Tag Archives: security

Security and Compliance Go Hand in Hand

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With the amount of data being generated by businesses the world over, every single day, securing this data is vital. While Government, Industry and other regulations offer compliance to standards, information security reduces business risks related to cybercrime, ransomware and other interruptions resulting in data loss. Keeping your network safe and in compliance can help you avoid the consequences of data breaches. Read on to learn more about how to keep your network in compliance–and healthy, too.

 

Maintaining Network Health Facilitates Compliance

 

Your computer network is the backbone of your IT infrastructure, and needs to be maintained in order to stay healthy, and keep your business secure and compliant. Your network enables you to stay connected to customers, vendors and employees;  keep your mission-critical applications running; and connect to public and private cloud infrastructure as well as back up data offsite. A healthy network is efficient, flexible and secure, routing data in the quickest way possible and rerouting easily. Security is another hallmark of a healthy network, one with no weak spots or holes allowing the intrusion of malware and viruses, where data is encrypted. Keeping the network strong is a good step toward compliance.

 

Keeping Your Network Secure

 

Keeping your network and its data and applications secure can be thought of as a two-prong effort. One involves technological tools and defenses. A company can protect its network with current operating systems patches to block malware or viruses from intruding, as well as maintaining current antivirus and anti-malware definitions. Going further, a company might consider network monitoring to keep small intrusions from becoming major problems. Such monitoring can be done offsite, to protect your network after hours. The second prong is employees. Training them in cybersecurity policies, and best practices around passwords and connecting to your network can ideally transform employees from being the weakest link to being one of the strongest parts of your defense.

 

Compliance Facilitated by Security

 

If security involves protecting your company’s assets, compliance has to do with following regulations from a third party like the government or an industry. Industry regulations include HIPAA, followed by health-care organizations or PCI-DSS which protects personal information belonging to retail customers. Procedures for compliance have to do with backing up data, auditing and monitoring your network for any weak spots including unprotected devices, and maintaining current definitions. These procedures can help your business avoid the loss of money (through penalties), avoid downtime (which is also costly) and can prevent the loss of trust resulting from a data breach. 

 

A healthy network can go far in helping your company stay secure and compliant. For assistance in reaching this goal, contact us today.

Protect Your System on Multiple Fronts with Layered Security

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In the last year, changes forced by COVID have introduced even more vulnerability into computer systems due to the increase in remote work. With cyber attacks, it’s a matter of when, not if. Therefore, many companies are taking a more proactive stance toward protecting technology assets. Read on to learn more about layered security and how to protect your network on multiple fronts.

 

Multiple Layers of Protection

 

Layered security can be defined as using multiple strategies to protect a company’s network, instead of one single strategy. This approach takes into account technology, processes and people and how they interact with each other.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has established a framework including the following 5 elements; Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover.  These elements provide a structured representation of layered security that has global adoption.

 

For example, a remote worker seeking to access their company’s system may use a virtual private network to log into their company’s network using an encrypted password along with a secondary form of authentication to access resources based on role and function.  Network monitoring can be used to determine who is seeking authentication from which IP address and when to detect a malicious intrusion. Previous training in cybersecurity can keep a worker alert to social engineering (“phishing”) emails, and keep them from clicking on a suspicious link or know how to respond if they feel they have been compromised. In the case of a compromise, local or cloud backup could be used to rapidly recover.  In the case where data may be leaked or lost, having an incident response plan helps to inform stakeholders as needed.

 

Relying on multiple layers of security is your best defense against cyber attack.  In a layered security system people, technology and processes combine to keep your computer network safe from intrusion. For help with developing a layered approach to security, contact us today.

Cyber Crime

Creating A Culture of Security

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With more data than ever being collected, analyzed, managed, and stored, keeping the data as well as the business’s systems secure is a priority leading into 2018, and beyond. According to statistics, more than 50% of cyber breaches are due to human rather than technical error. Read on to learn more about creating a culture of cybersecurity by educating and training your staff.

Training Employees to Create a Secure Culture

According to a CompTIA report, creating a culture of cybersecurity starts with management. Preventing data breaches means more than simply meeting legal requirements; cybersecurity should be part of a bigger risk-management strategy. Another key piece is educating employees on their role in creating a secure culture. Educating and training employees should occur on more than one front. First, employees need to recognize threats as they occur, threats such as phishing schemes and ransomware, attacks designed to steal passwords and hold data hostage. While cloud computing has ushered in wonderful capabilities–such as the ability to work anywhere at any time– it also brings security risks by changing the business’s security perimeter. Employees working outside the office should be aware of the possible dangers of unintended eavesdroppers and unsecured mobile “hotspots.” Additionally, management should educate their staff about establishing and maintaining strong passwords that can’t be stolen.

Establish Procedures for Responding to Data Breaches

Another aspect of establishing a culture of cybersecurity is training employees to respond to a data breach if one occurs. Establish clear policies of reporting malware, phising and other security hazards, and make sure employees aren’t afraid to report problems. Also, be clear with employees about processes for escalation to management.

Your employees are the front line in keeping your company’s data and systems secure, and they are an integral part of a culture of cybersecurity. Contact your trusted technology advisor to learn more today.

Is Patch Policy Part of Your Data Protection Plan?

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Data security needs to operate on more than one front. Not only does your network need to keep data secure, it needs to respond to threats both inside and outside the business. There are numerous protections, including current anti-malware and anti-virus software and operating system patches, to keep your network stable and secure. Read on to find out how operating system patch policy can be part of your data-protection plan.

The Role of Operating System Patches

Operating system patches are updates that help maintain the stability and security of your network. These updates come out on a regular basis and are needed to keep systems working. Typically, operating system patches are frequently available, although older operating systems past end of life may no longer have patches. Windows 7 and Windows server 2008 are next up for end of life in January of 2020. Some are vital to your mission-critical systems and must be accessed immediately, while others may pertain to less-vulnerable systems, and can be postponed.

How a Service-Level Agreement Can Help Protect Your Data

Instead of trying to choose which operating system patches need to be installed now, let your managed service provider take over. Draw up a service level agreement that specifies what services the managed service provider can take care of, including backup, data recovery, network security updates, and operating system patches. Keeping your systems—including operating system patches—current helps protect your data and prevent downtime. The MSP can detect and resolve many problems remotely, outside of business hours.  Problems can be solved before they result in downtime for your business, and a reputable IT business can help to prevent a potentially expensive problem before it even starts.

Your network is only as strong as its most vulnerable point. Talk to your technology advisor today about how a service plan, including current operating system patches, can help keep your business running smoothly.

Cyber Crime

The Human Side of Network Security

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As Technology grows, so does the complexity of threats to your network–hackers infiltrating your network and stealing passwords, infection of your network with malware, phishing schemes, and even cybercriminals masquerading as your own IT staff, all these pose risks to your network’s security. Your network is only as strong as its weakest link. And sometimes, that weak link is your human capital.

According to a CompTIA white paper, network security was a key issue on the minds of business owners coming into 2018. Cybercrime damages are expected to reach $6 trillion annually in the next few years. Keeping malware and antivirus definitions up to date, and having OS patches ready is necessary, of course. And so is data encryption. But don’t overlook the human element. Human error is implicated in more than half of all data breaches, more than technological error. The education and training of employees plays an important part in keeping your network secure.

A Culture of Security

As important as technology tools are, the human element is even more so. When a data breach occurs, human error is at fault more than 50% of the time. So what can you do to train your employees? Part of the solution starts at the top. Managers need to adopt a strong security orientation for the entire company, educating all employees in how to recognize potential threats–phishing schemes, for example–and to report these threats. They need to keep up with the dangers related to social media and unsecured “hotspots.” Also, they need to be told about the establishment and management of strong passwords and data encryption. Should a data breach occur, employees need to know the processes for reporting and responding to the problem, even escalating to management.

Your company’s network is only as secure as its weakest link–don’t let that weak link be your human capital. For an evaluation of your risks and guidance in educating your employees, contact your Network Expert today.