With the increased number of cyber attacks and the overall complexity of enterprise networks today, IT professionals are challenged with the daunting task of protecting networks from known and unknown malicious activity. To combat network security issues, many organizations are deploying a layered security architecture that spans from the Internet to the desktop. The typical network security solutions companies deploy include firewalls, intrusion detection systems, anti-virus software, etc. Many organizations also utilize vulnerability assessments, penetration tests and other means to identify network vulnerabilities.
While traditional security solutions and services are being deployed to protect the network, devices continue to fall victim to attacks. As a result, many organizations are looking outside the "security application box" to other solutions that can more effectively secure, manage and maintain critical devices throughout the network. One particular application category IT professionals are turning to is Network Configuration Management.
Network configuration management solutions are specifically designed to automate the process of changing, securing and managing devices throughout the enterprise. Companies are turning to network configuration management solutions because there is a direct correlation between properly configured devices and network security. Whether configuration changes are introduced through malicious attacks, manual update errors, or network product defects, devices can become vulnerable and place your business at risk.
By leveraging a configuration management solution as part of your security strategy, organizations can arm IT professionals with device security and intrusion response functionality that is not found in traditional security solutions. Additionally, network configuration management solutions provide organizations with a disciplined, change management methodology that ensure IT professionals can only make changes that comply with the enterprise security policies.
Configuration management solutions enable IT professionals to:
* Identify vulnerabilities throughout the network
* Define network security policies
* Automate the deployment of security and device configuration updates
* Inform it of network intrusions and unauthorized configuration changes
* Arm management with critical security and device configuration forensics information
Addressing Network Vulnerabilities Using Configuration Management Solutions
The first thing an IT professional asks when network vulnerabilities have been identified is "What segment of my network is affected and what devices will be impacted?" While most companies document a snapshot of their network at one time or another, in all likelihood, that snapshot becomes outdated just days (if not hours) after it is produced. Without a real-time view of the network and a well-documented history, IT professionals must spend precious time understanding the current state of their infrastructure before they are in the position to answer this simple question.
Access Important Network Configuration Documentation
Configuration management solutions arm IT professionals with the real-time documentation and device configuration change history necessary to understand network vulnerabilities and dramatically reduce the meantime-to-repair. By accessing accurate network documentation through a configuration management solution, IT professionals can quickly identify what systems have been impacted and the configuration history of those devices before the vulnerability was introduced.
Deploy Critical Device Configuration Changes
Configuration management solutions not only assist IT professionals during the troubleshooting process but also help solve the problem at hand. Many times, new vulnerabilities are discovered. This quick discovery immediately enables IT to deploy widespread updates to security policies and device configuration changes. Having a configuration management solution that supports security policy templates enables IT professionals to quickly update the policy and apply the change to every device that is impacted by the policy, often before any real damage can be done.
Vulnerabilities can be introduced through network attacks, manual errors, even by personnel changes within the IT department itself. What happens when an employee leaves or a partner decides to move on and work with a competitor? This single event can create serious security vulnerabilities, and to address this issue the IT department must deploy new passwords and access privileges to potentially thousands of devices throughout the enterprise.
Most IT organizations are already running at capacity dealing with ongoing projects and service requests. When passwords or password policies must be changed it can take days, if not weeks, to manually update the devices. Even if scripts are used to expedite the process, different scripts must be written for thousands of different devices that come from a multitude of manufacturers.
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