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.