Network access control (NAC): Ensure security in the age of connectivity

What is NAC?

There are three cornerstones of NAC—authentication, authorisation and monitoring. Authentication ensures that only authorised users and devices can access the network while authorisation refers to creating access permissions such as roles and policies. Monitoring provides a real-time overview of network activities, enabling a quick response to incidents.

What are the benefits of NAC?

Implementing NAC brings a raft of benefits to organisations. Firstly, it boosts security by preventing unauthorised access and internal attacks. Secondly, it facilitates compliance with security and confidentiality policies. Finally, it simplifies network management and centralises access controls.

What are the challenges and solutions associated with NAC?

While NAC is a powerful tool, it can be complicated to use. It often needs to be integrated into an existing environment and policies managed to ensure security and seamless running. To ensure optimum scalability, it’s important to adapt to the specific needs of each organisation.

NAC is significant for many industries. In companies, it protects internal networks against internal and external threats (employees bringing their own devices to the office (BYOD), external parties needing to quickly connect to the company network, etc.). Teaching organisations can also benefit from it to control student access and that of their private devices while healthcare use it to ensure medical data remains confidential.

NAC evolves as technology advances. It now works with the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage devices connected to the network. Artificial intelligence is also now being used to detect suspicious behaviour and reinforce security. Moreover, cloud-based NAC solutions are becoming popular for their enhanced flexibility.

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