How to Build a Career in Network Security Management?

Network Security Management

What is Networking?

Networking involves the design, maintenance, management, operations, and troubleshooting of the network system, software applications, devices, rules, and regulations. Computer networking connects devices and endpoints via different types of computer networks.

What is Network Security?

This combines techniques, procedures, technologies, and tools that work together to secure the network. It is the application of rules and regulations for secure network configuration with the help of hardware and software technologies. Network security aims to defend the network from unauthorized access and ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Who Is a Network Engineer?

This is a technology professional responsible for the implementation, functioning, maintenance, and fixing of computer networks to ensure their connectivity and systems functionality. He/she is responsible for planning, designing, optimizing, auditing, and troubleshooting network security systems. Doing this makes sure that the organization does not suffer any kind of cyberattack. These engineers also perform network-based security risk assessments and continuously attempt to tackle new issues that may occur with a company’s expansion.

What Is Network Security Management?

This is the practice of managing firewalls and policies to protect the network and is best done through a centralized solution. It allows an administrator to manage a network consisting of physical and virtual firewalls from one central location. These administrators need network security management solutions to get a high level of visibility into network behavior, automate device configuration, enforce global policies, view firewall traffic, generate reports, and provide a single management interface for physical and virtual systems. When the number of threats to enterprise networks keeps increasing, network security teams find themselves burdened with the administration and management of security across the enterprise. This is especially true for network administrators who manage large numbers of complex security tools and firewalls, each with its policies and practices, knowing that a single misconfiguration can lead to network vulnerabilities.

Separately managing each firewall and security tool creates several issues like:

• The chances of human errors will be high, leading to vulnerabilities in the network.
• Managing each firewall in security deployment is repetitive, time-consuming, and can burn out network administrators.
• Un-updated firewall security policies often conflict with each other, which causes exposure to threats. 
• Network configuration changes are often manual and cannot be automated.

A centralized network security management solution can manage configuration and security across a handful to thousands of firewalls and offers visibility into the entire network from a single console. 

How Does Network Security Management Work?

Network security management attempts to provide complete visibility into the network. It produces data for assets, including asset groupings and classifications, applications, firewalls, protocols, ports, VPNs, NAT, and security policies and vendor devices. This information drills into the details for individual devices and is analyzed. The data is translated into intelligence that decrypts security transactions into manageable, actionable information in the form of policy creation. Updated policies are distributed to enforcement points (firewalls), ensuring network protection.

Building a Successful Career in Network Security

A career in network security is a continuously and constantly evolving one that requires the individual to be skilled in analyzing the risks and vulnerabilities in the network. The objective of a network security professional is to protect the organization’s network system, both internally and externally, by constantly creating and implementing procedures, rules and regulations. This career is ideal for network administrators, network security engineers/administrators, security analysts/operators, or anyone involved in network operations looking to upskill to perform their job more effectively and efficiently.

Building a career in network security starts from the basics of networking like fundamentals of computer networks, networking concepts, communications, architecture, components, technologies, design, layers, and many more.

How to start a career in Network Security Management

To build a career in Network Security Management, one must understand 

Network Security Management prerequisites: 

In general, its prerequisites include: 

· Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a similar field.

· Knowledge of languages/tools such as C++, Java, Node, Python, Ruby, Go, or Power Shell is an added advantage.

· Knowledge of firewalls and various forms of endpoint security.

· Up to date knowledge of the latest Network Security Management trends and hacker tactics.

· The ability to often work under pressure and in a fast-paced environment.

· Possess the right eye for detail and outstanding problem-solving skills.

Skills Required for Network Security Management Jobs

· Fundamental Networking Skills

· Knowledge of Security Across Various Platforms

· Problem-Solving Skills

· Technical Aptitude

· Attention to Detail

· Well organized and able to manage their own time

· A Desire to Learn

· Ability to make decisions with confidence and show initiative

· Strong communication skills, as well as the ability to adapt communication styles to suit different audiences

· Ability to work creatively

· To have a clear understanding of confidentiality issues and related laws

· Inquisitive nature and a keen interest in the IT sector

· Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet tight deadlines

Also Read Building a Career in Cyber Security