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| Standing strong: finding your ideal security stance |
May 7, 2004 |
By Karen Sheriff
Windows and doors wide open, you leave your office with sensitive customer files and financial records sitting in plain sight, your wallet and keys lying on the desk and unsupervised employees and total strangers coming and going at will.
Feel secure? Of course not. But thousands of small and medium-sized businesses are doing just that. Inadequate or non-existent Internet security systems dangerously expose the vital assets of many businesses to countless threats.
So while highly networked workplaces offer undeniable advantages, they also create serious risks. Viruses, Spam, identity theft, privacy violations and other malicious intrusions can be unpleasant consequences of a security breach. Recently, companies with lax security standards have even been found liable for resulting damages. It’s time for business to stand-up to this challenge with a strong security stance. Investing in security products and services should be considered an expense as fundamental to success as rent and electricity. Yet, faced with the challenge of staying current with security concerns, many businesses can’t find the personnel necessary to maintain adequate vigilance. However, a range of security products and services are available to stand-up to this threat. But managers must ask some important questions to identify their ideal “security stance”, such as:
ACCESS CONTROL: Have I enabled access to the network for legitimate users while preventing malicious internal or external activity?
EASE OF USE: Is my security policy designed so employees can work comfortably within its constraints and aren’t motivated to find “workarounds” that defeat the safeguards?
APPROPRIATE COST: How much will I pay in start-up and administrative costs and is there any impact on overall company efficiency?
FLEXIBILITY AND SCALABILITY: Can the solutions adapt to the changing needs of the business and grow seamlessly as the operation expands?
ALARMING AND REPORTING: Is the system primed to instantly notify me in the case of a security breach?Security products and services are available that deliver front-line protection for some of these issues:
SPAM: Waves of unsolicited e-mail swamp business communication and dilute the efficiency of your workforce. And this relentless tide of electronic junk just keeps rising.
Beyond being major time wasters, aggressive or pornographic messages have even been considered a form of workplace harassment. It’s no wonder most technology executives plan to invest in anti-Spam service solutions.
VIRUSES: Malicious code can be deadly. Last year Blaster circled the globe in 15 minutes, infecting millions of computers. Antivirus services can automatically upgrade all workplace computers for the most up-to-date protection.
HACKERS: Hackers invade your privacy. Unauthorized intrusions of all kinds should be kept at bay, but forget to update your protection and it’s anybody’s guess who’ll drop by for a visit. Firewall services keep entry information accurate up to the second, so your private world stays private.
CONTENT: Content can offend. The Internet offers a lot of choice, but your business shouldn’t. The viewing of questionable content at work by employees is not only inappropriate, it can expose your company to liability. Content filtering services prevent this from happening.
DATA: Information is a company’s lifeblood and it can disappear in an instant through a virus, security breach or a hard drive crash. When was the last time your staff had time to do a complete backup of the system, desktop and laptop computers? Backup and recovery services automatically store all of your data, on a schedule you choose, at a secure off-site location. IP technology breakthroughs will drive business success in ways we haven’t yet imagined. Identifying the right security stance for your company’s unique vulnerabilities will allow you to explore all the power, freedom and potential of a totally networked world. When you do, your Internet “doors and windows” will stay secure, customer and data files will stay private, employees and intruders will stay where they belong and you will be able to stay in control and run your business with confidence.
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