Security Hardening
Sparx Technologies is advising all businesses to review their network security practices and policies. Sparx Technologies recommends implementing technologies and procedures to harden their network security. With today's network security landscape everchanging and becoming more demanding and adding multiple layers of protection that can thwart a potential attack and breaches.
Network security is essential, and any network is vulnerable to malicious use and accidental damage. Hackers, disgruntled employees, or inadequate security practices within the company can leave private data exposed, including customers' private details.
The majority of frequent attacks against networks is designed to gain access to information, by spying on the communications and data of users, rather than to damage the network itself.
But attackers can do more than steal data. They may be able to damage users' devices or manipulate systems to gain physical access to facilities.
Competent network security procedures keep data secure and block vulnerable systems from outside interference. The hardening of security allows the network’s users to remain safe and focus on achieving the business’s goals.
Network security is the process of taking physical, software, and preventative measures to protect the underlying networking a business infrastructure from unauthorized access, misuse, malfunction, modification, destruction, or improper disclosure, thereby creating a secure platform for computers, users, and programs to perform.
Listed are security layers business need to revisit and ensure security hardening or the implementation of a new security.
Despite the vulnerability presented by weak passwords, many business and Internet users continue to put their security at risk by using common words or number sequences that are easily guessable.
The three most popular passwords were "password," "123456," and "welcome," according to SplashData's annual "25 Worst Passwords of the Year" list..
Sparx Technologies suggest picking long passwords (the longer, the better) that include as many different characters as possible while excluding anything that can be personally linked, such as birthdates or names of relatives. Choosing passwords that include words found in common dictionaries is also discouraged.
Passwords should be expiring and should be complex. Password policies are necessary to protect the confidentiality of the information and the integrity of business operations by keeping unauthorized users out of computer systems.
Sparx Technologies can assist implementing our recommend Password Policy criteria. Our policy will ensure a more secure and hardened practice:
Company firewall devices have a plethora of configurations items based on the needs and requirements of your business. Next-Generation Firewall offer an Advance Threat Protection and other subscription features that actively monitors or block threats from your network and office.
Sparx Technologies can assist enabling and configuring these featuresand handling of the following firewall tasks.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows you to create a secure connection to your business infrastructure, enabling remote users to connect from home.
Sparx Technologies will institute the following remote access policy as a harden and new secure practice:
Updating or replacing operating systems which has exceeded “End of life” is a critical step to prevent threats or attacks to your business. Outdated operating systems are accessible to zero-day threats.
A zero-day vulnerability is a software or hardware flaw unknown to, or unaddressed by the manufacture. When adversaries exploit that flaw to conduct a cyberattack, it is known as a zero-day attack.
Typically upgrading equipment or software to current versions of Microsoft Windows will protect yourself against such attacks. Ransomware using is infiltrated by executing a zero-day attack. If upgrading isn’t immediately possible, paying an additional fee to Microsoft will allow your business to continue receiving Extended Security Updates through 2023.
Threat Hackers can compromise systems and will connect to servers or workstations use Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection application. Disabling RDP access from these servers/workstations were its not need is a recommended step to thwart these unwanted connections.
These days all types of business communications are done via emails. Employees can't sacrifice the mobility, reliability, and economy of their inboxes. A single wrong-click can expose company information, make known private information exposed.
Ransomware is typically initiated from open a malicious attachment or link from emails.
Using Sparx Technologies Managed Email Security service
Sparx Technologies recommends all their clients to pursue Cyber Security insurance. Sparx Technologies can help to choose a Cyber Insurance company. Sparx Technologies can assist with choosing the correct Cyber Insurance provider. Sparx Technologies can assist in filling out Cyber applications regarding answers to your business technology and infrastructure questions. Sparx Technologies can help configure safeguards to ensure your business can receive liability coverage.
Below is a list of some general FAQs for businesses unfamiliar with Cyber Insurance.
Cyber insurance is generally designed to help businesses address any expense that might occur as the result of a data breach, including forensic investigations, business losses, and notification expenses, as well as addressing lawsuits and extortion attempts.
Is Cyber Insurance required? If your business collects, processes or stores employees' or customers' personal or financial data, or if you have proprietary intellectual property. Some examples include birth dates, driver's license, credit card data, Social Security information, or medical records.
What does Cyber Insurance policy cover? Cyber insurance generally covers your business' liability for a data breach involving sensitive customer information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, account numbers, driver's license numbers, and health records.
How is cyber insurance premium calculated? Cyber insurance policy premiums are “not one size fits all,” as premiums are factored on a company's industry, services, type of sensitive data stored/collected/processed, the total number of PII/PHI records, data risks and exposures, computer and network security, privacy policies and procedures and annual gross revenue.
How does cyber insurance work? Cyber liability insurance covers financial losses that result from data breaches and other cyber events. Most cyber policies include both first-party and third-party coverages. For instance, a client sues you for negligence after a hacker steals his personal data from your computer system and releases it online.
Malware is short for malicious software. It is any type of software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. Trojans, viruses, worms, ransomware, and other threats fall into the category of malware. Good malware protection begins with effective antimalware software.
Protecting your Endpoints from Malware is critical for every business. Traditional antivirus simply doesn't cut it anymore.
Our partnership with Malwarebytes crushes the latest threats before others even recognize they exist.
EDR solution is an effective defense against cyberattacks. In general, most cyberattacks are hidden. The malware used in these types of attacks inconspicuously infiltrates the target system. Usually, data theft remains undetected. This is especially true when the systems are insufficiently protected. But it is quite a different case with ransomware.
Shut down threats that bypass your preventative controls—without hiring a small army. Sparx Technologies delivers world-class detection and response at a fraction of the cost of building the capability in-house.
Sparx Technologies can help determine the best EDR solutions for your business. Our EDR solutions are capable of:
Proactive managed hunters, investigation, and response activity on emerging and advanced threats add an extra level of protection -- leveraging rich data using advanced analytics in the hands of a proven and experienced army of threat hunters.
Our team members work proactively to hunt, investigate, and advise on threat activity in your environment. When they find a threat, they work alongside your team to triage, investigate, and remediate the incident, before it has the chance to become a full-blown breach.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), also known as Two Factor Authentication (2FA) is a security system that verifies a user’s identity by requiring multiple credentials. Rather than just asking for a username and password, MFA requires other—additional—credentials, such as a code from the user’s smartphone, a fingerprint, or facial recognition.
MFA is an effective way to provide enhanced security. Traditional usernames and passwords can be stolen, and they’ve become increasingly more vulnerable to brute force attacks. MFA creates multiple layers of security to help increase the confidence that the user requesting access is actually who they claim to be.
Sparx Technologies can determine and institute the best MFA technology for your business.
Keeping your passwords, financial, and other personal information safe and protected from outside intruders has long been a priority of businesses, but it's increasingly critical for consumers and individuals to heed data protection advice and use sound practices to keep your sensitive personal information safe and secure. There's an abundance of information out there for consumers, families, and individuals on protecting passwords, adequately protecting desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices from hackers, malware, and other threats.
Implementing a secure password manager has lots of benefits:
Security starts and begins with the human firewall. Today, your employees need to be vigilant against numerous types of threats. Protecting the network from well train employees is a must.
Awareness training is necessary against sophisticated phishing and ransomware attacks. Sparx Technologies can help with the following.
Running frequent scans will produce reports to uncover hard to detect issues, measure risk, provide recommended fixes, and track remediation progress. By performing regular security and network assessments by Sparx Technologies, your assets, will be guarded against downtime and sleep better at night.
