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The Importance of Maintaining Network Visibility for your Organization
Organizations have become heavily dependent on their network systems. These device assemblages and interconnections are vital to communications within businesses, and between businesses and the outside world.
But these networks are often at risk of being sabotaged or exploited by ill-intentioned agents. These malicious actors may seek out vulnerabilities within networks and work through them to strike at their target entities.
If companies are going to reduce the chances of being hit by cyberattackers, they will have to gain greater visibility of their networks, so they can monitor the goings-on across them, and take measures to strengthen their defenses.
Network Visibility Defined
Network visibility is being able to access, track, and analyze all components of a network, including the devices and the data that passes between them.
Essentially, it means that you are able to evaluate aspects of a network such as its traffic, performance, applications, managed resources, and data.
In pursuing network security, IT teams seek to identify where data is coming from, where it’s going to, the purpose and type of data, the quantity of data, and whether it’s authorized or not.
In order to achieve network visibility, organizations will have to find ways to monitor network activity with as much detail and consistency as is possible. They can do this with various tools designed for this purpose.
A key issue in network visibility is defining the extent of the network’s reach, and thus, the breadth of monitoring that needs to be done. With more employees working remotely, networks may extend well beyond their employer’s physical offices. All devices plugged into the network need to be visible, regardless of where they are.
Why Organizations Need Greater Network Visibility
Perhaps the most obvious advantage that companies gain when they have greater visibility of their networks is that it lets them detect security concerns or breaches early enough to remedy them.
The nature of cyber threats continues to evolve. And each year, organizations across the world devote a significant portion of their budgets to securing themselves against those threats. Unfortunately, may don’t pay enough attention to shoring up their defenses. As a result, they may fall victim to cyberattacks.
Available data suggest that cybercrime cost businesses more than $1 trillion in 2020. That amount includes both spending on cybersecurity and losses due to cyberattacks. The figure could reach $10 trillion by 2025.
When companies have a better view of what goes on in their networks, they can detect vulnerabilities and breaches, and fix them before they morph into costly incidents.
But the benefits of network security do not merely reside with seeing off cyber threats. Inefficient data transmission through networks is a concern as well. When data clogs up a path, the network may underperform.
Greater network visibility enables IT teams to spot this problem. They could fix it by updating the firmware of the device concerned so that it has a better reaction to network congestion.
Sometimes, networks may underperform because unauthorized devices or software have been plugged into them. This is often not done by ill-intentioned agents; it could simply be employees using company resources when they shouldn’t be doing so. If their employer has greater visibility of their network, they can detect such unauthorized software or devices and remove them.
There could be any number of other problems that a network may have. Whatever they are, it certainly helps to be able to review the entirety of the network, as it could enable the affected organization to discover what those problems are, and quickly troubleshoot them.
Contemporary Challenges To Network Visibility
As businesses begin to realize the importance of network visibility, more of them will take steps to make it a reality within their domains. However, they may encounter certain impediments that prevent them from achieving a reasonable range of vision across their network.
One of these problems is the use of multiple vendors for networks and network components. Organizations go the multi-vendor route as a cost-cutting measure. However, besides actually increasing their costs, the multi-vendor approach also makes networks more complex, thus making them difficult to manage. Ultimately, it could reduce the degree of network visibility that an organization can achieve.
Challenges could also arise when a company operates with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. While employees will like to work in environments where this policy is in place, it could bring about difficulties in network management. IT teams will need to work out a network visibility strategy that takes devices not owned by the employer into consideration.
Remote work also makes broad network visibility harder to achieve. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more companies have had to make their employees work from home. Their devices will be connected to their employer’s network from remote locations, often on a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Because these devices aren’t as firmly controlled as those owned by companies, things like passwords or access keys are always at risk of being stolen by malicious actors, who could use them to access companies’ networks. Given this danger, it’s important that remote access is covered by network visibility setups, even if it’s sometimes difficult to accomplish this.
How To Maintain And Improve Network Visibility
Network threats may either be external (taking advantage of vulnerabilities that may be externally exploited) or internal (resident within the network). Full network visibility will have to include both these fronts.
There are various technologies that may be used to accomplish a wide, far-reaching view of network setup. But these tools may require the input of a trained IT team to operate as they should.
When developing a visibility strategy, it’s important to work with network security experts that will make implementation and monitoring easier.
Layer3 can provide you with the expertise your organization needs to gain comprehensive network visibility. Our consultants and engineers have a deep knowledge of network infrastructure. They leverage this to provide best-in-class solutions that make your IT setup function optimally.
If you would like to find out more about our network security solutions, click here.
The Lagos state government plans to lay an additional 3,300km of unified fibre ducts across the state, in the Phase II of the project, after it has implemented 2,700km of unified fibre ducts across the state in Phase I.
Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State
This is even as the state has established a Cybersecurity Operations Centre (CSOC) to serve as the hub for monitoring, detecting, and responding to cyber threats in real-time in the state.
Mr. Olatunbosun Alake, commissioner for Science, Innovation and Technology who disclosed this at the Year 2024 Ministerial Press Briefing in Lagos, said the centre will employ advanced technologies and a team of cybersecurity experts to ensure the state’s digital infrastructure is safeguarded against potential attacks.
Alake noted that the state has also established a cyber-security council, made up of experts from both public and private sectors, charged with the responsibility of making recommendations to the government, planning, refinement, and implementation of policies, programs, and training initiatives regarding its cybersecurity endeavours.
To achieve a broader strategy to improve overall security and governance within the state, Alake said the government is also partnering with leading cybersecurity firms and international organisations to provide the state with access to cutting-edge technologies and expertise while enhancing its capacity to defend against sophisticated cyber threats.
According to a statement from the state, Alake also spoke on the Data Protection Compliance Project of the government, saying that Lagos has embarked on sensitization and awareness workshops for all Heads of Accounts, Procurement, Planning, Legal Officers, Medical Directors, Body of Permanent Secretaries, Cabinet members, Head of Cadres Statewide and for 43 MDAs; as well as the establishment of 70 Data Protection officers in various MDAs.
The commissioner averred that the objectives of the data protection compliance project are to safeguard the rights of natural persons to data privacy and foster safe conduct for transactions involving the exchange of personal data; prevent manipulation of personal data and ensure that Nigerian businesses remain competitive in international trade with best practice,” the statement read in part.
Speaking on the State’s MetroFibre, the commissioner said the project seeks to achieve a 24-hour driven economy that would allow companies to operate in a safe and secure environment, thereby creating a more conducive environment for business, jobs creation, and increasing the GDP of the state. He added that the state has implemented 2,700km of unified fibre ducts across the state in Phase I, while Phase II of the project comprises an additional 3,300km of unified fibre ducts across the State.
On the Safe City Project, Alake said, it also involved Building a digitised 24/7 city which would allow companies to operate in a safe and secure environment thereby creating a safer and more conducive environment for businesses, more jobs, and increasing the IGR of the State.
He said, the Safe City project involves the deployment of Intelligent Video Cameras in strategic locations in the State with the execution and completion spread over points in time, in Phases I, II, and III, respectively, adding that 450 surveillance Cameras have been deployed at strategic locations across the city.
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has announced its first-ever investment in Powerstove, a pioneering Nigerian company specializing in the production of cookstoves, having significant experience in carbon credit projects.
Second left: EVC/CEO of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu and Founder/CEO, Powerstove Energy, Okey Esse, during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
This strategic investment marks a major milestone in NASENI’s on-going efforts to combat global warming and foster a sustainable ecosystem by Nigerian companies dedicated to decarbonization.
As part of this investment, NASENI will provide both capital for growth and technical assistance to Powerstove, enabling the company to scale its production from 100 thousands units to over one million units per year.
Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, Executive Vice chairman/CEO of the Agency said this substantial increase in production capacity will not only meet the growing demand for clean and efficient cookstoves but also significantly contribute to reducing carbon emissions in Nigeria.
Powerstove boasts as the largest local carbon credit project for a private company in Nigeria, currently valued at 4.5 million carbon credits.
“With this investment, NASENI is not only supporting an impact-driven enterprise but also positioning itself to benefit from carbon credit revenue, thereby reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development,” Halilu said.
This investment underscores the strong commitment of NASENI’s leadership to address climate change proactively and to build a resilient and sustainable ecosystem of innovative Nigerian companies with the potential to drive decarbonization efforts.
NASENI’s Management look forward to witnessing the positive impact of this partnership on Nigeria’s environmental and economic landscape.
Google says it plans to build a new fibre optic cable, named Umoja, to connect Africa to Australia.
According to a statement on Thursday, Umoja will be the first ever fibre optic route to directly connect Africa with Australia.
Anchored in Kenya, Google said the Umoja cable route will transverse Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, including the Google Cloud region, before crossing the Indian Ocean into Australia.
“Umoja’s terrestrial path was built in collaboration with Liquid Technologies to form a highly scalable route through Africa, including access points that will allow other countries to take advantage of the network,” Google said.
“Umoja, which is the Swahili word for unity, joins Equiano in an initiative called Africa Connect. Umoja will enable African countries to more reliably connect with each other and the rest of the world.
“Establishing a new route distinct from existing connectivity routes is critical to maintaining a resilient network for a region that has historically experienced high-impact outages.”
Google expressed gratitude for the collaboration from leaders across Africa and Australia to deliver ‘Africa Connect’ to people, businesses, and governments in Africa and around the world.
Meg Whitman, US ambassador to Kenya, said access to cutting-edge technology, supported by reliable and resilient digital infrastructure, is critical to expanding economic opportunity.
“This is a meaningful moment for Kenya’s digital transformation journey and the benefits of today’s announcement will cascade across the region,” Whitman said.
Also speaking on the feat, William Ruto, president of Kenya, said the new intercontinental fibre optic route will significantly boost global and regional digital infrastructure.
“This initiative is crucial in ensuring the redundancy and resilience of our region’s connectivity to the rest of the world, especially in light of recent disruptions caused by cuts to sub-sea cables,” he said.
“By strengthening our digital backbone, we are not only improving reliability but also paving the way for increased digital inclusion, innovation, and economic opportunities for our people and businesses.”
On her part, Michelle Rowland, Australian minister for communications, said diversifying Australia’s connectivity and supporting digital inclusion across the globe are both critical goals, and Google’s Umoja cable would help to achieve both.
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