There are a lot of theories about which network security issues are the most important at any given time. The issue is highly subjective, particularly in this world of advocates, specialists, and vendors, who are each fixated on their particular piece of the puzzle.
But in the end, what matters is that organizations properly align and continuously adjust their activities to mitigate or even prevent the most prevalent threats to network security. While the risks haven’t changed much – viruses, botnets, access control, and visibility are evergreen challenges – the way threat actors try to leverage vulnerabilities and the way we fight them changes all the time.
What Is a Network Security Threat?
A network security threat is any malicious activity designed to compromise, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to an organization’s network and sensitive data. These threats range from automated cyberattacks to insider threats and misconfigurations, all of which exploit vulnerabilities to infiltrate systems.
Right now, and for the foreseeable future, the best choice of weapon is automation. Cyber attackers use this technology to find the most valuable data inside a network, deliver loaders and cryptors using brute force, operate keyloggers, execute banking injects, operate bulletproof hosting services, and more. We have to fight fire with fire, and automation is the only way to protect a complex, dynamic network from modern network threats.
Let’s explore the biggest security challenges facing businesses and explore how automation can help reduce the risks they pose.
5 Key Network Security Threats and Solutions
This list presents five specific network security risks, but they are all children of one overarching condition: IT infrastructure complexity. That’s the real issue, and there’s no way around it.
The average enterprise has around 500 products in its technology stack and uses more than 1100 APIs. Add in the rise of remote work and we find ourselves managing more connections, users, and devices than ever before. We need the ability to understand network security issues and scale our responses at top speed if we want to secure our organizations from threats.
Talking about cybersecurity complexity doesn’t provide any actionable information. So dig into the list below to see which types of network security challenges you can actually manage and how to do it.
1. Firewall Misconfigurations
Perhaps the least glamorous of all common network security problems, firewall misconfigurations continue to hold the top spot.
Common misconfiguration include:
- Overly permissive rules allowing unrestricted users to gain access
- Outdated rules for defunct systems or applications
- Incorrect rule order bypassing critical security checks
Uncustomized default settings misaligned with security needs Firewalls are hard to manage because networks are complicated and getting more complicated by the month. According to IDC, the global security appliance market reached $4.2 billion in the second quarter of 2024, with over one million units shipped. This scale of deployment underscores the necessity for automation in managing and optimizing firewall rules to maintain robust security postures.
But that doesn’t mean full automation – the best solutions provide adaptive control and visibility over networks and firewalls. The goal should be to minimize human error rather than replace humans, because analysis activities during triage and escalation require an understanding of nuance that no machine possesses.
Watch our webinar on avoiding common firewall misconfigurations
2. Lax Privileged Access Controls
Privileged access abuse is a favored method of hackers because it’s easier for them to exploit existing credentials than to hack into a network. According to research by the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center, 68% of data breaches start with privileged access abuse.
Many organizations focus their firewall management activities on permitting access. That often leads to too many users being granted levels of permissions that are too high. This is a dangerous mistake. In order to make the firewall a more effective security device in the network, risk must be evaluated with the same weight as access.
Credentials alone do not give enough information about whether the user requesting access is legitimate. Credentials need to be authenticated in context with other factors, such as:
- Geolocation
- IP address
- Time of access
- Device used
- Behavioral patterns
Automation plays a critical role in stopping privileged access abuse by reducing the human errors that lead to network security threats and increasing security agility, maximizing the operational efficiency of your security team.
3. Weak Tool Integrations
The problem isn’t too many tools. The problem is too many tools that don’t share data seamlessly.
A network is not a single zone. It’s a system of software-defined networks, micro-segmentation, and network rules and assets that create exponential complexity. To try to understand what’s happening in the network, security teams must shift from console to console, struggling to make sense of what one metric means in context with the others. The result is an environment that fosters human error and leaves gaps that adversaries can exploit.
Some organizations think they’ll be safe even if their tools don’t integrate with each other because they do integrate with the SIEM. However, SIEM systems often fall short in addressing threats to network security because they:
Lack intuitive interfaces, making it difficult for security teams to navigate and utilize them effectively
Fail to provide easily accessible, actionable insights, hindering quick response to potential ransomware attacks, phishing attacks or other risks to sensitive information
Generate overwhelming volumes of data, exceeding the capacity of most security staff
Focus primarily on system-generated signals, potentially missing manually-executed attacks
Struggle to identify user-specific anomalies and suspicious activities, such as unusual access patterns across departments
Security analytics platforms simplify data analysis by offering natural-language search, automatic data collection, and automated correlation. This speeds up threat detection and reduces the technical expertise needed, making network security more efficient and accessible.
4. Lack of Asset Visibility
Asset visibility changes from moment to moment as new network devices, computer systems, and endpoints join your environment. Typically, there is no way to tell if the network is secure or compliant at any given point in time – at best, security professionals can look back over historical data to tell if the network had been secure at some point in the past. That isn’t actionable information.
Organizations need to understand how and why firewall rules are configured, the consequences of any changes, and how the changes impact security and compliance postures. Few can achieve this due to common obstacles such as:
- Lack of IT staff availability
- Poor network management tools
- No visibility into app delivery paths
- Absence of IT at remote offices
Automation can provide the means to see, map, and manage changes to an infrastructure at any given point in time. This is true visibility, and it makes an impact that resonates beyond the SOC. Visibility supports the business as a whole by enabling changes to be made faster and more securely without breaking compliance. The gap between managing network security risks and delivering business opportunities that drive competitive advantages is filled in.
Discover how cyber asset management can improve your visibility.
5. Misaligned Infrastructure and Controls
Teams are not able to keep up with ever-increasing volumes of network security threats and vulnerabilities that need to be mitigated or patched. As well, new applications need to be tested and deployed, emerging cyber threats need to be addressed and, of course, access requests must be granted, returned for further authentication, or denied. The solution to handling this volume and variety of work is orchestration.
Orchestration is often thought of as synonymous with automation, but that’s not accurate. Automation focuses on executing a particular task, while orchestration arranges tasks to function optimally within a workflow – for instance, by bringing together the entire body of security controls and automating change.
An orchestration solution should be:
- Comprehensive, automated network security in every aspect, from policy design to implementation
- Capable of monitoring a live stream of data in real-time to enable instant snapshots of a network’s security posture
- Scalable in all directions, collecting security details and normalizing device rules for storage in a unified database
- Contained within a single console that provides total network visibility and the ability to command security controls
How a Healthcare Organization Overcame Network Security Challenges to Achieve Compliance and HITRUST Certification
Convey Health Solutions struggled to stay in compliance with healthcare regulations while maintaining over 40 firewalls that relied on manual processes and lacked centralized management. The organization asked FireMon to help them streamline their compliance efforts and automate their change management processes.
The decision was driven by FireMon’s out-of-the-box, customizable compliance assessments, automated rule documentation and reporting, and workflows for rule review and recertification. Now, the healthcare organization can analyze and report in real-time what systems have been calibrated together to prevent unauthorized access and protect critical assets.
The business has also been able to clean and push out almost 300 rules that had not been reviewed in over three years and found over 150 “shadow rules” that FireMon helped them identify and remove quickly. achieving its HITRUST certification and shrinking its audit time by two-thirds.
How to Identify Network Security Threats
Effectively identifying network security threats requires a proactive approach that combines technology, policy, and awareness. Cyber threats constantly evolve, making it essential for organizations to stay ahead with strong defenses and continuous monitoring. Below are key strategies to help organizations detect and mitigate risks before they escalate.
Maintain Current Software Versions and Patches
Outdated software and unpatched systems create vulnerabilities that attackers frequently exploit. Ensuring that operating systems, firewalls, applications, and security tools are always up to date minimizes exposure to known vulnerabilities. Regular patch management and automated updates help organizations close security gaps before they can be leveraged in cyberattacks.
Additionally, vulnerability scanning tools can identify weaknesses, allowing IT teams to proactively address potential risks before they become full-fledged breaches.
Implement Comprehensive Network Monitoring
Visibility is critical to identifying and responding to network security threats. Continuous monitoring solutions provide real-time insights into traffic patterns, user behavior, and system anomalies.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms and threat intelligence feeds can help detect suspicious activity early. Automated alerts and AI-driven anomaly detection further enhance security teams’ ability to respond swiftly, reducing dwell time for attackers and preventing costly data breaches.
Establish Strong Boundary Defenses
Network perimeters remain key entry points for attackers, making boundary defenses a crucial layer of security. Firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS), and network segmentation all help control access and contain potential breaches. Properly configured firewall rules limit exposure, while micro-segmentation prevents lateral movement within the network.
Organizations should also employ least-privilege access principles to ensure only authorized users and devices can communicate across sensitive environments.
Deploy Software Defined Perimeter Solutions for Enhanced Protection
Traditional network defenses are no longer sufficient in a world of cloud computing and remote work. Software Defined Perimeters (SDP) create a dynamic, identity-based security model that restricts access to applications and data based on real-time authentication. This approach hides network infrastructure from unauthorized users, significantly reducing the attack surface.
SDP solutions integrate with Zero Trust architectures, ensuring users and devices are continuously verified before accessing critical resources.
Strengthen Physical Security Measures
Cybersecurity isn’t just about digital defenses, physical security plays a vital role in protecting network infrastructure. Unauthorized physical access to servers, networking equipment, or even employee workstations can lead to security breaches. Organizations should implement security measures such as biometric authentication, badge-based access control, surveillance systems, and locked server rooms.
Additionally, securing endpoint devices through asset tracking and encryption helps prevent data theft from lost or stolen hardware.
Provide Thorough Security Awareness Training
Employees are often the weakest link in network security, making security awareness training a fundamental defense mechanism. Regular training programs educate staff on recognizing phishing attacks, social engineering tactics, and best practices for handling sensitive data.
Simulated phishing exercises can test employees’ ability to spot malicious emails, reinforcing good cybersecurity habits. An informed workforce acts as an additional layer of defense, reducing the likelihood of human error leading to security incidents.
Mitigate Network Security Risks with Automation
Automation is not without risk. When planned poorly, it will increase operational costs and potentially subject organizations to financial fallout from breaches and other threats to network security.
But when done well, automation makes enormous business sense and will deliver:
- Consistency
- Cost optimization
- Ongoing visibility and assessment
- Network security profile management
- Support for proactive risk mitigation
Considering the complex, dynamic networks that organizations must govern across firewalls, applications, databases, data centers, cloud, and containers, automation isn’t optional any more. It’s the only way to stay operational. Our advice is to automate mindfully.
The FireMon approach to network security automation is built on providing a context around access requests to help system administrators and network engineers implement change that enables the business without introducing the new risks that come with handling thousands of change requests daily. Using our intelligent, automated workflow, security administrators can implement the right changes with absolute precision.
Book a demo and learn more about how FireMon can help your organization resolve its network security issues while driving innovation at the speed of business.