For IT professionals, IP restriction is a requirement for network security. Recently, many banking systems have implemented IP restrictions as bad actors repeatedly attempt to get access to financial information. Therefore, IP restrictions allow your network to be safe and secure from unauthorized access and other security threats.Â
Here, we will discuss why we need IP address restrictions and how you can easily restrict IP addresses for network security.
Why do we need IP Address Restrictions?
Reduced Attack Surface
Organizations can prevent cyber-attacks by limiting access to specific IP addresses within a company. By using unauthorized IP addresses, internet bad actors cannot gain access to sensitive systems and services, making it more difficult for them to launch attacks. By tightening IP restrictions, bad actors can avoid hiding their IP addresses behind Virtual Protocol Networks.
Compliance and Data Protection
Many companies’ compliance requirements force them to protect sensitive data or systems. IP address limitations may help businesses achieve these objectives, save money, and protect sensitive data. Banks, fintechs, eCommerce platforms, and even social media sites use IP restrictions to protect their users. You can also enable IP restrictions to protect your IP address.
DDoS Attacks
DDoS attacks often overload servers and networks by flooding them with traffic from many IP addresses and sources. These attacks can be mitigated by limiting IP address communication from suspicious or malicious IP addresses.
Geolocation-based Access
Many companies may limit access based on IP address, allowing or denying access based on geolocation, such as area or nation. With this geolocation available on their online application firewall or servers, bad actors are less likely to gain access to it, thus making it easier to conduct business.
How to Limit Access to IPs for Network Security
Identify Safety Issues
Determine your safety concerns and limit access depending on IP addresses. It might be a web application, an API, a database, or any other critical resource that has to be protected.
Prepare a Guest List
Create an authorized persons list, also known as a whitelist. This group consists of regular users. These may be authorized users on your home network or users on the authorized list of your organization. It is always best to categorize the users based on their roles and responsibilities. For instance, the administrators require full access to manage the network settings, while guests need restricted access.
Activate the Firewall
Firewalls play an important role in unauthorized access. So, configure your firewall rules to allow or restrict traffic based on IP addresses. You can consider the following approaches:
- Whitelisting: This allows only specific and trusted IP addresses to access your network.
- Blacklisting: This blocks the malicious IP addresses and suspicious sources.
Perform Regular Security Checks and Test Entry Criteria
After enforcing the individual IP address limitations, thoroughly verify resource access. Check that only approved IP addresses may access the restricted resources and that all other IP addresses are denied access. Test whether the firewall blocks you by pretending to be an outsider.
Create a Backup Plan
Finally, create a backup plan. In case of accidental IP restrictions or firewall misconfigurations, verify that you have a backup method to regain access. Implement backup and failover mechanisms to avoid service interruptions.
