How can you make your network security measures more resilient against advanced persistent threats?

1 Identify your assets and risks

The first step to protect your network from APTs is to know what you have and what you need to safeguard. You should conduct a network security risk assessment to identify your critical assets, such as data, systems, and devices, and the potential threats and vulnerabilities that could compromise them. You should also prioritize your assets based on their value, sensitivity, and impact, and assign appropriate security controls and policies to each asset.

2 Implement layered defense

A single security solution is not enough to stop APTs, as they can bypass or evade traditional defenses, such as firewalls, antivirus, and encryption. You need to implement a layered defense strategy that combines multiple security tools and techniques, such as network segmentation, access control, intrusion detection and prevention, endpoint protection, and threat intelligence. A layered defense can help you reduce the attack surface, limit the damage, and increase the detection and response capabilities of your network.

3 Monitor and audit your network

Another key to defending against APTs is to monitor and audit your network activity and performance regularly. You should collect and analyze network logs, traffic, and events to identify any anomalies, deviations, or indicators of compromise that could signal an APT attack. You should also use network auditing tools to scan and assess your network configuration, security posture, and compliance status, and to identify and remediate any gaps or weaknesses that could expose your network to APTs.

4 Educate and train your staff

One of the most common ways that APTs infiltrate networks is through social engineering, such as phishing, spear phishing, or baiting. These are techniques that exploit human weaknesses, such as curiosity, greed, or fear, to trick users into opening malicious attachments, clicking on malicious links, or disclosing sensitive information. Therefore, you need to educate and train your staff on how to recognize and avoid social engineering attacks, and how to follow best practices for network security, such as using strong passwords, updating software, and reporting incidents.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?