One of the most vital security strategies at your disposal is monitoring your computing systems and network. Monitoring allows you to keep an eye on your computing infrastructure in real-time and catch and intercept potential threats before they become serious. Here are some useful tips for monitoring your network security.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Invest in automatic monitoring tools
Automatic monitoring tools such as Microsoft MDR are meant to take the pressure off employees and ensure your systems can be monitored at all times without breaks. These tools are able to manage your monitoring strategies, respond to threats and potential threats in real-time and record their actions and results for you to review as needed. An automatic monitoring tool can help you ensure your cybersecurity infrastructure is as robust as possible and minimize the risk of human error.
Increase security in vulnerable areas of your computing infrastructure
Monitoring programs work best in tandem with other types of security tools, so you should make sure the rest of your security is adequate. Study your cybersecurity infrastructure and determine whether there are any weak points, where those areas are and the best ways to tighten or improve them. You can use data collected by your monitoring programs to search for weak points and develop predictive insights and models for how to make improvements. Regularly review and update all cybersecurity tools and strategies, including those you use for monitoring, to ensure no software becomes outdated.
Run regular tests and drills
Running regular tests and drills is an important aspect of any security or safety system. Most people are used to the concept because of practices such as fire drills, and the same concept can also be implemented for cybersecurity. Run both scheduled and randomized drills so employees can practice their monitoring and security strategies during the planned ones and test whether they work as intended during the unannounced ones. You should also conduct tests whenever you implement a new aspect of your security or update an existing one. Record these drills and take notes so you understand what improvements must be made and how.
Stay updated on cybersecurity trends and advancements
Not only is it important that you implement adequate monitoring and cybersecurity tools, but it’s also important that you and your cybersecurity and IT teams stay up-to-date on cybersecurity trends and advancements. This means you should keep up with security standards and advancements in your industry and in general. You should also make sure your employees are updated on all aspects of cybersecurity and network or systems monitoring that are relevant to them. Make sure this information is made available to employees and training programs are offered as needed.
Implement access control measures
You should implement access control measures alongside your monitoring tools. Access control means controlling who can enter certain areas of your network, such as areas where sensitive data is stored. You can use tools such as multi-factor authentication and network segmentation to implement access control. Monitoring programs can be helpful in access control for multiple reasons. You can use them to keep an eye on access points, checking attempts to access those areas and whether the people trying to access them have appropriate credentials. They can also record all traffic to restricted areas for someone to review at a later time.
It’s a good idea to implement a combination of automatic and manual monitoring strategies. Automatic monitoring tools will enable you to ensure your systems and network are protected and guarded at all times while manual monitoring strategies can supplement those tools, cover weak points and provide you with feedback about your monitoring strategy.
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