Network security threats, trends and best practices to overcome them
Network security threats - malicious activities and attempts aimed at compromising a network and its data - have steadily grown in sophistication and prevalence. An increasing reliance on digital infrastructure has provided an expanding attack surface, making an understanding of the different types of network threats and methods for defending against them critical.
What are network security threats?
Network security threats are malicious activities or attempts designed to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a network and its data. These threats can come from external attackers or internal users and may target systems, applications, or users. As networks become more complex and interconnected, these threats continue to evolve, making it essential for organizations to implement strong security measures to protect their systems and sensitive information.
How the network security threat landscape is evolving
As attackers now target users, devices, and applications across distributed environments, traditional perimeter-based defenses are no longer sufficient. Looking specifically at network security, several key trends have emerged that should be top of mind for organizations as they work to establish and refine their network security strategies.
Increased sophistication of attacks. Cybercriminals are using automation, artificial intelligence, and advanced malware to bypass traditional defenses.
Remote work and cloud adoption. Expanded attack surfaces due to remote access, cloud services, and IoT devices create more entry points.
Targeted attacks (APT - Advanced Persistent Threats). Attackers often conduct prolonged campaigns aimed at specific organizations, quietly extracting data over time.
Cybercrime as a service (CaaS). Tools like ransomware kits and phishing templates are widely available, lowering the barrier to entry for attackers.
Zero-day vulnerabilities. Previously unknown flaws are exploited before patches are available, making detection and prevention more difficult.
What are the most common types of network security threats in 2026?
Understanding the major types of network threats is a key step to enable effective defense strategies. There are several common network security threat categories.
Malware
Malware refers to malicious software designed to damage or disrupt systems. Malware includes the following:
Viruses. Viruses attach to files and spread when executed.
Worms. Worms self-replicate and spread across networks without user interaction.
Trojans. Trojans are disguised as legitimate software but contain hidden malicious code.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a malware designed to prevent users from accessing files in their systems until they pay a ransom. Cybercriminals restrict access to data by encrypting it and only provide a decryption key after receiving payment. Ransomware is designed to spread across target systems and can quickly halt regular company operations.
Phishing attacks
Phishing involves deceptive emails or messages that trick users into revealing sensitive information like passwords or credit card details. Some examples are:
Spear phishing. These are targeted attacks aimed at specific individuals or organizations.
Whaling. Whaling targets high-level executives with phishing attempts.
Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Distributed DoS (DDoS)
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is a form of cyberattack where an attacker uses numerous compromised computers (called a botnet) to produce a volumetric attack, with the goal of overwhelming a target system. This type of attack can render the target (a service or server) unavailable to legitimate users. You can think of a DDoS attack as a flood of illegitimate traffic from various sources that effectively incapacitates the target system.
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks
Man-in-the-middle attacks involve attackers intercepting communications between two parties to steal or manipulate data. This type of attack often occurs on unsecured networks.
Insider threats
Insider threats are just like they sound - threats that originate from within an organization. They can either be from employees with malicious intentions, or employees who are negligent and fail to adhere to standard security measures and best practices. Whether nefarious or negligent, these internal weaknesses can lead to data breaches or total system compromise.
SQL injection
SQL injection is the technique of inserting complete or partial SQL commands in user-supplied data fields of web applications and submitting them for execution by the database server. Put more simply, SQL injection is when a bad actor is able to inject malicious code into an application due to poorly written code in the application.
Credential attacks
Credential stuffing attacks are a type of cyberattack where stolen usernames and passwords are used to gain unauthorized access to multiple websites, exploiting the common practice of password reuse to carry out fraudulent activities. They include brute-force attacks, password spraying, and credential stuffing, all aimed at gaining unauthorized access to systems.
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
These are long-term, stealthy attacks where attackers infiltrate a network and remain undetected while gathering sensitive information over extended periods of time.
How the network security threat landscape is evolving
As attackers now target users, devices, and applications across distributed environments, traditional perimeter-based defenses are no longer sufficient. Looking specifically at network security, several key trends have emerged that should be top of mind for organizations as they work to establish and refine their network security strategies.
Increased sophistication of attacks. Cybercriminals are using automation, artificial intelligence, and advanced malware to bypass traditional defenses.
Remote work and cloud adoption. Expanded attack surfaces due to remote access, cloud services, and IoT devices create more entry points.
Targeted attacks (APT - Advanced Persistent Threats). Attackers often conduct prolonged campaigns aimed at specific organizations, quietly extracting data over time.
Cybercrime as a service (CaaS). Tools like ransomware kits and phishing templates are widely available, lowering the barrier to entry for attackers.
Zero-day vulnerabilities. Previously unknown flaws are exploited before patches are available, making detection and prevention more difficult.
Network security best practices: How to Protect Your Infrastructure
To effectively defend against the broad range of network security threats, organizations must adopt a comprehensive and proactive security strategy - one that considers the entire attack surface and the multiple avenues for entry. The following provides a best practices list every organization should consider.
Implement strong access controls
Organizations should use multi-factor authentications whenever possible and always apply the ‘principle of least privilege’, where users are granted the lowest access possible - just enough to perform their duties - and no more. There should be regular review of user access rights to ensure terminated employees, those with shifting responsibilities, or those who no longer need broad access are appropriately limited.
Keep systems updated
Orgs should regularly patch operating systems, applications, and firmware - leaving systems outdated has long proven to be an easy avenue for malicious exploits. Teams should also address known or recently-discovered vulnerabilities promptly, and invest in technology that can help detect vulnerabilities automatically.
Use network monitoring and detection tools
Use of intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) can help identify attempts to access networks. Close monitoring of network traffic for any anomalies or suspicious behavior can help identify malicious activity before it can compromise business systems. Security information and event management (SIEM) systems can help with these tasks.
Rely on a good CDN
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) play an important role in enhancing network security by acting as a protective layer between users and origin servers. By distributing traffic across a global network of servers, CDNs help absorb and mitigate large-scale attacks like DDoS, preventing them from overwhelming the core infrastructure. They also provide features like web application firewalls (WAF), bot management, and traffic filtering to block malicious requests before they reach the application.
Invest in a DDoS solution
DDoS mitigation solutions help safeguard networks by detecting and mitigating large volumes of malicious traffic designed to overwhelm systems and disrupt services. These solutions use techniques such as traffic filtering, rate limiting, and behavioral analysis to distinguish between legitimate users and attack traffic. By absorbing or rerouting harmful traffic through specialized infrastructure, they prevent servers from becoming overloaded and ensure continued availability. Many DDoS solutions also provide real-time monitoring and automated response capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly adapt to evolving attack patterns and maintain a strong defense against network security threats.
Educate and train employees
Orgs should conduct regular cybersecurity awareness training - all it takes is one weak link to expose an entire system. Employees should learn to recognize phishing attempts and suspicious behavior, and know how and where to report anything suspicious.
Encrypt data
Use of encryption should be standard practice - all data in transit or at rest should be encrypted. This is especially true for particularly sensitive data and IP. CDNs support secure data transmission through HTTPS and encryption, helping protect sensitive information and improve overall resilience against evolving cyber threats.
Adopt a zero trust architecture
At the broadest strategic level, organizations should adopt a zero trust architecture. That is, they should assume no user or device is inherently trustworthy. This involves continuous verification of identity, and strict enforcement of stringent access controls.
Conclusion
Network security threats are becoming more complex and harder to detect, requiring organizations to stay vigilant and adapt. By understanding the evolving threat landscape, recognizing common types of attacks, and implementing strong security practices, organizations can significantly reduce their risk exposure and build a resilient defense.
Fastly helps organizations defend against network security threats by combining high-performance edge infrastructure with advanced security capabilities. Our globally distributed network absorbs and mitigates large-scale attacks like DDoS close to the source, reducing impact on origin systems. Fastly also offers powerful tools including web application firewall (WAF), real-time traffic visibility, and customizable edge logic, enabling teams to detect and block malicious activity quickly.
By processing and securing traffic at the edge, Fastly enhances both performance and protection, helping organizations stay resilient against evolving cyber threats.