By Ted Butler
Cyber Security in today’s world can be confusing, daunting, scary! The question is, What does all this stuff mean?
Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware, Managed Services Plan (MSP), Firewall, Back Ups, Patching, Disaster Recovery?
Hey, I get it! It’s a lot! But did you know, it’s not as scary or hard as you’d think. When I first started out in my career, my business mentor would say, “Ted, it’s one thing I do know. Let the experts do what the experts do; it will save you time and money.” Meaning hire people or companies that are experts in their fields.” Talk with a reputable IT company like (Fidelis Inc.) about your cybersecurity needs. Not your cousins’ best friend who works on cars and does “IT” on the side. Cyber Security is essential to your business. A reputable company will help you with the steps of safety as fits within your budget. Just like technology is always evolving well, so are cyber-attacks.
We here at Fidelis take a pro-active approach to your security needs. Please look at the terms and definitions below. If you’re not sure where you are in being the safest you can be. Give us a call! This is what we do! Take it from my mentor. “Let the experts do what the experts do.” Please don’t compromise the safety of your organization and company’s reputation.
Here, let’s simplify.
Anti-Virus (AV): Our human bodies require vaccinations for protection against infectious diseases, and in a way, our PCs are not really any different. Think of anti-virus as a form of immunization for your computer. This immunization ultimately protects your networks from known “diseases” and will help prevent, detect and remove malicious software.
Anti-Malware: Having anti-malware is like washing your hands with a bar of strong, antibacterial hand soap, protecting yourself from nasty germs. Anti-malware is the best protection against the latest and most dangerous viruses such as Trojans, Worms, Backdoors, Exploits, Adware and PUP (Potentially Unwanted Programs), and password revealers.
Firewall: What makes you feel the safest in your home? Do you feel more secure having installed heavy doors with solid locks? Security guards, cameras or sophisticated systems? A firewall is a piece of equipment used to keep your network secure. When it comes to firewalls, there are wide ranges of protection. These depend on the network security requirements that drive the rules used to control incoming and outgoing network traffic. Think of a firewall as your own network security guard, always posted at the front gate , monitoring who goes in and out of your facility. Spam is the most commonly used method of attack on your network. These usually come in the form of unsolicited emails sent in mass quantities and can cause severe damage! Having protective software in your firewall for continuous protection from email-based threats is highly recommended and good business practice.
Spam Blocker: Spam with phishing attacks is the most commonly used method of attack on your network. These usually come in the form of unsolicited emails sent in mass quantities and can cause serious damage! Having protective software in your firewall for continuous protection from email-based threats is highly recommended and good business practice.
Network Security: All the preventative measures discussed here can be categorized under the umbrella term ‘Network Security.’ The protection of the access to files and directories in a computer network against hacking, misuse and unauthorized changes to the system. One of the biggest misconceptions when dealing with network security is the difference between disaster recovery vs. business continuity.
Disaster Recovery (DR): In general, DR is taking steps to backup resume your day-to-day operations in the event of a network outage. This could be the result of a natural disaster or man-made cyberattack.
Data Backups (BU): In the event of cyber-attacks, system failures or natural disasters, the ability to restore files and folders becomes crucial to getting your network back up and running. Backing up network data can be accomplished utilizing 3 primary forms of backup: Incremental, Differential, and Continuous data protection.
Business Continuity (BC): As DR is taking steps to resume your day-to-day operations after a disaster, BC is putting in place processes and procedures that ensure mission-critical functions can continue during and after a disaster.
Patching: A patch is a piece of software designed to update a computer program or its supporting data, to fix or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs and improving usability or performance.
Managed Service Plan (MSP) with Monitoring & Patching: By installing special software on your servers and PCs, we can keep tabs on your equipment 24/7. Imagine that watchful eye, always running scans to determine if your equipment is at risk or needs some of those vital updates, setting convenient schedules to deploy software patching.
Employee training and communication: Your company has installed a firewall, anti-virus, and malware, Spam & Web Blockers. Do you remember the analogy used earlier in this document, where your home is equipped with the heavy locked doors and windows? Now, what happens if someone accidentally leaves a door or window open, or unlocked? Since 80% of all cyber-attacks happen because of human error, this part of your Cyber Security plan deserves its own article!
Stay tuned to “5 Ways to Motivate Your Employee to become a Human Firewall” is the most critical change you can make to your network.
Learn More – Protect your organization, and your reputations!
