In a world where cyber-crime is at its highest rate ever, having a secure network is paramount. Cyber criminals are making no exceptions, businesses of all sizes and industries are being targeted, with the aim of obtaining personal/sensitive company information, fraud, deleting important data or holding the individual/organisation at ransom. Please visit: https://www.minervauk.com/blog/choosing-the-right-network-security-for-your-business-minerva/

1. Choosing the Right Network Security for
Your Business
What is Network Security?
As described by IBM, network security is the operation of protecting data,
applications, devices and systems that are connected to the internet. Network
security is most often defined as a subset of cyber security.
In a world where cyber-crime is at its highest rate ever, having a secure
network is paramount. Cyber criminals are making no exceptions, businesses
of all sizes and industries are being targeted, with the aim of obtaining
personal/sensitive company information, fraud, deleting important data or
holding the individual/organisation at ransom.
Benefits of Network Security
With heightened risks of attack and cyber criminals becoming more studios
than ever before, network security is no longer a choice, and more of a

2. necessity. Below is a list of the benefits of having a strong network security in
place:
Trust and Credibility
Ensuring a good level of network security gives your customers and
employees peace of mind knowing their sensitive information is safe and
secure. Not only does this enhance credibility, but it also helps to build trust.
Protects Sensitive Information
A lot of private information is stored on your network, including sensitive
company data and personal employee/customer data. It’s therefore very
important to keep this information unobtainable by intruders.
Prevents Unauthorised Access
Network security should therefore prevent intruders from accessing this
information and getting onto your network.
Stops/Reduces Risks
By preventing unauthorized access, your chances of being affected by an
attack will reduce significantly
Facilitating a Modern Workforce
The Covid-19 pandemic enforced remote working, and now hybrid working is
here to stay. Employees now need to be able to access data from any
location, increasing the use of modern technology. Cyber criminals are taking
advantage of this and also exploiting employees lack of cyber security
knowledge, often causing major disruption.
Network security should prevent hackers from succeeding in their attempt to
attack, but it’s also important to train your staff and build their cyber security
awareness, so they are less prone to becoming victim. To find out more about
our range of e-learning courses, please click here.
Different Types of Network Security
There are multiple types of network security to choose from, below is a list of
the most common:

3. Security Software
Security Software has been designed to secure a computer or network. This is
done through:
 Identifying risks
 Notifying you
 Defending
 Protection
Firewalls
Firewalls act as a level of protection against unauthorized traffic into and out
of your network. It will block unknown users from gaining access to private
data on your network.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication requires users to provide two or more methods of
verification in order to gain access or entry to an application or account,
reducing the chances of unauthorised access.
Endpoint Protection
Every device that is connected to the network is seen as a potential entry
point that can be exploited by cyber criminals. Endpoint protection prevents
end user devices such as laptops, desktops and mobile devices from cyber-
attacks by detecting and preventing attempted attacks.
Remote Access VPN
Remote Access VPN allows your employees to safely access your network
whilst off-premises, as long as an internet connection is available.
Email Security
This refers to methods of protection against attacks via email accounts.
This includes:
 Spam Filters

4. Spam filters prevent spam emails from getting into our inbox. The technology
aims to detects unsolicited emails or emails infected with viruses. If you
receive an email and mark it as spam, spam filters will pick up future emails
with similar traits and automatically, regard them as spam and send them to
the junk folder.
 Anti-Virus
Anti-virus software will search for, detect, remove and prevent viruses from
attacking your system, in real time.
 Encryption
In order to keep certain emails private, we recommend encrypting it. This will
ensure that only the intended user can view the email. The receiver can
decrypt the message by entering a code.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
This includes methods and tools to stop unauthorized access to data, or to
prevent it from being lost or misused.
Anti-Malware Software
This is software which has been created to tackle and protect you from
malware.
Deciding What You Need
When choosing the right network security for your business, you must
consider:
 Size of business
 Type of business
 GDPR and sensitivity of data
 On-premises/cloud/hybrid
 Types of devices used
 Number of devices connected
 Budget
How Minerva Can Help

5. Minerva provide IT Services and Solutions to SME’s all over the nation,
spanning across a range of industries including education, recruitment,
distribution, not-for profit and professional services.
Our network security specialists possess years of experience and are
continuously enhancing their skillset and knowledge through regular training.
We also partner with some of the leading network security brands, enabling us
to provide you with the most advanced solutions. Each business is unique and
therefore we start by analysing your business then provide you with bespoke
solutions based around your needs and budgets.
To find out more, please leave an enquiry on our website or call us on 01707
607100.
Please visit: https://www.minervauk.com/blog/choosing-the-right-network-
security-for-your-business-minerva/