It is crucial to properly protect your computers, as hacking can have catastrophic consequences. For example, in July 2008, a disgruntled San Francisco city administrator locked access to a critical network by resetting administrative passwords to its switches and routers and then refusing to divulge them to officials. In another incidence of hacking, in October of 2011, an international hacker broke into computer files at the South Carolina Department of Revenue, gaining access to about 3.6 million tax returns. The federal government has experienced a nearly 680 percent increase in cyber security breaches in the past six years and in the fiscal year 2011, the U.S. government spent $13 billion to protect information technology. A security breach can not only cost a company unnecessary time and money, but it can also damage the company’s reputation. On average, It takes over 11 months for a company which has experienced a cyber security breach to rebuild their reputation.

It is therefore crucial for a company to have an effective network security platform. Important components of a network security platform include IDS (intrusion detection system) and IPS (intrusion prevention system). Both are are used to detect and prevent security breaches. A network security platform should also include an enterprise firewall and malware protection.

Ideally, a network security platform should utilize next generation network security, or next gen network security, a broad term used to describe securing the current and into the future development and architectural evolutions in telecommunication and access networks. This basically involves staying ahead of the curve in offering the latest and greatest in enterprise network security. Overall, an effect network security platform is crucial. Visit here for more: www.sourcefire.com