for all forms of vulnerabilities, from unpatched systems to outdated software. When experts find weak points, they evaluate the severity of an attack and come up with defense solutions. These tests are critical, especially if you have not implemented strong security.
Penetration Testing
While the vulnerability assessment of a network focuses on finding faults, penetration testing simulates attacks on the network. This type of evaluation follows ethical hacking principles where an expert tester attempts to hack your network to determine whether your current security measures are robust enough. If the test proves that your network is not secure, you can take steps to reinforce weak areas.
IT Risk Assessment
An IT risk assessment is a process aimed at detecting potential threats to the network, their likelihood of happening and their impact. Conducting this type of evaluation allows you to make informed decisions on mitigating risks as it provides you with a guideline of your risk levels. As a result, you can implement security measures based on a priority list of potential threats, their likelihood, severity and fallout.
How Do You Perform a Network Security Assessment?
Different providers may have different approaches. But here are the general steps involved in a network security risk assessment:
1. Infrastructure Analysis
Usually, the first task in network security evaluation involves taking stock of the company’s network infrastructure. Your managed service provider reviews your current IT posture, from hardware and software assets to connectivity. During this first analysis, the experts will gain a deep understanding of your security measures and identify potential weaknesses.
2. Asset Risk Assessment
The initial overview of the IT environment will lead to a thorough risk assessment where experts examine the threat level and impact of different weak points in the network. Assessing vulnerabilities in this process involves actions such as:
- Scanning the network, including ports, Wi-Fi and other wireless services.
- Checking for internal weaknesses in security settings, including outdated software, weak passwords, permissions and the lack of reliable monitoring.
- Analyzing security configurations and patches in systems and devices
- Reviewing third-party access into the network and information security policies.
3. Security Control Tests
While discovering vulnerabilities provides critical insight into the network’s stability, you may want to take additional measures to see just how vulnerable your defenses are and which areas are at the most risk. This calls for security control tests, which provide a different approach to risk assessment through mock attacks. Experts will implement a penetration testing strategy to see how efficient the security controls are and what areas need adjustments.
4. Assessment Findings
With the findings of the various assessments, from deep evaluation to penetration tests, experts come up with a report detailing security holes and weak areas that require attention. These findings are important in business decision-making as they influence the way forward in terms of the appropriate security measures.
5. Security Control Remedies
In this stage, your provider implements security measures to remedy weaknesses and reinforce your network. By following the remediation plan recommended by your experts, you can strengthen security controls, update policies and successfully manage risks. How these measures look depends on the level of security you need. You may opt for hardware and software solutions, such as equipment upgrades, encryption, detection systems and more.
6. Network Monitoring
Ongoing network monitoring and support is the next step in securing your IT infrastructure. The cyber threat landscape is always changing in response to industry changes and the tricks attackers use today may not be the same ones they use tomorrow. With your network intact, it’s important to continuously monitor and update your systems to maintain sufficient protection.
Contact Kirbtech for Your Network Security Assessment
Cybersecurity threats are a growing concern that every business needs to prioritize to ensure the safety of their assets. That starts with partnering with a qualified and reliable managed service provider. The experts at Kirbtech can help you establish robust network security measures that meet your needs.
We provide IT solutions to businesses of all sizes and industries across Central Pennsylvania. Request your free consultation today with an IT expert!
