When it comes to network security, there are two types of companies:

• Those that are serious about security, realizing that something or someone dangerous is lurking around every corner.
• Those that don’t think anything bad will ever happen to them.

Where does your company fit in? Even if you’re serious about network security, it goes without saying that you could overlook a threat that could cause major damage, financial loss, and hundreds of hours of lost time.

Despite the fact that no network security threat should be overlooked, some of the most common continue to sneak past companies of all sizes in all industries:

1. External Hackers

For years, external hacking has been one of the top network security threats. However, some companies have turned their attention away from this, believing that the use of security software is good enough to remain safe.

Even if you’ve kept external hackers at bay in the past, don’t assume that you don’t need to keep an eye on this threat in the future.

2. Mad Employees (or Former Employees)

There are many network security best practices that you can follow, but many of them come up short in regards to protecting against a disgruntled employee doing damage.

It’s not common for an employee to launch a cyber attack against their employer (or former employer), but this is a threat that must be taken seriously.

3. Cloud Computing

In today’s day and age, “the cloud” is more popular than ever before. This is a buzz phrase that won’t be going away any time in the near future.

And while there are many benefits of cloud computing, don’t overlook the fact that this can present a variety of network security challenges.

These threats aren’t enough to move away from the cloud, but they should be enough to alter your approach to security.

4. Personal Devices

As you know, smartphones and tablets are all the rage in today’s day and age. And guess what? This won’t be changing in the years to come. In fact, you can expect mobile technology to continue to grow at a fast pace.

Here’s the problem that companies face: employees get a new device and then decide that they want to use it on the company’s network. Making this even worse, some devices show up on the network without the permission of the IT department.

Bring your own device, also known as BYOD, is a major network security threat. In the year to come, IT departments across the globe will struggle to balance the implementation of new technology with the risk that it poses.

5. Employee Error

Above, we discussed how an employee or disgruntled employee could take action that threatens network security.

But did you ever take into consideration the fact that a simple employee error could be just as dangerous? This may not be something you think about often, but it’s a cause for concern.

These errors include but are not limited to accidentally introducing malware to the network, using unauthorized personal advices for work purposes, falling prey to a phishing scam, and losing a device that contains important information and data.

Since this is such a big concern, it’s a must to discuss these potential errors with all employees.

What Now?

It’s one thing to understand these commonly overlooked network security threats. It’s another thing entirely to take action to ensure that your company doesn’t find itself in a compromising position in the future.

With the right strategy in place, these network security threats can be kept on the outside looking in.