A deep dive into network security protocols: Safeguarding digital infrastructure 2024

The digital threat landscape continues to evolve as bad actors design new ways of attacking networks. This makes network security protocols more important than ever because they help secure the lines of communication that power your business operations and revenue stream.

Using network security protocols as a foundation, you can build a scalable, reliable information system that supports the talent within your organization. 

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Understanding network security protocols 

Network security protocols consist of rules and frameworks designed to protect data as it moves through a network. They also structure how data gets from point A to point B, how it's received by different components and ways of keeping attackers from reading it if they intercept your communications. 

Early network security protocols were designed to prevent hackers from stealing or changing information to sabotage communications. They were effective initially, but protocols had to change as hacking techniques evolved.

Eventually, more advanced encryption algorithms were incorporated, forcing attackers to shift their approaches to compromising networks. This cat-and-mouse game has continued to evolve as network security engineers try to stay a step ahead of the attackers trying to infiltrate their systems. 

Types of network security protocols 

There are three primary types of network protocols — communication, management and security. 

Some of the most used protocols include: 

The role of protocols in cybersecurity 

Protocols are a strong line of defense in the battle against hackers because they prevent people from infiltrating, corrupting, stealing or taking advantage of your communication system. For instance, attackers would have difficulty wiretapping or listening in on communications because encryption would result in them only getting a jumbled set of nonsensical characters. 

Also, by setting up your security protocols correctly, you can prevent denial of service attacks. For example, you can use IPsec to require that each entity that interacts with your network goes through an authentication procedure. This would prevent hackers from randomly sending thousands or millions of requests to a server in a denial-of-service attack because they wouldn't be able to access the server in the first place. 

In addition, many phishing attacks use fake websites to trick people into entering sensitive information. You can leverage SSL/TLS Digital certificates to authenticate the validity of a site an employee may be trying to visit, which would prevent them from going to one a hacker built that only appears to be legitimate. 

Protocols also play a pivotal role in cybersecurity frameworks. These frameworks provide guidance for security engineers and their teams to help make the network environments they work with as safe and reliable as possible.

Protocols intersect with many facets of cybersecurity frameworks because the frameworks use them as tools to keep communications and data safe. Those who design cybersecurity frameworks often piece together various security protocols like components of a machine to keep the networks that use the frameworks running smoothly.

Without network security protocols, framework designers may have to code their own solutions instead of using proven, effective technologies. 

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Network security protocols in action 

There are many examples of network security protocols creating safe, reliable interactions between users and systems, especially in the business world. For instance, IPsec has been used by many organizations to create virtual private networks. Businesses have used VPNs to prevent attacks on their networks by preventing attackers from entering the communication portal in the first place. 

For example, in a 2009 study performed on VPNs that leverage IPsec, many different kinds of attack vectors were thwarted, including: 

However, a 2023 report found that 88% of organizations are concerned about potential breaches due to VPN vulnerabilities, and nearly half of the organizations surveyed reported being targeted by cyber attackers who were able to exploit a VPN vulnerability. So, while VPNs are effective, they can be exploited like any technology. 

In addition to cybersecurity frameworks, several security tools also depend on protocols. For example: 

Emerging trends and future outlook 

Network security protocols will continue to play a crucial role in facilitating smooth communications and keeping the information that travels back and forth safe from attackers. Some technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, will continue to depend on these protocols. 

Artificial intelligence-based systems must rely heavily on network security protocols to continuously transmit information safely. For example, machine learning (ML), a subset of AI, often depends on collecting data to train systems to make decisions and analyze information.

Many machine learning systems must gather this information from disparate devices spread across many miles. Thanks to network security protocols, machine learning engineers don't have to be overly concerned with hackers interrupting transmissions and inserting false information that could make their algorithms misinterpret data. 

For example, a machine learning algorithm that uses computer vision to determine how to control a vehicle depends on accurate images of other vehicles, obstacles, street signs, people, pets and other objects to figure out how to identify different things the car or truck may encounter.

Without network security protocols, a hacker could feed false information into the system, perhaps making the machine learning algorithm mistake a cat for a dog or, even worse, confuse two objects in a way that could compromise the safety of passengers. 

IoT devices also depend on network security protocols, especially wireless security protocols, to ensure secure connections between them and the servers with which they exchange information. For instance, a scanner that an employee in a factory uses to scan products as they move along the assembly line needs to transmit the data to a server that may house an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

With network security protocols, those who use the ERP to make business decisions don't have to worry about whether the information they get from the scanners is accurate.