Creating and maintaining information protection continues to be a pain for many companies, of all sizes and industries. It's understandable, after all, without proper planning, sealing all the potential gaps to prevent cyberattacks can seem like an endless puzzle.

But not everything is that complex. Some basic actions, which would keep networks safe from invasions, are not put into practice. That's why we've separated three of the main mistakes companies make and some insights on how to correct them.

Using a VPN as the solution to all cyber security problems

VPNs, which are virtual private networks, are central to many corporate security strategies because they are generally seen as strong protection for corporate data. But VPNs can't do the job all by themselves. If they are used in isolation, without a planned security framework, with policies involving other tools and behavioural changes, companies are sure to experience cyber incidents.

Unstructured network projects

Many organisations compromise data security by not properly designing and segmenting their networks. Because the decision on how to do it is often part of the business and not the technology sector, meaning that there are people who may not understand cybersecurity as much, deciding which types of information need more or less protection.

When network design is not well planned and assets are not securely segmented, there is no understanding of how traffic is flowing between high and low sensitivity areas.

To address this, companies must identify what is most sensitive and then create security zones that provide adequate shielding for high-risk information.

A step back from emerging threats

Technical knowledge and planning play a key role in helping businesses stay one step ahead of hackers. And that starts with identifying the most likely threats, including those involving people and also the data most likely to be targeted.

Closing doors to threats involves staying informed about protection measures and constantly updating the organisation's software.

An intelligence service to identify attacks is also recommended. As well as avoiding or minimising the time that persistent threats remain in the network infrastructure. The consequences of an invasion multiply proportionally to the time an attacker acts undetected in an organisation's system.

By Dirceu Lippi