Blog By: @aditipandey
We’re entering a whole new world, one that is interconnected, digital-first, and always-on.
For businesses, a technologically charged society offers new ways to engage with customers and grow their products. However, with the volume of commerce and customer services now online, small businesses with lean IT teams are more vulnerable than ever in the face of cyber threats.
That’s why small businesses across the world use Aruba Instant On Access Points to build robust wireless networks.
Here are a few security tips that protect the guest and employee wired and Wi-Fi experience:
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): You can add an extra layer of protection in your network security setup, such as an authentication app, in addition to a username and password. Through the Aruba Instant On solution, 2FA is available for verified accounts and users can activate it from their account settings, the Instant On mobile app, or cloud-based web portal. If a password is hacked, guessed, or even phished, 2FA prevents an attacker from gaining access without approval by a third-party authentication app.
- Experience faster browsing, more private internet: With Aruba Instant On’s Cloudflare DNS integration, you can offer enhanced security to your customers while improving the speed of your devices. The integration allows your browsing history to not only stay with you but also ensure it’s not shared with your Internet Service Providers (ISP).
- Keep your open, non-password-protected network private and secure: Achieve strong authentication with OWE-Enhanced Open support. Aruba Instant On follows the latest Wi-Fi Alliance's (WFA) security standard for public networks. Enhanced Open provides improved data encryption in open Wi-Fi networks and protects data from sniffing in areas such as cafes, hotels, and restaurants
- Control Wi-Fi usage by user, time, and bandwidth: With one click, you can create separate guest and employee networks and provide complete Wi-Fi coverage throughout your site. You can also control when and how employees and guests use the network, which enables you to prevent people from using Wi-Fi outside of business hours and control traffic usage on your network. It allows you to limit bandwidth on your guest network so that you can prioritize important business voice and video applications on your employee network.
- Block intruders with a tap of a finger: Easily block and unblock unwanted clients from accessing your network with a single swipe.
- Enable MAC authentication: Secure your network by authenticating devices based on their physical MAC addresses. MAC authentication enables authentication for both IoT devices and legacy devices, such as cameras, smart door locks, lighting controllers, and printers.
- Port Security – Allow List: A secure network prevents attacks from intruders who can break into your network. One way to enhance security in your network is to configure port security, which controls client access, on your Instant On switches. By restricting the number of MAC addresses on a port, you can prevent client devices with unauthorized MAC addresses from connecting to your network.
- Network Access Control: The Network Access option in the Instant On mobile app allows you to configure network access restrictions for wireless clients based on IP destination addresses.
- Keep your security up to date with the latest software: Outdated software is another common challenge for small businesses. You can keep your Instant On network up to date at your convenience with available updates installed automatically.
- Never miss a critical alert: Whether you are facing internet connection problems or an unknown device failure, you are immediately alerted by an Instant On push notification to your mobile phone to help you fix the issue quickly. That brings peace of mind for your business and a better experience for staff and visitors from the palm of your hand.
- Secure by design: Aruba Instant On uses the HPE Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chipset on all access points to ensure that no one can compromise the access point, change its boot-up software, impersonate or disable the access point. It’s used to strongly authenticate the access points and the cloud before they communicate with each other. If any security vulnerabilities are discovered, the access points will automatically update their protection capabilities.
Learn more about Aruba Instant On network solutions for your small business here.