A financial services company tasks its IT security team with reducing

A financial services company tasks its IT security team with reducing the network's attack surface. They have segmented the network into security zones, put port security measures in place, and physically isolated critical servers. The IT security team wants to further reduce the risk of attack by managing traffic flow between security zones. Which of the following measures should the team implement?

1 answer

To further reduce the risk of attack and manage traffic flow between security zones, the IT security team should implement the following measures:

Firewalls: Deploy firewalls between the security zones to control the traffic that can flow between them. This allows the security team to explicitly permit or deny traffic based on predefined security policies, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): Implement IDPS to monitor traffic between zones and detect/potentially block any suspicious or malicious activity. This can help to identify and respond to security threats in real-time.
Access Control Lists (ACLs): Configure ACLs on routers and switches to define which devices can communicate between security zones. This allows granular control over network traffic and can restrict access to only those users or services that need it.
Network Segmentation Policies: Establish clear policies for inter-zone communication, determining which services and protocols are permissible between security zones. This can include whitelisting specific applications or protocols while blocking everything else.
Virtual LANs (VLANs): Use VLANs to logically separate traffic within the same physical infrastructure. This adds another layer of separation and control on top of physical segmentation, as you can create distinct broadcast domains.
Zero Trust Architecture: Adopt a Zero Trust model that requires verification for all traffic, regardless of its origin, before allowing access between security zones. This approach assumes that threats could be both external and internal.
Traffic Monitoring and Logging: Implement logging and monitoring solutions that can track and analyze the traffic flowing between security zones. This can help identify anomalies and potential attacks.

By implementing these measures, the IT security team can significantly reduce the attack surface and enhance the security posture of the network through better management of traffic flow between security zones.