Active network monitoring is one of the most important aspects of any comprehensive IT strategy. It helps keep your business running efficiently and can be invaluable in identifying potential threats before they become major issues. But what exactly is active network monitoring? What are its key benefits?
Here are five things you should know about active network monitoring.
1. What Is Active Network Monitoring?
Active network monitoring is a proactive security process that keeps an eye on all activity happening on your company’s computer networks.
It utilizes tools such as bandwidth analyzers, packet sniffers, vulnerability scanners, firewall logs, and other application-level data sources to monitor and detect any suspicious or malicious activity on your systems.
Active network monitoring looks for anomalies which could indicate a potential threat, such as unusual communications between two computers or evidence of unauthorized access to your systems.
It also helps with troubleshooting problems by providing visibility into what’s happening on your networks and helping you pinpoint the source of any issues.
2. Benefits of Active Network Monitoring
The primary benefit of active network monitoring is that it can help detect and respond to security breaches before they become major problems. By actively monitoring all activity across your networks, you can spot malicious behavior before it causes damage and take steps to address the issue quickly.
This not only helps protect your data but can also save significant time and money compared to dealing with the aftermath of a successful attack.
Active network monitoring is also critical for staying compliant with industry regulations. By monitoring activity on your networks, you can ensure that all user access and data handling is compliant with the relevant standards, such as GDPR or HIPAA. This gives you peace of mind that your data is secure and that you won’t be facing expensive fines for non-compliance.
3. Challenges of Active Network Monitoring
Despite its many advantages, there are some challenges associated with active network monitoring. One major challenge is the sheer amount of data generated by monitoring all activity on a system.
It can be difficult to filter out false positives or correctly identify any malicious attempts at accessing your systems from this large volume of information. Another challenge is ensuring that the right personnel are in place to interpret the data collected by active network monitoring and respond appropriately.
4. The Role of AI in Active Network Monitoring
To address some of the challenges associated with active network monitoring, many organizations are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for assistance. AI can help analyze large volumes of data quickly and accurately, allowing you to more easily identify malicious activity.
It can also make it easier to respond to threats by providing automated responses or alerting the right personnel when suspicious behavior is detected.
5. Get Started with Active Network Monitoring
If you’re looking to improve your security posture, active network monitoring should be a part of your IT strategy. With the right tools in place, you can protect your systems from potential threats and ensure that all user access and data handling is compliant with industry regulations. And with AI technologies, you can make it easier to analyze and respond to the large volumes of data associated with active network monitoring.
If you’re ready to get started, contact an IT security expert or reach out to a trusted managed service provider for help implementing active network monitoring in your organization. Doing so can give you peace of mind that your business is running securely and efficiently.