What Is Network Traffic Analysis(NTA)?

The primary venue for cyberattacks is the network, making it a prime resource for understanding threats to an organization and its systems. Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) involves monitoring network activity to detect potential security risks and other IT concerns.

Why Need for an NTA Solution

The corporate IT infrastructure includes a wide range of different environments and endpoints, which adds complexity to the task of monitoring and securing an organization’s IT architecture. However, all these systems are interconnected through the network, which is also the route through which threats enter an organization’s environment and move between systems. NTA solutions monitor network traffic for anomalies, providing an early warning to potential cyberattacks or other issues affecting the network infrastructure of the organization.

How Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Works

NTA observes the flow of traffic across the network. It typically gathers and processes various types of network data, including:

• Flow Data: Offering a condensed overview of network connections, flow records enable a more scalable approach. They aid in pinpointing unauthorized communications, such as approved devices linked to the corporate WAN, unmonitored traffic traversing network segments, or unusual traffic volumes, like extensive corporate data exfiltration.
• Packet Data: Containing complete network traffic contents, packet captures supply more detailed data but require greater storage capacity. NTA solutions and security analysts utilize packet data for investigating cyberattacks or diagnosing issues.

Following data collection, NTA systems analyze it to derive valuable insights. Frequently, these solutions employ machine learning and behavioral analytics to detect anomalies in network traffic, which may indicate a cyberattack or other critical issues demanding attention.

How Does NTA Improve Your Security?

NTA enables organizations to enhance their analysis of network traffic and pinpoint anomalies that may indicate cyberattacks or other potential issues. These capabilities offer several advantages to organizations:

• Enhanced Network Visibility: As corporate networks expand in size and complexity, maintaining visibility becomes challenging. NTA solutions improve security by providing better insight into networks and detecting abnormal network activity signaling potential attacks.
• Effective Threat Detection: Various stages of cyberattacks, such as initial access, lateral movement, and command and control communications, occur over networks. NTA aids in detecting these activities, facilitating the detection and response to cyberattacks.
• Troubleshooting Assistance: Cyberattacks or natural events can cause IT systems to malfunction or degrade performance. NTA solutions help identify system disruptions and provide context for diagnosing and addressing issues.
• Support for Investigations: NTA solutions collect and store network traffic data for analysis. In the event of a potential incident, security operations centers (SOCs) use NTA to identify related network traffic and gain visibility into malicious actions on the system.
• Threat Intelligence Utilization: Following threat detection, NTA solutions extract unique features like IP addresses to develop indicators of compromise (IoCs). This information aids in identifying additional threats and preventing future attacks.
• Policy Enforcement: NTA helps identify policy violations and security gaps, ensuring compliance with firewall rules, zero trust policies, and other security controls that regulate corporate IT system usage.
• Regulatory Compliance Assurance: To comply with data protection regulations, organizations must demonstrate protection of regulated data against unauthorized access. NTA traffic logs assist in showcasing that restricted data and systems are accessed only by authorized users.

FAQ’s

How can organizations leverage NTA to improve their security posture?

Organizations can leverage NTA to improve their security posture by implementing robust monitoring and analysis of network traffic. This includes regularly reviewing and analyzing network data for signs of suspicious activity, as well as integrating NTA with other security tools and technologies to enhance threat detection and response capabilities.

What types of network data does NTA analyze, and why is this important?

NTA analyzes various types of network data, including flow data and packet data. Flow data provides a high-level summary of network connections, while packet data contains more detailed information about individual network packets. Analyzing both types of data allows NTA to identify patterns and anomalies in network traffic, helping organizations detect and respond to potential security threats more effectively.

Conclusion

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) is a crucial tool for organizations seeking to protect their IT infrastructure from cyber threats. By monitoring and analyzing network traffic, NTA solutions offer vital insights into security risks and anomalies, enhancing threat detection and incident response capabilities. In an era of heightened cybersecurity challenges and regulatory demands, implementing NTA is essential for maintaining network security and organizational resilience across various industries and business sizes.