When an attack is underway, causing data loss and application disruption, this type of testing allows network administrators to determine whether critical business processes still function correctly. This type of testing helps understand how an attack might impact your organization.
Network segmentation is a security testing method that involves intentionally crashing or disrupting components to test the network’s resiliency and how it recovers.
It is highly recommended that network administrators understand the potential impact of a cyber-attack on their business and perform ongoing testing to find any weak links in their networks. A segmentation test can help you verify the resiliency of your network components. Segmentation tests help ensure that the business process still functions correctly after an attack.
How To Do A Segmentation Test
A segmentation test can be a powerful tool to help you verify the resiliency of your network and identify any weak links in your network before an attack. A good understanding of your recovery options can help you make well-informed decisions about recovery plans. To conduct a segmentation test, perform the following steps:
- Identify data flows between business processes that are critical for operations after a cyber-attack. This will aid in identifying the required testing scenario(s).
- Identify individual components within each process that may need to be isolated during a cyber-attack for these critical business processes to function correctly.
- Map out all connections between each of these components before starting the actual attack.
- Perform a controlled attack on these components to understand how your network reacts.
- Evaluate the results and implement additional segmentation tests to identify the maximum number of components that can be isolated before the network cannot continue its mission.
- Implement a minor production attack to understand how your organization responds, including identifying key actors involved in restoring service.
Segmentation testing provides valuable insight into your network resilience and any weak links within it. By performing these tests regularly, you will discover potential issues and be better prepared for an attack if one does occur.
Identifying all components within a given business process, mapping out connections between them, and understanding how they work together is an essential first step toward building resilient networks prepared for cyber-attacks.
Individuals interested in seeing more articles related to this subject can click on the related articles section located below the title of this article. This list will provide individuals with pieces that will provide both general information about segmentation testing and information about tools that allow administrators to perform these tests themselves.
This type of testing may be necessary for all organizations, especially those dealing with sensitive data. Companies often have a dedicated team of IT professionals on hand-prepared for any cyber-attack or other issues to protect that information.
Advantages Of A Segmentation Test
Network Segmentation Testing allows network administrators to determine whether critical business processes still function correctly after an attack.
It is highly recommended that network administrators understand the potential impact of a cyber-attack on their business and perform ongoing testing to find any weak links in their networks.
A segmentation test can help you verify the resiliency of your network components. Network Administrators should demonstrate how resilient their networks are in the face of a cyber threat.
This requires a thorough understanding of all connections between critical components within each processor system (i.e., maps). It then requires applying the proper test conditions during controlled attacks on essential elements of these processes or systems (i.e., actual attacks) and verifying that core business operations still function.
This is a crucial and necessary step to ensure that your business processes can still function in the face of an attack on your IT infrastructure.
Disadvantages Of A Segmentation Test
Educating IT professionals on best practices for testing networks and systems allow companies to develop strategies that will enable them to become more resilient against cyber-attacks.
Segmentation tests may need to be performed regularly for network administrators to determine whether their networks are getting stronger or weaker over time regarding resiliency towards cyber-attacks. However, such efforts require additional time and planning, which means disruptions within businesses. Although this does not assume that a segmentation test by itself is difficult, it does assume that there is some potential cost involved when conducting a test.
Conclusion
Network Segmentation Testing is a method designed to help companies understand how components within crucial business processes function together in the event of a cyber-attack.
The goal should be to ensure that each critical process still functions correctly after the attack has been initiated. In other words, network segmentation testing can allow administrators to determine whether their networks have enough resilience towards cyber-attacks and whether core business operations can still function afterward.
Based on this type of ongoing assessment, security professionals may decide that a certain amount of damage or loss due to an attack is tolerable. Their ability to do so will depend mainly on the results of ongoing assessments such as system and network segmentation tests.
Adopting standard practices for conducting these assessments will allow companies to become more resilient towards cyber-attacks and may help them avoid significant loss if such an attack occurs.
