Network Security and Data Loss

Assessing Your Business Vulnerability

Your company network is both a powerful tool for operations and a potential entry point for malicious actors. To safeguard your organization, it’s crucial to ensure your managed network security solutions are robust enough to deter these threats. Regularly reviewing your security system to identify weaknesses is a vital step every company should take to protect itself, its employees, and its customers. Assessing your businesses vulnerability means understanding that network security and data loss go hand in hand.

Every day, your company generates, receives, and processes data. This happens through email traffic, e-commerce, or cookies collected and stored through your website. You can control some of this by setting up firewalls and proxy servers in your system. You may even run anti-virus and anti-malware software on your servers and individual computers connected to the network.

Unfortunately, these basic security measures are sometimes inadequate to prevent security breaches. The cost can range from loss of efficiency (profit loss) to loss of sensitive data (intellectual property), and even complete failure of the business. Other consequences can result as well, such as loss of reputation, lawsuits from affected parties, and a host of other problems.

Resourcing Network Security

As security threats become attacks, solutions for avoidance, and repair of affected systems are developed and implemented. Meanwhile, new threats emerge, rendering the previous security measures inadequate to provide sufficient protection. Thus, the cycle repeats, with businesses continually exposed to new threats. Maintaining up-to-date awareness, and responding to threats and attacks proves a difficult challenge. Most small to medium-sized companies cannot afford to dedicate the resources required to provide adequate managed network security solutions.

Ideally, your business will remain focused on meeting your key business objectives. Responding to external threats distracts from your daily business workflow. Regardless, you must attend to the external threats in order to avoid costly consequences of an unforeseen cyber-attack.

Data and Information Threats and Protection

Phishing

Phishing has been a problem for several years. However, phishing schemes are becoming more sophisticated, and harder to detect. Additionally, increasing numbers of people with access to your business network are using the internet daily in their workflow. They are often encouraged to leverage the knowledge available online, to seek innovative solutions that may apply to your business objectives. Sophisticated hackers take advantage of these trends.

In one example, Iranian state-backed hackers have infiltrated large databases, stealing over 31 terabytes of data, estimated to be worth $3 billion in intellectual property. The Iranians have accomplished this treachery by tricking professors and organization employees into clicking on malicious links and entering their network login credentials.

Effective management of this threat includes appropriate anti-phishing protocol and training for your employees.

Botnet

Russian hackers have developed a new cybersecurity threat that hacks into wireless routers globally and links them to form what is described as a ‘botnet’. The official name of this ‘botnet’ is VPNFilter, which can hack into most of the mainstream routers on the market today.

Consider the range of exposure your company has to wireless routers, both in-house and external. Do your employees have laptops or other mobile devices with wireless access capability and access to your business systems? How many of these appliances have sensitive information stored on them? Your company may be exposed to a wide range of sources attempting to steal your data and information.

The FBI is working to disable the botnet. In the meantime, your company needs to consider its exposure to data and information theft from the botnet. You can start by reviewing your company’s protocol for the use of wireless routers, and modifying policies to reduce the risk of becoming a botnet victim. An IT MSP can provide some additional insights into controlling and mitigating this and similar risks.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The development of IoT applications is happening at a rapid pace. The use of data collection devices is abundant in modern society, on both personal and industrial fronts. The basic nature of IoT includes a large range of devices sending information to/from the internet, much of it without human intervention. Consequently, this situation results in a great opportunity for unwanted interception of data.

The prevention of data hacking from IoT traffic requires regulation of data flow between the cloud and your company’s network. Any devices that are involved with the transfer of your company’s information need to be authenticated. Routine reporting of IoT traffic and alerts to potential security threats is imperative if your company uses IoT.

Infrastructure Protection

Beyond your data itself, you must be vigilant against threats to your infrastructure. Some current viruses and programs embed malicious code that attacks the system itself, rather than the information on it. You can have a threat shut down your entire network, rendering you unable to continue functioning.

Tools to work around this include cloud backup storage, redundant Internet service, and system mirroring. A remote managed network security solutions expert can do more to implement and oversee such concerns. The expert can keep you operating smoothly and efficiently in the face of attacks growing in efficiency and effectiveness.

Network Security Audits

The whole process of identifying security concerns should begin with network audits. These examine your system both for current embedded threats and for vulnerabilities to physical and online attacks. You can take a proactive step toward protecting your organization. However, this means taking the time to understand every area of your network, and the physical structures you have in place to protect it. Absent a fully developed understanding of these areas, you will remain vulnerable.

These are just a few of the managed network security solutions risk considerations you need to address. The entire scope of managed network security solutions is a daunting challenge to manage, particularly without assistance from a professional managed IT support services partner.

Custom Information Services: Your Cybersecurity Partner

Are you facing cybersecurity challenges or have questions that need expert answers? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help you navigate the complex world of cybersecurity and ensure your business is secure.

Interested in understanding your organization’s security posture? Consider exploring our Vulnerability Assessment service. It’s an essential step towards identifying potential weaknesses in your systems and implementing the necessary security measures.

Discover what a Vulnerability Assessment could do for you.

Remember, in the digital world, being proactive is better than being reactive. Let us help you stay ahead of the curve.