Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

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A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is a computer network that connects computers within a metropolitan area, such as a single large city, multiple cities/towns, or any large area with multiple buildings. A MAN is larger than a local area network (LAN) but smaller than a wide area network (WAN). MANs do not have to be in urban areas, the term “metropolitan” implies the size of the network, not the demographics of the area that it serves.

Like WANs, a MAN is made up of interconnected LANs. Because MANs are smaller, they are usually more efficient than WANs, since data does not have to travel over large distances. MANs may combine the networks of multiple organizations into one, or they can be managed by a single organization.

The size of MANs usually ranges from 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers. If all the buildings are on a single piece of contiguous property, it may also be considered a campus network.

What does this mean for an SMB?

Most small to medium-sized businesses don’t need to utilize MANs. But if you’re on the larger side of SMBs, it may be an option. It’s a great idea for companies that may have more than one building as you can spread the network across all buildings. It may be a good idea if you’re organization is on campus (like a school or business center), as this would be an ideal way of keeping the same network across the organization. Cities and towns may be interested in creating a MAN to provide communications across a wide city environment, or perhaps to provide Internet services to its residents, although this may come with liability issues they must also consider (illegal activities, downloads, RIAA violations etc.). Whatever your geography, whenever you create a network that spans kilometers instead of meters, you’re likely building or supporting a MAN.

Network Segmentation in a MAN

Segmentation in a MAN is very important since you theoretically have many more users and devices connecting to it. As an SMB supporting or building a MAN, you will want to think carefully about network segmentation and communications within the MAN and out to the Internet. You should segment the MAN both between locations as well as within locations. For example, an Apartment building could be segmented into floors or a location could have segments within departments of the business. Think of network segmentation as a submarine hatch that prevents a fire from spreading from one compartment to the next. Closing a segment when it is compromised, protects the rest of your MAN from compromise. Additional Cybersecurity Recommendations

Additionally, these recommendations below will help you and your business stay secure with the various threats you may face on a day-to-day basis. All of the suggestions listed below can be gained by hiring CyberHoot’s vCISO Program development services.

Govern employees with policies and procedures. You need a password policy, an acceptable use policy, an information handling policy, and a written information security program (WISP) at a minimum.

Train employees on how to spot and avoid phishing attacks. Adopt a Learning Management system like CyberHoot to teach employees the skills they need to be more confident, productive, and secure.

Test employees with Phishing attacks to practice. CyberHoot’s Phish testing allows businesses to test employees with believable phishing attacks and put those that fail into remedial phish training.

Deploy critical cybersecurity technology including two-factor authentication on all critical accounts. Enable email SPAM filtering, validate backups, deploy DNS protection, antivirus, and anti-malware on all your endpoints.

In the modern Work-from-Home era, make sure you’re managing personal devices connecting to your network by validating their security (patching, antivirus, DNS protections, etc) or prohibiting their use entirely.

If you haven’t had a risk assessment by a 3rd party in the last 2 years, you should have one now. Establishing a risk management framework in your organization is critical to addressing your most egregious risks with your finite time and money.

Buy Cyber-Insurance to protect you in a catastrophic failure situation. Cyber-Insurance is no different than Car, Fire, Flood, or Life insurance. It’s there when you need it most.

All of these recommendations are built into CyberHoot the product or CyberHoot’s vCISO Services. With CyberHoot you can govern, train, assess, and test your employees. Visit CyberHoot.com and sign up for our services today. At the very least continue to learn by enrolling in our monthly Cybersecurity newsletters to stay on top of current cybersecurity updates.

To learn more about Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), watch this short 3-minute video:

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