There are several ways to secure network access. You can use centralized authentication or segment your network to restrict access. Encrypt wireless data and manage guest access. These measures will ensure that only authorized individuals can access your network. But how do you protect yourself? Let’s look at the most common ways to secure network access. After reading this article, you’ll be well on securing your network. It’s time to make your network more secure today! You can also learn more through Fortinet.
Segmenting a network
Setting up a segmented network is an excellent way to control network access. Once you’ve identified which systems, users and data need to access the web, you can begin segmenting. Begin with the smallest segments and learn from them. For example, when configuring a firewall, you can create a default deny rule that blocks all traffic from a specific part. Make sure to check the configuration often and update practices as necessary.
To implement network segmentation, divide your network into distinct zones and apply security and traffic protocols to each one. These segments are then isolated from one another, so only credentialed users can access them. The goal is to protect your network and data by limiting the number of connections that each zone has. It also minimizes overall network traffic. Here are some common uses for network segmentation:
Encrypting wireless data
To secure your wireless network, you must start by encrypting the data transmitted from and to your computer. Unfortunately, wired networks have inherent security problems. A hacker can exploit an unencrypted wireless network by using DNS-cache poisoning, which diverts network traffic to a malicious version. The danger for the user is that they’ll connect to the negative performance of a legitimate network.
WiFi networks often don’t use encryption by default. While this is not a perfect solution, it’s far more secure than using an unencrypted WiFi network. The encryption process scrambles data so that only authorized users can decipher it. While many public WiFinetworks are accessible, hackers can access this data without the proper protection. Encrypting your data can help protect you from unauthorized users, ensuring that it doesn’t get intercepted or misused.
Using centralized authentication
When you use centralized authentication to secure network access, you can easily manage user accounts and their access rights. For example, rather than maintaining multiple accounts, you can control the access of only authorized users. You can also lock out unauthorized users across various devices. Furthermore, central logging provides visibility of network activity. For example, you can track which users are repeatedly attempting to use the same credentials. These features improve security and efficiency.
One of the significant drawbacks of traditional network access control protocols is that they are not as secure as more sophisticated, feature-rich solutions. In addition to their low level of security, many network devices and service providers cannot support feature-rich access control methods, making them hard to implement. Using centralized authentication to secure network access helps overcome these challenges and makes integrating best-of-breed products from multiple vendors easier.
Managing guest access
To manage access to your WiFi network, you need to use a device that is designed to allow you to manage guest networks. While the leading network is best for your devices at home, a guest network is ideal for visitors, kids, and smart home devices. Once you’ve created the guest network, you can check its status in the router settings or by using a network tool such as Fing.
Manage guest network access with Pulse Policy Secure. Upon connecting, this software notifies the network’s guest and displays the Acceptable Use Policy. Then, the end user is directed to a captive portal to provide the information necessary to access the network. After entering this information, the end user will be granted network access according to the assessment defined in their profile. Managing guest access to secure network access can significantly increase the security of your network while minimizing database usage.
