 The consequences of an intruder breaking into your computer system can be severe and in the worst case, you will lose irreplaceable data without any chance of recovering it.
With our increasing reliance on IT, it is important to establish complete and thorough security strategies to ensure that both external and internal security threats are avoided. Here is an overview of 7 key measures you should take to protect your systems.
- Firewalls and secure network routers are essential for protecting your data from the Internet.
A firewall filters all information entering and leaving your network, allowing certain data to pass though. It is the first line of defence in protecting your network, but cannot be solely relied upon, as new technologies are emerging and are designed to bypass firewalls by masquerading as desired information (eg. web pages) or else exploiting bugs in software.
- Keep your software up-to-date. On average, six updates to patch security
Bugs are released for Windows every month. These must be applied to all your servers and PC’s in order to provide protection against hackers and viruses that exploit these vulnerabilities. If you don’t apply these updates, a firewall and anti-virus software is useless as hackers and some viruses will still be able to pass through and attack your network.
- Anti-Virus software is very effective in protecting your systems against the threats of viruses, worms and Trojan horses.
Running a computer without up-to-date anti-virus software, is like playing Russian Roulette! There is always little time between a new virus being released and the anti-virus software vendors updating their virus definitions, so it is crucial that definitions are always up-to-date.
- Email Filtering software is a good way to block viruses that are not yet recognised by your anti-virus software.
This can be set up to block emails containing attachments of file types that are likely to be dangerous (.exe, .vbs, etc) and can also block html emails which contain potentially dangerous scripting. Email filtering software also has other features, including the ability to block spam email, to ensure employees are not sending out sensitive information, and to enforce a company-wide disclaimer on each outgoing email.
- Encryption should be used to protect sensitive information from “unauthorised eyes”.
Encryption is nothing more than the scrambling of data to make it unreadable. The level and type of encryption needed is dictated by the needs of the business, the level of risk involved and the importance of the data (higher encryption levels require more processing power). Many application products provide encryption, although this is not generally a secure option. A stand-alone file encryption product is more effective.
- A sound password policy is a basic, but extremely important form of data protection and can make it difficult for a hacker to crack into a computer.
Passwords should be a combination of letters, numbers and upper and lower case characters, at least 6 characters long, and should be changed frequently.
- Limit information access.
Creating a logical hierarchy of network privileges will protect sensitive company information and ensure that each employee in the company only has access to information they need to do their jobs.
Above all, you need to understand the risks and implications of changing any part of your IT infrastructure – whether that be modifying system configurations, installing software from unknown sources, downloading files, clicking on email attachments or deactivating protective software. Internal processes and systems setup must be secure and the advice and assistance of a professional is highly recommended to ensure your systems are well protected.
Source: Invizage Technology
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