How Fiber Connectivity Helps Businesses with Cybersecurity
Let’s be honest – with everything going on right now, the last thing a medium-sized business needs today is to deal with a cybersecurity issue. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last several years, it’s that cybercriminals are experts at making the most of whatever they’re given. As data breaches continue to hit the headlines, most companies are taking the threat seriously. In a National Cyber Security Alliance survey of over 1,000 SMB decision makers, 88% believed that they were at least somewhat likely to be a target for cyber crime. In fact, 28% had already suffered from a data breach in the previous 12 months.
Many companies turn to employee training, rethinking company processes and technical approaches like proper software patching. This is a good start, because cybersecurity is a multifaceted discipline. But one thing should underpin all these things: a network optimized for secure communications.
As the foundation for the entire technology infrastructure, the network must be designed with cybersecurity in mind. Fiber networks like Lumen Fiber+ Internet offer a secure platform on which to build safe computing services. Here’s why it should be your first choice when securing your company from the ground up.
Physical Security
Fiber’s security begins with its physical makeup; it’s simply tougher for hackers to tamper with a fiber cable. Have you ever seen a fiber optical cable cut? Well, cutting and splicing it isn’t technically impossible; it is however, very difficult.
Use Wi-Fi? Most customers do – but wireless network snooping is easier thanks to off-the-shelf wireless monitoring equipment that can pull packets out of the air and use it to decrypt Wi-Fi passwords.
Fiber is simply more secure. Because it sends data as pulses of light rather than electrical signals, it doesn’t leak any telltale signals as electrical emissions around the cable.
Reliable Networks Mean Secure Employees
Another strong security advantage of fiber cable is its reliability. As a more reliable network technology than copper or wireless, it offers employees dependable connectivity that is far less likely to fail or degrade. That’s important, because employees’ trust in an IT service influences their behavior.
If employees experience poor throughput or have network performance issues, they will be tempted to look for alternatives. When they need to get the job done against tight deadlines, they’ll turn to their own cellular connection or worse, like a public Wi-Fi connection. That instantly puts them outside their company’s protection, removing measures like network encryption, malware scanning and anti-phishing protections. They might also choose to use their own cloud-based accounts for convenience. As soon as an employee takes company data outside approved online services, the IT department loses visibility and control. They cannot easily impose cybersecurity and data privacy guidelines on third party services that they can’t see. This puts the entire company at risk from regulatory penalties and reputational ruin.
You can avoid this problem by giving employees a solid connectivity experience. Fiber offers fast, dependable connections, giving employees no reason to circumvent network controls.
That’s especially important when dealing with productivity applications that involve collaboration. The Lumen Fiber+ network includes optional Microsoft 365 accounts, giving employees access to the Teams videoconferencing and collaboration service, along with Exchange email accounts, OneDrive for Business file storage, and SharePoint online content management capabilities. Its fast, reliable service makes it the perfect platform for a secure service operated by a veteran provider with decades of experience in software and cloud services.
Fiber+ is Part of a Secure Infrastructure
Lumen Fiber+ connectivity complements software-based measures that bake security directly into the network infrastructure. SMBs with branch offices connected to the internet often don’t have in-house IT specialists at each site. They might also find it difficult to configure each site’s connection securely if dealing with multiple ISPs.
Have you heard about the growth of SD-WAN technology? Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) continues to grow as customers move their IT services to a cloud infrastructure. Our Fiber+ Internet integrates seamlessly with SD-WAN capabilities that helps enable improved security tools and secure perimeter that connects multiple customer locations.
Like your business, a secure IT infrastructure must be built on strong foundations. The best software patching processes, employee access controls, and training programs will fall short without network connections that build security in at the physical layer and support safe computing across all company locations. Fiber+ and its associated services give SMBs the same secure technology stack as larger companies, so that when hackers come knocking, you’re just as secure as the multinational across the street.
Find out how Lumen Fiber+ can secure your company today.
This content is provided for informational purposes only and may require additional research and substantiation by the end user. In addition, the information is provided “as is” without any warranty or condition of any kind, either express or implied. Use of this information is at the end user’s own risk. Lumen does not warrant that the information will meet the end user’s requirements or that the implementation or usage of this information will result in the desired outcome of the end user. All third-party company and product or service names referenced in this article are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation with Lumen. This document represents Lumen products and offerings as of the date of issue.