How to Secure Your Network From Hackers
Posted: August 04, 2009
Malware
By Moria Byrne
As the Internet continues to grow so does the number of businesses using online networks to operate, communicate and store data. Fraud, identity theft, phishing and spamming are affecting more and more businesses, but there are many ways business owners can protect their businesses.
The most important advice offered by the Better Business Bureau is to protect your computers and network server with up-to-date security software, protect your data and enforce an IT policy with employees. Smaller companies might be tempted to delay updating security software. A delay could cost a company much more to recover data and a secure network.
Consumers have endless choices in computer security software. Norton and Kaspersky are the most notable and trusted brands for computer and network security. Norton provides protection from viruses, spyware, offers point-of-entry security, secures PCs when accessing public wireless servers, and detects and protects your computer from web-based attacks through vulnerabilities in a browser. Norton offers Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 offer identity theft security. Kaspersky is more expensive than Norton but includes security coverage for mobile devices. Kaspersky also offers open space security. For a comparison chart on different security brands see CISO’s website.
Computer security and software service provider, Symantec, provides companies with security solutions in the Web 3.0 world. The company also offers data security software and computer and network security assessment.
Symantec encourages companies to take a multi-layered approach to computer and network security: virus protection is not enough anymore. As so many people work outside of the office, end point connections are just as vulnerable as the information trying to enter a company’s network. Hackers have become sophisticated enough to get around the traditional security solutions. Spam comes in the form of images, photographs, web code and pop-up ads. Hackers can get take over a persons’ computer modem, PDA, smartphone or wireless LAN connection and infect their network and email. Website attackers can target your server and change information on your web page, steal credit card information, enter orders and redirect your shipments. There are also browser attackers who send incriminating electronic mail and make it seems as if it is coming from you.
CISO recently reported that some are using LAN wireless devices to enter user’s networks. A user might receive a denial-of-service vulnerability due to a hacker entering a malformed HTTP or HTTPS authentication. Use a secure server and take proper precautions to protect access to your website contents. Symantec offers antivirus and antispyware, intrusion prevention that analyzes, detects and blocks suspicious activities, and device and application control to deny high-risk devices and applications access to a company’s network or computers. The system scans information before it enters and leaves the company network. End-of-point scanning can prevent the release of a company’s classified information. “There are legitimate businesses that have malicious content or Malware,” says Dee Liebenstein, product marketing manager of Symantec.
Data security is a growing issue as peer-to-peer networks become more popular. Hackers can use your modem or wireless connection and then change the user’s password in order to get into the network server. Recovering lost data is timely and expensive. Data security is even more crucial for companies collecting data from customers as part of their business.
“A lot of information has been leaked through these (peer-to-peer applications),” Liebenstein says. “Companies need to clamp down on what is sensitive information and what isn’t.”
Data Loss Prevention System is an additional product available to customers. The product scans data for classified and non-classified information. This way, the security system can detect when classified information is leaving the network or computer. Symantec’s data security system also helps business owners more effectively organize and manage their data.
Claire Rosenzweig, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Metro New York, suggests that businesses establish an IT policy including an annual system audit and a risk audit. Auditing is critical to ensure that a company’s software is protecting its databases. And for companies that collect data, ensuring that their customer’s data is secure. “Even the smallest company should invest in this [a system audit],” Rosenzweig says.
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