Enhancing Cyber Hygiene using NP-View: A Deep Dive into Network Visibility
Introduction
In our recent blog post, we discussed the news report of a recent cyber incident at a major Chicago children’s hospital (link) which forced them to shut down their network, email, and phone systems for a prolonged period of time. As of this writing, some systems are still down several weeks later. We discussed what proactive measures should be taken to safeguard against an ever-increasing risk of incident and how the network modeling platform, NP-View, can help. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into one of the key features of NP-View, Network Visibility, and highlight how this can help improve your Cyber Hygiene and Resilience.
NP-View Overview
NP-View is a network modeling platform which provides several key features that help an organization take a proactive approach to cybersecurity and compliance in a passive, offline manner requiring no agents or modification to the network hardware or configuration. The NP-View platform will first parse and process network equipment configuration files that were manually or systematically imported. The platform will then automatically build a comprehensive model of the network environment as a simulation model. This provides full visibility of the network environment and its assets allowing for critical path analysis to ensure access permissions are configured as intended and to understand what lateral movements are possible.
Asset Inventory and Baseline
The first step in any cybersecurity program is to build an accurate asset inventory so you know what you are managing and defending. The second step is to ensure you have an accurate baseline detailing how each asset is configured and a full backup that is tested for use in the case that a system recovery is required. The NP-View platform provides an asset list of all devices within scope of the network equipment’s configuration files imported into the platform. The configuration files are stored as baselines so you can see changes made to your network over time.
Network Topology Map
The NP-View platform automatically builds a full network topology model showing all devices and how each is interconnected. These diagrams are generated with no changes to the network, replacing manual drawings that quickly become outdated. The platform can continuously update the topology map based on configuration changes, so you always have an accurate view of your environment.
| A comprehensive network topology map will allow you to rapidly identify network configuration issues, assess risks to your critical assets, and ensure compliance with your corporate policy and/or regulations.
An accurate diagram also ensures efficient operation of your network and can be indispensable in times of network disturbance or outage. A comprehensive understanding of your network’s topology enables you to simplify complex network structures and enhance troubleshooting capabilities to get back to full operation more quickly than working haphazardly without a map.
The NP-View platform also allows for import of external contextual data from leading third-party vulnerability and threat management companies to overlay onto the network map, which provides direct visualization of risk, and validation of network segmentation strategies and defense of your assets.
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Data Flow Diagrams
While active and passive network monitoring tools report how data is traveling across the network, NP-View proactively tells you how data CAN traverse your network while highlighting which protocols are permitted to and from each network zone. The platform also provides path analysis modeling to show how an attacker could move externally and laterally within the network. This functionality allows you to correct configurations that may be overly permissive and ensure proper cybersecurity defenses are in place before a breach or cyber attack occurs.
Summary
Operating and securing a network without an accurate understanding of the assets within your environment and configuration of the network connecting them can leave blind spots which place your organization at elevated risk. The NP-View platform provides a proactive approach to cybersecurity which assists with good cyber hygiene as critical steps in the pursuit of cyber resilience.
In future posts we will dive into two other key features of the platform, Network Segmentation and Firewall Rule Auditing, in more detail to show why each is a critical component to include in your cybersecurity program.
Download our Whitepaper on Cyber Hygiene here and learn how to establish a culture of cybersecurity, compliance, and resilience.
If you want more insight, please contact us at sales@network-percpeption.com
