In a secure system, network protection is crucial and involves multiple layers of defense. Limiting the set of ports for access reduces the attack surface area, while protecting inbound traffic to specific source IP ranges further enhances security. The Timescale Cloud database instance can be configured to restrict inbound access from certain IP addresses, which should be done to narrow down the allowed sources. This is achieved by changing the "Allowed IP Addresses" section in the connection information, allowing only incoming traffic from specific source IPs while denying all other traffic. By implementing this security measure, users can improve the overall security of their Timescale Cloud database instance.