Many businesses have a lot of valuable information in their possession, such as customer data, intellectual property, and financial records, to name a few. To ensure ease of access within your organization, you need a central location in which to store all of this data, so that you don’t have to maintain multiple ecosystems. The problem with this is that all of your data will be vulnerable in case of a cyberattack.
As such, you need to invest in a secure network that can safeguard your data. Doing so not only maximizes performance and optimizes day-to-day operations, but also boosts public trust.
One way to safeguard all of these details is to establish a micro-segmentation strategy. This approach segments or divides a network into different zones, and allows each zone to have different types and levels of security controls.
Do note that micro-segmentation is different from traditional network segmentation. Both can be useful for your organization, but you also have to understand what each does so you can make the best choice between the two of them.
Below, we’ll discuss the two types of network segmentation to identify key differences and determine what will work best for your unique business needs.
What Is Network Segmentation?
The idea behind network segmentation is simple—to create different sections within a central data bank. By dividing your network into smaller segments or subnets, you can restrict access between each of these subnets. You can also decide who can access each segment and which devices can connect to them. This type of security architecture is essentially top-down in nature and designed to manage larger networks.
What Is Micro-Segmentation?
Building on the principle of network segmentation, micro-segmentation creates even more differentiated subnets. For example, you can create segmentations based on who uses each subnet (user-based), the level of security that each subnet needs (policy-based), or the devices where the subnet can be accessed (host-based). If the access attempt comes from anywhere other than the type allowed, it will be blocked.
If you have large networks that need to be managed and secured, it’s ideal to develop a micro-segmentation strategy.
MICRO-SEGMENTATION IMAGE:
What Are the Differences Between the Two?
Some of the key differences between traditional network segmentation and micro-segmentation include the following:
Multilayer Inspection
With traditional network segmentation, reaching a zone that’s designated as safe or trusted means you can freely access everything beyond. Simply put, an attacker only has to bypass a single inspection point to access your data. With micro-segmentation, you’re reducing the surface area of a cyberattack. In case the main network is breached, the subnets will not be affected. What’s more, every subnet has its own inspection point.
Access Restrictions
Aside from having every network segment protected by its own security protocol, micro-segmentation lets you create different controls per subnet. Keep in mind that not all types of data require the same level of restrictions. Of course, less sensitive data should still be protected. That said, it doesn’t have to have the strictest levels of security.
By having different protocols in effect, managing each one is not as demanding. It’s also much easier to prioritize subnets when it comes to things such as security reviews and regulatory compliance.
Bandwidth Allocation
Because traditional network segmentation only has one inspection point to get through, network traffic can build up fast. This is because every user will congregate in one “main hall” and move from there to their desired subnet. On the other hand, micro-segmentation helps funnel users into different lanes. This can essentially improve bandwidth, allowing you to access and operate your IT infrastructure more efficiently.
Hardware vs Software
When you have a traditional network segmentation structure, you usually use a combination of hardware and software to divide the network into subnets. A good example here is VLAN or virtual local area network, which is composed of multiple devices (i.e., your physical data banks), protected by next-generation firewalls. On the other hand, micro-segmentation is mostly focused on implementing access security onto each subnet.
Which One Should You Use?
Why choose between them? You should implement both! You can have sensible subnets defined in your firewall that seldom change, and then have identity and role-based microsegmentation policies overlayed on top of it.
Do keep in mind that to have a robust cybersecurity strategy, you’re going to need more than one data security architecture – such as access management, ZTNA, intrusion detection, and more.
To keep your data safe, the main thing to keep in mind is that you need to thoroughly evaluate your organization. When you fully understand what your business, you can choose the best security option that maximizes the ROI of your budget.
Blog Received on mail.
