What Is Network Access Control?

• Network Access Control Definition

  Network Access Control Definition

  Network access control (NAC) can be defined as the set of rules, protocols, and processes that govern access to network-connected resources such as network routers, conventional PCs, IoT devices, and more. Network access control also applies to virtual and software-defined resources and data transmitted through the network. Additionally, NAC extends beyond access control capabilities and addresses the security requirements of wired and wireless devices through threat monitoring, device identification, and policy-based access control for networked devices.
• How does network access control work?

  How does network access control work?

  Network access control discovers all the devices connected to a network, categorizes them according to their type, and acts based on preconfigured rules, protocols, and authentication factors.
• Why do you need network access control?

  Why do you need network access control?

  Whether you have a small organization network with a few devices or an enterprise network with lots of devices linked to it, network access control is a critical component of your security strategy for various reasons.

  • Prevents unauthorized access: Tracking multiple devices over a network is difficult. Organizations are at a higher risk of having unauthorized devices on their network for several reasons, such as BYOD policy, IoT devices, and unauthenticated devices used for testing purposes. The role of NAC is to detect and prevent unauthorized devices from accessing the organization's network.
  • Meet compliance: The stringent government norms and data privacy rules govern what data can be collected, stored, and shared by an organization. Without an appropriate network control access policy, organizations lack visibility into network resources, devices, and data. It’s crucial to ensure your organization follows an effective NAC strategy to secure network access and meet regulatory compliance requirements.
• NAC capabilities

  NAC capabilities

  NAC addresses several traditional types of security needs:

  • Endpoint security technology: NAC ensures network endpoints such as virtual or physical resources can send and receive data flawlessly and securely over the network.
  • Authentication: NAC ensures resources and devices are authenticated, and users have authorized access to the organization's network resources.
  • Network security enforcement: NAC can help you identify instances where devices and resources aren’t compliant with security policies.
  • Conventional network visibility: NAC can help you identify existing devices on your network and how they share resources.
• Network access control list (network ACL)

  Network access control list (network ACL)

  A network access control list (ACL) is a list of rules or protocols that includes the authorization details and permission access rights of the network and network devices.

  A network ACL acts as the first line of defense to ensure only approved traffic enters the network. It’s used to control network traffic from moving in and out of one or multiple subnets. You can set up security rules and permission rights according to the security groups to provide an additional layer of security to your network.
• How to create a network ACL

  How to create a network ACL

  Setting up a network ACL can be challenging. You need detailed information about your organization's network, resources, devices, and users to configure network security.

  One of the best practices to configure network security includes the adoption of a role-based structure. This enables you to set up policies and rules for a group of employees instead of individual users and assign them roles and responsibilities based on their job functions.

  You should also use the principle of least privilege to enable IT teams to grant permissions or access rights to only limited users who need them to fulfill their job roles.
• Network access control solutions

  Network access control solutions

  Emerging technologies come with vulnerabilities that can pose a challenge for IT security experts. Moreover, the adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies has increased the security concerns of organizations. Network access control solutions play a crucial role in handling enterprise networks with multiple devices. They can protect the entire network, including physical infrastructure and cloud-based systems. Limited network access enables IT teams to protect the network from unauthorized access.
• Benefits of using NAC solutions

  Benefits of using NAC solutions

  • Perform interactive search and troubleshooting: NAC solutions are designed to simplify network security management and monitoring through advanced search, event management, and quick troubleshooting features. The tools allow you to perform a quick forensic analysis of logs and event data in real time. With the help of features such as charts, maps, and graphs, you can easily visualize log data and identify and resolve critical network security events.
  • Automate responses to mitigate threats in real-time: NAC solutions can automate responses to resolve performance and network security issues. Some tools offer active responses with predefined actions taken in real time after event log correlation.
  • Block all private addresses with an access control list: NAC tools continuously update threat intelligence data to automatically update the access control list, flag events, and block traffic entering the network from malicious sources. The tools can also enable and disable unauthorized user accounts and block all private IP addresses running on several devices simultaneously.
• How to choose a network access control solution

  How to choose a network access control solution

  NAC solutions cover a wide range of features and promise to boost the overall security of your organization's network. However, look for solutions that offer native integration with your enterprise’s existing software and hardware. Moreover, look for all-in-one packages with firewall mechanisms, virus scanning capabilities, and more. You can also discover the features and evaluate the functionalities of NAC solutions using free trials.
• How to implement NAC solutions

  How to implement NAC solutions

  Planning the entire NAC implementation is crucial. Outlined below are a few steps you can follow for a successful NAC implementation.

  • Collect information: Before implementing NAC solutions, gather critical information about your network, linked devices, resources, and users. You need to perform an extensive survey of each endpoint of your networks, such as servers, equipment, and more. Without this data, it can be challenging to manage identities and assign permissions. Some of the NAC solutions offer this collection upon the initial scan.
  • Manage identities: Managing identities is one of the most important tasks while implementing NAC solutions. To authorize and authenticate each user, you need to set up and update your directory systems and verify user identities. This also helps you determine permission roles and grant network access to users.
  • Apply permissions: Once your IT team has assigned permissions to users, you can import the permission access rights, policies, or the entire existing directory system into your NAC solution directly to help reduce security gaps.
  • Update as required: Managing a network isn’t a one-time task. You need to monitor security operations and manage user permissions and device access rights (or automate this processes) as your organization scales and adjust them over time.