Seven Strategic Steps to Automate Your Network for Continuous Security Improvement

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26.10.2023
Network automation can be used strategically not only to automate network operations tasks and save time, but also to continually improve network security, writes Josh Stevens, CTO of BackBox, on Network Computing.

In today’s fast-changing digital landscape, network security is paramount. Frequent high-profile network outages highlight the need for organizations to not only automate the process of hardening their network, but also to recover quickly and minimize downtime in the event of an incident.

While data backups receive a lot of attention, operational tasks that keep networks secure, such as device backups, OS updates, and configuration changes, are often overlooked. Incredibly, even today, most of these changes are done manually, making them prone to errors. Even the simplest error can cause a ripple effect that takes down a network and/or disrupts supposedly fault-tolerant business services. No one is immune, not even tech giants like Microsoft and Google.

Moreover, with the rate at which new security vulnerabilities and OS bugs are discovered, deploying updates and patches has become a never-ending project for most large organizations. In 2022, a record 26,448 software security flaws were reported , with the number of critical vulnerabilities increasing by 59% over 2021 to 4,135. It is extremely albania mobile database for network teams to keep up: it is telling that, according to a recent CISA advisory letter , the most exploited vulnerability in 2022 was first discovered two years earlier. Threat actors realize that organizations are behind in updating their OS, so they take advantage of easily accessible vulnerabilities and continue to successfully exploit the same vulnerability for years to come.

Every week I talk to network managers who share the same problem: they are completely overwhelmed with work and there seems to be no end in sight. Against this backdrop, improving network security can seem impossible. However, network automation is a technology that can be strategically used not only to automate network operations tasks and save time, but also to continually improve network hygiene and security.