Find the Weak Spots in Your Network With Network Security Assessment Services

A network security assessment reviews your network's design and settings to find weaknesses, such as firewall rules that allow too much, gaps in separation or outdated equipment. A penetration test goes a step further and actively tries to use weaknesses to break in, which proves what an attacker could reach. Many businesses start with an assessment to fix the obvious gaps, then use a penetration test to confirm the fixes hold up.

Not in any way your team should notice. Most of the work is reviewing settings and running scans that use very little bandwidth. Any change that could affect users, such as a firmware update or a new firewall rule, is scheduled with you first, usually outside business hours.

It can be. If guest Wi-Fi isn't properly separated, a visitor's phone or laptop can end up on the same network as your computers, printers and file servers. A shared Wi-Fi password that hasn't changed in years has a similar effect. A properly set up guest network gives visitors internet access and nothing else.

They're part of the review. Printers, security cameras, door systems and other connected devices are often installed with default passwords and rarely updated, which makes them easy targets. The assessment finds them and checks whether they're separated from the computers and servers that hold your data.

It may be if it no longer gets security updates from the manufacturer, if the subscription for features like web filtering or intrusion prevention has lapsed or if it can't keep up with your internet speed. The assessment checks your firewall's support status and features and tells you whether new settings will do or it needs replacing.

It makes the assessment more important. Each office usually has its own firewall, Wi-Fi and connection back to the main site or the cloud, and settings often differ from one location to the next. The assessment checks each site and the links between them, so one weaker office doesn't become the way into the rest.

Once a year is a good baseline, plus after changes such as a new office, a new firewall, a different internet provider or more people working remotely. Continuous vulnerability scanning, included in BCA's Growth and Complete plans, helps catch new exposures between assessments.