How can you secure your network while maintaining usability?

Encryption is definitely a core foundation for any kind of security. In this context, I like to add few tips which can help you become somewhat anonymous online and keeping your safe in your virtual world in this digital era: 1. Use TOR whenever you are surfing online 2. Use a good VPN, by good I mean a VPN which don't share your browsing history with the third parties. 3. If you think any mail or link suspicious and you really want to check , please use a virtual machine and access the link/mail there. 4. If you want to stay safe from any kind of malware/rootkits better use antivirus with updated virus definitions. 5. If you want additional piece of security for the data , have the BitLocker enabled especially for Windows family. Thanks.

VPN adds an important layer of security for encryption and anonymization. In case you connect a website without the support of the https protocol or in case the network is compromised, VPN adds that necessary protection.

Make sure the encryption keys are rotate quite often and the key expiration is set, establish a proper mechanism to eliminate the keys in case of the network is compromised. the usage of strong algorithms for key transportation is very important to prevent they are captured from a threat actor.

A secure network is a usable network :) If your network is down from a cyber attack, your usability drops significantly (probably to 0) The majority of the holes I see in networks are: 1. The lack of encryption (FTP, Telnet, etc) 2. The use of legacy/unsupported software (Adobe Flash, Outdated JRE, Outdated Word processors, etc.) 3. Out of date software (Old version of Microsoft products, VMware ESXi, Linux kernels, and Web servers) 4. Weak passwords (I usually see 8 characters minimum with no complexity requirements) To remain secure and to keep your network usable, use modern encryption whenever possible, identify and remove unsupported & legacy software, update systems frequently, and use complex passwords with MFA.

SIEM can be a great addition to network protection. It not only adds the feature of detection, but also a preventative alert system as well. As you can use the SIEM to alert certain personal when sensitive data is being accessed. This tool can be a life saver in scenarios where legacy applications are used and cannot be decommissioned because of their criticality of it to the companies operations.

additionally some antivirus or end point protection provides features like VPN access for browsing internet in public networks, password management solutions to keep user names, passwords and notes safe, dark web alerts to investigate if your accounts were compromised in a particular website, intrusion or prevention detection systems that notify you from inbound our outbound connections attempts and the use of AI to identify patters or behaviors. antivirus can also provide support for mobile and tablets make sure you are covered to reduce the attack surface

hurry is the enemy of the cybersecurity, we are moving from one site to other , it is very common to spend time in emails, whatsapp and social network while we are commuting between activities. the social engineer attacks are very common on mobile devices, users should remember do not click in links sent by emails, sms, social media and other messaging services. do not provide information from unknown phone numbers. remember than banks do not ask for personal information or credit card numbers. if you receive an email from a service provider that include the link to renew the subscription or avoid service cancelation, please wait until you review the sender information from a computer to avoid to be a victim of a phishing campaign.

As part of rolling out updates and building a CD pipeline, it’s important to implement some kind of titration into major updates. This could be in the form of blue-green migrations where some percentage of your stack is using the old system vs the new system. The goal being, to slowly increase that percentage to the new system. Doing this effectively will save a lot of operational headaches.

every day 50 new vulnerabilities or software flaws are discovered, setup auto update and do not use software repository from a third party. jailbreak or rooting techniques are not recommended because they removes software restrictions that are intentionally put in place by the device manufacturer. in case of device failures. you can use of cloud services to backup and restore your data, make sure to use strong password or passphrase and the highly recommended the use of different authentication methods example: something you know; could be a password or a pin, something you have: could be a physical or virtual token and something you are; that could be a bio metric authenticator such as face recognition, fingerprint, or retina.

logs are very important component to secure your network, attackers can remove the log entries to cover the traces, one important recommendation is to send the logs to a different location that has different access controls.

Always prioritize User Experience (UX). It is a common misconception to believe that some aspects of UX can be compromised for the sake of heightened security. The reality is, if the UX is substandard, users are likely to bypass security measures for a better user experience. For instance, enforcing overly complicated password rules could backfire. Users, to remember them easily, might write down those passwords on a note and stick it next to their computer monitor, thereby, rendering the whole system vulnerable.

Many employees continue working from home and it’s here to stay. It’s important to protect home network. Companies should share with their employees guidelines on how to protect home networks. Many Internet providers provide security features. As well as routers have additional security configurations. Users should explore them and enable.

It is important to define a clear architecture design. - design interface - design security baseline - secure by design (infrastructure and software) - dataclassification - security Etc. A clear and defined architecture design will lead to a controlled and safe environment.