Many organizations are looking at digital acceleration as an important step because those in C-Suite and IT leadership understand that in order to be competitive they must have a highly efficient network. However, it can be difficult to know what to focus on because so many different factors affect performance—from network architecture to age of equipment to client devices.
One main factor that can often be prioritized is the quality of an organization’s network security.
Effective network security maintains control over who is on the network at any given time and what they can do while on it. This includes what applications they use and what services they use.
Unfortunately, organizations are often forced to choose performance over security. This is due to their inability to work with firewalls to keep up with network traffic, leading to failures and slowness. However, turning off security to increase performance invites disaster as it leaves an organization vulnerable to a large number of threats lurking in web traffic.
The answer to this dilemma is to use industry-leading solutions with LAN-level security features that contribute to better network performance. Below is a list of security features we recommend for those organizations looking for superior network performance and protection.
Access control
Organizations must control who can access their network and, once open, what they will be allowed to access. Without access control, devices that should not be on your network can join and burden your network resources. Only authorized devices and users log in, preventing unwanted traffic from blocking operations.
It’s like having a bouncer with a VIP list at the entrance of the network. Having consistent policies governing who can access the network and what they can do improves overall network performance by eliminating riff-raff traffic and preventing overuse of valuable resources by unauthorized individuals, or a business that needs to hire them.
Authentication is a subset of access control that verifies that a user is who they say they are. Also, like a bumper that checks everyone’s ID before they are allowed to enter. Today, zero-trust network access (ZTNA) is the best technology to authenticate users, strengthen their rights, and strengthen the organization’s security posture at all levels of access. By verifying user identities, you can be sure that only the right people access your network resources, keeping things running smoothly.
Network and application performance is affected by the number of devices and users accessing them at the same time. By limiting how many devices and types of users are on your network, you can improve the performance of your network and the experience of your users.
Visitor restrictions
Most organizations must allow non-employees, often called guests, some level of network access. Visitors to the network are always a major security risk, and if not managed properly, they can have a negative impact on the performance of your network.
Not having application controls or bandwidth for guest users can lead to network resources being dominated by non-essential devices running personal applications. By placing limits on what visitors can access and do, you prevent yourself from hogging bandwidth and slowing down everyone else’s network.
IoT device maintenance
Internet of Things (IoT) devices are everywhere and each one can be a security risk. Keeping them secure and controlled prevents them from becoming malicious actors that disrupt your network traffic. Often, IoT devices have little or no security built in and can be easily compromised. Knowing what IoT devices are in your environment and implementing appropriate security policies can help ensure that misbehaving devices or “runaway” applications do not disrupt your network.
Another great way to protect IoT devices is to have a feature that automatically contains those that are vulnerable. Malware on a vulnerable device is not only a security risk to a company’s data, but malware processes tend to be network-wide as they traverse the network looking for important data. Of course, this can reduce the performance of a wider user base.
Traffic inspection
Traffic testing is a double-edged sword. With the amount of encrypted traffic being used, traffic monitoring is the only reliable way to provide the system control needed to improve performance on business-critical devices. This also allows limiting personal traffic to reduce network impact. In addition, if cyberthreats enter the network by hiding in encrypted traffic, the result may bring down the network. Choosing the right traffic control technology is like having the perfect police officer, directing traffic based on priorities and keeping things moving smoothly. Put another way, the most important business applications are prioritized and non-essential traffic is prevented from slowing things down.
In short, network security isn’t just about protecting your network from threats, it’s about improving network performance. By implementing strong security measures, you can create a secure and fast network, allowing your business to thrive in the digital fast lane. Although certainly not the only factor, security plays an important role in network performance. It should be carefully considered and implemented to improve the user experience in every possible area. A well-secured LAN can be a very efficient LAN.
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