Network Security Checklist for Indian Enterprises in 2026
A practical, prioritised checklist to harden your perimeter, segment internal traffic and meet CERT-In expectations without slowing the business down.
Start with an honest inventory
You cannot protect what you cannot see. Build a living inventory of every firewall, switch, wireless controller, VPN gateway and internet circuit, including firmware versions and who owns each device. Most breaches we investigate begin on a forgotten device that missed years of patches.
Segment before you buy more tools
Flat networks let a single compromised laptop reach finance servers, CCTV recorders and production systems. Separate user, server, guest, IoT and management traffic into VLANs or VRFs and enforce rules between them at the firewall. Segmentation limits blast radius more cheaply than any new appliance.
The essentials checklist
- Enforce MFA on VPN, firewall and cloud admin portals
- Review firewall rules quarterly and remove any 'any-any' rules
- Disable unused ports and default credentials on switches
- Centralise logs and keep them for at least 180 days, as CERT-In directions require
- Patch internet-facing devices within days, not months
- Back up device configurations automatically
Prepare for the six-hour reporting window
CERT-In's 2022 directions require specified cyber incidents to be reported within six hours of noticing them. That is only realistic when you already know who decides, who reports and where the logs are. Write a one-page incident runbook and rehearse it twice a year.
How Infivate Networks can help
Infivate Networks delivers Security & Network Operations for organisations across India — from assessment and design to implementation and ongoing support. Talk to our team or email [email protected].
Frequently asked questions
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