In today’s digital age, securing your critical information – whether it be personal information or business information – is increasingly difficult. Threats are increasing both in number and in complexity and sophistication. Threats can come from individuals, groups, companies, or even governments. In January, a Venezuelan diplomat launched a cyber attack here in the United States, aimed at disrupting our nuclear industry.
U.S. authorities probing alleged cyberattack plot by Venezuela, Iran
Many customers have asked us about the real risk to their network. “Why would a hacker target my business?” they ask. Our answer is that hackers probably are not specifically targeting your business, but hackers will scan IP address ranges for weaknesses; when they find one, they attempt to exploit it to see what information they can get. Prior to the scan, they may have no idea it is your business they are targeting, but nonetheless, hackers are an opportunistic bunch. If your business happens to have open ports on its firewall , unpatched servers or workstations, or even workstations with weak passwords, it is a matter of time before those weaknesses are exploited. According to the Department of Homeland Security, an unprotected computer connected to the Internet will become infected in a matter of minutes – not hours or days or weeks. You don’t have to be surfing the Internet to become infected; you just have to have a weakness through which your computer can become infected.
As you can see, security is paramount. Last month we spoke about the need to protect your smartphones. A layered approach to security is required to protect your business. Firewalls are a must, preferably hardware firewalls that do not rely on users’ input (allow or disallow access) for configuration like many software firewalls. Additional layers of protection are necessary since most firewalls will have open ports (which need to be properly secured) for typical business traffic. Hackers understand this as well, so it is important to have additional layers of protection such as anti-spam and anti-virus protection and software firewalls. Strong password policies are also critical for protection. Don’t allow your business users to have local administrator privileges; is it is not necessary. Have policies in place to prevent infections or breaches and also with how to deal with those breaches of security.
Colden Company Inc. offers our customers services where we can help detect hacking attempts, perform penetration testing to ensure your network is locked down from the Internet, be notified immediately of virus infections (even for laptops out in the field), and be notified of patching deficiencies for Microsoft and third-party software. We can backup your critical data to a secure off-site location to protect you from losses. We can provide you with best-of-breed anti-spam solutions and email continuity solutions. These services are becoming a necessity as the digital age will continue to become more dangerous. Ask us how we can help your business protect itself from the ever-increasing threats. Please contact us at (888) 600-4560, email us at info@coldencompany.com or see us on Facebook or Twitter.