Your team's network security is compromised. How can you prevent disaster when a colleague ignores protocols?
If your team's network security is jeopardized due to ignored protocols, immediate and decisive action is needed. Here's how to mitigate the risks:
- Educate swiftly on the importance of following security protocols.
- Implement access controls to restrict data exposure.
- Conduct regular audits to ensure compliance and identify vulnerabilities.
How do you reinforce the significance of network security in your team?
Your team's network security is compromised. How can you prevent disaster when a colleague ignores protocols?
If your team's network security is jeopardized due to ignored protocols, immediate and decisive action is needed. Here's how to mitigate the risks:
- Educate swiftly on the importance of following security protocols.
- Implement access controls to restrict data exposure.
- Conduct regular audits to ensure compliance and identify vulnerabilities.
How do you reinforce the significance of network security in your team?
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Address the breach swiftly by isolating the affected system to contain damage. Immediately convene an incident response team to evaluate the situation. Train and communicate with your team about protocol importance and consequences for non-compliance. Implement automated monitoring to detect suspicious activity, reducing human error. Review and update policies to strengthen adherence, and consider enhancing access controls to limit exposure.
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The weakest part of a network is always going to be the end user. I suggest the following to start with: 1. Zero Trust Access, you can't trust anybody with your info, not even network admins. 2. Systems of Detection and Response, with AI and posture management you can detect when a user's traffic is suspicious, and act accordingly. 3. If security procedures are not being follow, you have to implement MFA to applications. 3. Finally, but most definitely not least, security has to be part of the culture, not a procedure to be followed, but part of the identity of your company. Use security awareness and incentives programs. There's a lot else to do, but from a practical view it is a good way to start!
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Well, humans are error prone no matter how many security protocols you configure and how many security policies you enforce. Focus should always be on defense-in-depth approach. While threat modelling applications, we always ensure that any workflow that involves human actors must be either automated or peer-reviewed. While reviewing security findings, we focus on training the devs about the implications of the vulnerability that has been identified. Apart from training the users, we must foster a culture of maintaining digital hygiene. Once it becomes a habit, then it would be easier for them as well to follow the security best practices.
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We can avoid this situation in the first place by: 1) Always implement Maker / Checker method to have a control over what been changed. 2) Associate any change in configuration with an change process and notify all application owners. 3) Implementation plan , backup plan , impact assessment must be reviewed before the activity. 4) The backup plan must be ready beforehand. Humar errors cannot be controlled, even after taking precautions some time things do get worse: 1) immediately transfer the traffic to secondary systems / firewalls where configuration is not changed 2) The last option is to shut traffic, downtime is inevitable and necessary to avoid any further damage. 3) Have an RCA documented for future reference.
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To prevent disaster when a colleague ignores protocols, you need to first educate and explain to them about the importance of the security protocols. This is so that they would know why they must adhere to it. You should also set strict rules and policies. This is so that they would have to adhere to it no matter they like it or not. You should also regularly conduct audits on the usage activity. This is to help you spot anomalies and prevent a cyber attack.
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