Key Security Concepts NetOps Must Understand to Proactively Support SecOps
Network World, Tuesday, October 27th, 2026
NetOps teams can better support SecOps by mastering zero trust, least privilege, automated patching, vulnerability checks and AI governance.
Mandiant reports attackers persist undetected on edge devices that lack telemetry, and SANS found nearly a quarter of security leaders cite poor visibility as their top barrier.
The author urges NetOps to assume breach and reauthenticate users, including AI agents, at every step, and to grant access by role with privileged session tracking and separation of duties.
Automated patching should be prioritized with rapid rollback, since even a 0.1 percent failure rate hits many devices at scale, and automated configuration checks provide audit evidence.
With only 21 percent of organizations having a full AI security framework, AI-driven NetOps should be transparent, explainable and keep humans in the loop.