Network security management challenges and best practices

<p>Increasingly sophisticated adversaries are putting IT on the defensive. A cohesive approach to network security is more critical than ever.</p>
<p>Threat actors have been quick to adopt cutting-edge technologies, among them <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/How-to-manage-generative-AI-security-risks-in-the-enterprise”>AI and automation</a>, to make their attacks more potent. At the same time, cybercriminals are more aggressive, putting more pressure on the network security practitioners standing on the front lines in defense of enterprise assets. To combat these threats, organizations must craft a comprehensive, scalable network security management strategy that uses best practices to protect their network from end to end.</p>
<p>Threat actors profit by using a combination of tactics, including phishing, ransomware and AI-generated deepfakes, to breach organizations.&nbsp;IBM’s 2025 <a href=”https://www.ibm.com/downloads/documents/us-en/131cf87b20b31c91″>report</a> on the Cost of a Data Breach pegged the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. at upward of $10 million — driven by more stringent regulatory fines and a surge in detection expenses.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In this volatile climate, security practitioners must arm themselves with tools that protect the organization before attacks occur, as well as platforms that mitigate incidents as quickly as possible. Resilience is the ultimate objective.</p>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”What is effective network security management?”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>What is effective network security management?</h2>
<p>A solid network defense underpins every productive and healthy enterprise network. The most effective strategies map the <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-to-create-a-data-security-policy-with-template”>right security policies</a>, tools, processes and practices to the organization’s operational objectives.</p>
<p>Enterprises must also heed government regulations and corporate mandates. Security practitioners are tasked with ensuring data integrity, security and the availability of their infrastructures. Yet, attaining complete protection isn’t achievable. No enterprise can lock down its environment 100% without sacrificing productivity.</p>
<p>To that end, effective enterprise security taps into essential technologies, such as the following:</p>
<ul type=”disc” class=”default-list”>
<li>AI-driven endpoint security platforms.</li>
<li>Extended detection and response.</li>
<li>Platformization.</li>
<li>Zero-trust and access management.</li>
<li>Firewalls.</li>
<li>Multifactor authentication (MFA).</li>
<li>Identity and access management.</li>
<li>Network and <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/network-analytics”>traffic monitoring and analysis</a>.</li>
<li>Security information and event management.</li>
<li>Identity and access management.</li>
<li>Vulnerability and testing.</li>
<li>Unified threat management.</li>
<li>DoS mitigation and incident response services.</li>
<li>Encryption.</li>
<li>Data loss prevention.</li>
</ul>
</section>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Network security management challenges”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Network security management challenges</h2>
<p>Securing the infrastructure is a top priority, but security teams tasked with protecting network assets face some high hurdles, such as the following:</p>
<ul class=”default-list”>
<li>Virtual and highly distributed enterprise assets.</li>
<li>Network security controls that may impede infrastructure performance and hamper the end-user experience.</li>
<li>The need to integrate security data from disparate sources to protect hybrid environments and other network designs.</li>
</ul>
<ul type=”disc” class=”default-list”></ul>
<p>Network security tools are continually improving, but certain issues still force network security engineers to scramble as they try to stay ahead of threats.&nbsp;It’s still a challenge to obtain an accurate end-to-end perspective of network activity from multiple sources, particularly in&nbsp;<a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/Navigate-hybrid-cloud-observability-with-3-techniques”>hybrid cloud environments</a>.&nbsp;Even in products that supposedly hav

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