Network Security Blog: Security Assessments, Security Audits

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Network Security Blog: Security Assessments, Security Audits

Avoid the High Price of a Cyber Attack

May 16th, 2012

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Avoid the High Cost of Cyber Attack The financial costs associated with recovering from a cyber attack can perpetuate long after the technical repairs and patches are in place. The first stages of such an attack may take place months or even years prior to a business or organization becoming aware of the infiltration. Unfortunately, these attacks are often identified beyond the point of immediate damage control due to insufficient network security measures. Companies are left with diminished profits, tarnished reputations, and other costly consequences.

Businesses which rely upon e-commerce are especially vulnerable to financial loss as a result of cyber attack. Every hour a company’s website is down equates with lost sales and negative publicity. As existing and potential clients are frustrated by lack of access to a website, they will seek out the competition. Businesses are further victimized as they take damaging hits to their reputation and credibility. These companies lose the public’s trust. People question the practicality and safety of doing business with an organization that fails to prevent cyber attack.

Cyber threats are considered high priority with regards to financial and national security. Regulations are in place to hold organizations accountable and require compliance with security measures to protect both the overall economy and individual participants reliant upon secure business and financial transactions. Access to personal and financial information must be carefully protected. Failure to comply may result in fines, security breach, and costly liability.

The best way to maintain a company’s reputation in the face of cyber attack is to take all available preventative measures. Cyber attack prevention should be aggressive and include network audits and surveillance to identify risks and active threats, as well as enact defensive measures. Vigilance and aggressive network security measures are imperative to reduce the risks of successful cyber attack. This is truly one of those lessons better not learned the hard way.

Where to Begin with Network Security

May 1st, 2012

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Network Security Assessment Do you run a business in the state of Connecticut and rely on the internet and personal computers to conduct business transactions? Do you store files electronically? If you answer either question in the affirmative, do you also have adequate security measures in place to protect the integrity of your business operations and files? Are you even aware of the steps you should be taking to secure your business?

If you are already noticing signs of problems with your business computers, you should schedule an evaluation as soon as possible. Signs may include slow processing speeds or computers that your employees find temperamental. Data corruption and breached systems can be costly and time consuming to repair. It’s important to address the potential for these problems and minimize the risks on an ongoing basis to prevent large-scale IT failures.

If you are unsure of your company’s IT security requirements, a network security assessment is a first step. This assessment will evaluate the way your company does business and identify systems and behaviors that may be vulnerable. Evaluating the risks and taking control measures are important to keeping businesses operational and turning a profit. Many industries are required to meet mandatory security compliance standards and these needs must be addressed as well.

Your company’s networks can be evaluated for weaknesses from within and from without. Detected weaknesses can be addressed. Improved security measures and ongoing monitoring are all options to secure reliable and safe technology to support your business.

Whether it’s to accommodate government regulations or simply for best business practices, evaluating, testing, repairing, and strengthening network security is important to keep companies running and data secure. Many businesses depend on technology for success in modern markets. Computers provide access to information and software that keeps transactions and accounting efficient and well-documented. Security threats to these IT systems must be addressed in a responsive and stalwart fashion.

Network Security and Digital Surveillance

April 18th, 2012

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Digital Surveillance Traditional brick and mortar businesses have relied on security and surveillance strategies to maintain the integrity of their assets. Security guards, video surveillance, alarm systems, and lock and key were security standards to protect the files and property investments. These days, many businesses are entirely web based, and more and more brick and mortar businesses are increasing web presence and relying upon IT networks. These companies are adapting to a changing marketplace and their security solutions must follow suit.

Companies are saving time, money, and resources conducting business transactions online and storing files electronically. The internet has afforded many businesses opportunities to gain broad marketing and sales exposure with little financial expense. Unfortunately, cyber criminals are on the prowl to take advantage of this trend. Just as companies invested in keeping paper files organized and business premises secure in the past, these practical strategies to protect company assets must be revitalized and updated for the modern business models.

Network security solutions are important to keep company IT running efficiently, while minimizing the threat of outside infiltration. Just as an intruder in a company building puts employees, files, and property at risk, cyber criminals pose similar risks without a physical presence. Traditional security solutions are ineffective against network infiltration. Cyber criminals have been working with technology to get ahead, but the good news is that cyber security has been diligently taking measures to keep pace.

Companies should employ an IT audit to evaluate the secure performance of their existing systems. Any existing infiltrations and weaknesses should be repaired. Digital surveillance options may then be positioned as part of ongoing network security strategies to bolster the defense of IT systems and assets.

Businesses rely on technology to compete in the modern marketplace, but this arena poses significant threats. The risks of conducting business on the web must be managed to reap sustained economic rewards. Minimizing the risk of network infiltration is critical to the agenda of this economic success over time. Addressing network security with the practical approach traditionally taken to protect businesses must be translated to the digital forum. Digital security may not have a physical presence, but it should be dealt with just as thoroughly and succinctly.

A Comprehensive Network Security Audit is a Practical Step in a Dangerous Time

April 3rd, 2012

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Global Hacking Hacktivist groups have been making numerous headlines for successfully breaching the network security of businesses and organizations around the globe. Hacktivism involves a community of hackers that target businesses, organizations, and government agencies for ideological reasons. Recently in the news, a third-party company was exploited and millions of Visa and Mastercard holders’ accounts were jeopardized. Exploits of this magnitude provide insight into vulnerabilities that businesses need to patch in order to protect private information and data. A comprehensive network security audit is a practical step in these dangerous times.

In the successful hacking attempts to gain access to credit card information, hactivists exploited the network security of a third-party company, Global Payments Inc., which processes Visa and Mastercard transactions. Although the exploit did not result in the exposure of social security numbers or home addresses, over a million credit card numbers were obtained by the hackers.

Businesses in this day and age must take network security measures to protect their data and proprietary business assets. A comprehensive network security audit is a practical first step in minimizing network vulnerabilities. Network security audits will include internal and external penetration testing to evaluate the risks associated with every device and application used in a company’s daily business operations. Once vulnerabilities are identified, steps can be taken to remedy these weaknesses.

Another facet of a network security audit is social engineering testing. This service looks at the way employees interact and use devices and programs on the network and identifies behaviors that put a company’s security at risk. Ethical hacking solutions involve actual attempts to break through existing network security settings to identify open doors and provide the opportunity to seal them up before a malicious attack finds these points of entry.

Following a comprehensive network security audit, businesses can take steps to improve the security of their information and reduce the risks of exploit. Network security solutions and ongoing network security monitoring are fundamentally sound options to prevent access to vital company data and customer details. Responsible business owners need to take network security seriously for the health of companies and protection of confidential and sensitive data.

Network Security in the Burgeoning Digital Age

March 20th, 2012

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Security Check Large international corporations like Sony have had multiple exploits of their network security, which may leave smaller businesses feeling an overwhelming sense of foreboding at the prospect of maintaining the integrity of their business systems and digital information. As more electronic applications are utilized for business purposes, companies must be ever vigilant against third party access seeking to mine information from company networks. Just as individuals must be cautious with passwords to protect personal identity, businesses must do the same.

On a pretty routine basis, privacy issues that implicate the way businesses network are being examined in the news, in classrooms, in governments, and in courtrooms. Companies like Apple, AT&T, Google and more are making headlines for their privacy policies and potential violations of laws protecting privacy. Questions of legal versus ethical violations of privacy all boil down to an unavoidable fact: as the world moves more fully towards a digital age, information is vulnerable to exploit.

In the pursuit of profits, popular companies such as Google utilize questionable privacy practices to conduct business. Google currently collects and shares personal information among all sites on the Google network. Apple is another big company being criticized for privacy practices. The popularity of the multitude of useful and entertaining apps has revealed access to savvy businesses and hackers alike to mine for sensitive data. Congress is looking into issues, only recently addressed, with Apple systems leaving a digital barn door open for unsolicited data collectors to mine for personal contact information.

Business professionals cannot risk burying their heads in the proverbial sand when it comes to protecting business assets. It’s imperative to put up a good fight, because the vitality of each business affects the prosperity of many individuals and the overall forecast for national economies. If you have concerns about the integrity of your company’s information systems, consult with a network security specialist to create strategies to reduce risks of exploit and manage vulnerability.

Network Security: Managing Risk

March 6th, 2012

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Companies rely on network security to protect day to day business operations as well as to safeguard sensitive information. Tremendous amounts of this sensitive information are stored and transmitted electronically. This personal and financial data needs to be protected with vigilance. Recent news highlights the vulnerability of businesses to cyber threats and the importance of strong network security.

At a recent gathering of technology security professionals, FBI Director Robert Mueller suggested that cyber threats to network security may soon eclipse terrorism as the nation’s top threat. This following a record breaking year for hackers should serve as warning to businesses regarding the importance of network security. No solution exists, but coordinated network security efforts can effectively manage risk to keep cyber threats minimized and as contained as possible.

Monitoring business networks for weakness and breaches in network security is a vital component to minimizing cyber threats. IT security companies are a necessary line of defense in shoring up network security issues. Internal penetration testing and social engineering testing are network security options which work together to identify and evaluate weakness from the inside out. External penetration testing and ethical hacking are approaches to steer off cyber threats from the outside in.

Identifying network security threats is a healthy first step in protecting a business from cyber threats. Addressing threats as they are identified strengthens a company’s network security, but ongoing monitoring is essential to fortifying this defense. Step two involves implementing solutions to monitor network security on an ongoing basis.

Cyber threats to network security are a fact of life and aren’t going away. The best offense in this situation is a good defense. IT security companies provide businesses with coordinated solutions to bolster this defense. As more and more business transactions are managed electronically, networks security solutions become necessary to thwart the aggressive tactics of hackers and other cyber threats. As the FBI and other agencies scramble to find ways to combat cyber threats, businesses must take the initiative to develop lines of defense proactively.

Security Companies: Key Players in Cyber-Crime

February 21st, 2012

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Fingerprint Security A new report from ITP ranks IT security companies among the top five players in cyber-crime. Although membership in this category of criminal elite may sound nefarious, IT security companies actually joined the ranks due to their strategic position in cyber defense. A review of the remaining players in this report reveals just how pivotal the position of IT security companies has become in combating the evolving sophistication of cyber-crime.

Profit isn’t a prime objective of one member of the cyber crime elite. So-called hactivist groups are motivated by mischief and deep-seeded beliefs such as national pride in selecting their targets. Causing expense and frustration for the target may be a fringe benefit for hactivist groups, but the greater danger stems from the hallmark conviction of hactivist groups to annihilate their counterparts.

Big military super powers have brought Cold War tactics to the cyber-crime scene, which should give pause to anyone concerned about cyber security. Governments are in a race to maximize internal IT security while simultaneously scouring other nations for exploitable weaknesses. This includes targeting the private sector to potentially undermine national economies. Businesses are left in a vulnerable position and must scramble to find viable network security solutions.

These key players in cyber crime are not working in isolation. Networking between different factions of cyber-crime is common. The stakes in the cat-and-mouse game of IT security versus cyber criminals are very high. At times, a government has players on both sides of the field. At all times, security companies and cyber criminals are challenging each other and learning from each other to step up their game.

Cyber criminals run the gamut from amateur individuals to organized syndicates. Governments, organizations and businesses are the obvious and all-too-conspicuous targets of the majority of cyber crime. Just as companies hire architects and professional construction firms to design and build offices, so too should they consult a professional IT security company when considering digital security.

Hollywood and Hackers: What this Means for Your Business

February 8th, 2012

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The success of Hollywood’s adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, brings to mind a long history of romanticized and sensationalized portrayals of hacking in the film industry. From TRON to TRON: Legacy, and War Games to Hackers, Hollywood does businesses and organizations a disservice in putting audiences at ease with characters who hack.

The Dublin Institute of Technology’s Damian Gordon evaluated 50 hacker movies and determined that out of sixty hackers portrayed in these films, forty-three of these characters were good guys and only ten were bad guys. Ten of the portrayals were walking the line between good and bad.

The victims of cyber attacks are all-to-often the bad guys on film. Sadly, this is not the case in real life. Businesses that have been victimized by hacking know there is nothing romantic about the personal and professional devastation or the tremendous expense involved in recovering from such an attack.

In The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the lead character, Lisbeth, is a hacker that uses her talents to survive. Throughout the movie, Lisbeth uses these skills to acquire private information and even steal a vast fortune. She is the heroine of the movie, and the audience roots for her success – lives are actually dependent upon her success. She is supported by an organized network of hackers who purport that nothing in the cyber world is out of reach. The movie emotionally justifies Lisbeth’s criminal hacking, but her actions do not fall under the auspices of ethical hacking.

This portrayal of hacking can disillusion audiences into thinking that no measures exist to safeguard their network security. Additionally, it can prove inspiring to viewers to learn how to become hackers themselves. Business owners must not fall into such a trap of disillusionment and must protect themselves from innovative and aspiring hackers.

Robrige offers network security solutions to protect businesses and prevent the devastation caused by hackers in the real world. Network security in business is not sensational or romantic. Network security must be innovative and practical in order to secure business longevity and success in the real world.

SQL Injections and Protecting Your System Against Them

January 25th, 2012

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IT Security The ways that cyber criminals and hackers use to get to private information are constantly evolving to keep up with changing security measures. As companies hire third party network security services companies to find holes and fix them, hackers are working hard to find ways around the newest protection available. Although the newest types of attacks are generally the hardest to fight, there are security attacks that have stood the test of time, even though they are more than a decade old. One such example is the SQL injection attack.

SQL attacks inject code into websites that have a security vulnerability. By hiding a malicious bit of code into existing code, the hacker can remotely control information being given to the normally secure website. PCWorld explains a recent example of the damage a SQL injection can do:

“In October 2011, for example, attackers planted malicious JavaScript on Microsoft’s ASP.Net platform. This caused the visitor’s browser to load an iframe with one of two remote sites. From there, the iframe attempted to plant malware on the visitor’s PC via a number of browser drive-by exploits.”

The same article discusses how SQL injection attacks are still the most common form of data breaches in the world, even though IT professionals are well-versed in stopping such attacks. Usually these attacks aim at stealing identity information from company servers, exploiting the data entrusted to businesses by customers:

“…hackers are taking advantage of businesses with inadequate and often outdated information security practices. Citing the most recent figures from the National Fraud Authority, she said that identity fraud costs the UK more than £2.7 billion (US$4.7 billion) every year, and affects more than 1.8 million people.”

These types of attacks account for more than 95% of the world’s data breaches and they are totally preventable. Don’t let your business be a target for hackers in the upcoming year. Make sure you get a security audit to find out what is needed to secure your network.

Data Loss Becomes Huge Financial Burden for U.S.

January 12th, 2012

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Imagine if your small business constantly had to fix the same problem over again. For instance, a crack in your office wall kept coming back month after month, even when fixed by professionals. The money you would be spending would build up again and again and would become a major problem for your finances. Although this is just a fictional premise, there are elements of your small business that can consistently cause financial loss unless they are corrected quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately for the U.S. economy, this type of monetary hemorrhaging is not going to end when it comes to data loss.

According to a column in Forbes, a guest writer recently discussed how much money data loss is going cost the U.S. over the next decade or so. It is a staggering amount:

“… if data loss continues on its current trends, it will cost the U.S. economy $290 billion by 2018. This equates to 1.6% of GDP. The 2010 U.S. budget allocated $290 billion to Medicaid – that’s a topic that gets plenty of attention. But the $290 billion problem of data protection is largely ignored, even by those most effected [sic] by it – U.S. corporate executives.”

This is an astounding number, especially when you consider the fact that fixes are readily available from a number of third party network security companies. The columnist expounds on the three main trends that are influential in data loss: “Intellectual Property in Foreign Hands, Cyber Security Training and ‘Bring Your Own Device’ Policies in the Workplace.” Each one of these problems builds an inherent lack of control into business practices, whether big or small.

Your business’s net gross every year is most likely not as big as the U.S. Government’s, but you should see this story as a wake-up call. By securing your network and having the right security audits performed, you can protect yourself from being taken advantage of. Call a network security firm today.