Security for IT – An introduction
Attacks on IT and telecommunications infrastructure have been around for centuries (really!). The first recorded cyber-crime incident was in 1834 when a pair of thieves hacked the French telegraph system to steal financial information. The 1969 RABBITS virus incident overloaded a University of Washington computer center by creating a program that constantly makes copies of itself.
Cybercrime has significantly evolved from these generally harmless or annoying tactics to JP Morgan’s hijack and ransomware attacks on Accenture’s networks, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in paid ransoms and data theft.
Cybercrime such as virus attacks, malware, ransomware and data theft are major headaches for IT teams worldwide. Attacks on personal and corporate networks, defense establishments and government networks have made us understand that no one is safe without effective IT security policies.
What is cyber security?
Cybersecurity is a set of processes, good IT habits and technologies that protect our computers, networks, devices and data from cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity today has evolved from being an IT problem to a full-scale business problem for today’s distributed, digital organizations.
More than 60% of companies around the world have witnessed cyber-attacks of one or more types. In addition to this, over 30,000 websites get hacked daily, making it a menace that every company must invest in to control.
Types of cyber security
It is essential to know the various types of cybersecurity are needed today so you can effectively strengthen your IT infrastructure in that area or domain.
- Network security
Network security involves hardening your IT networks and protecting your internal networks and critical infrastructure from intrusions and malware.
- App security
Application security uses a combination of encryption, firewalls and antiviruses to protect your apps from threats and intrusions during and post-development.
- Information security
Information security protects physical and digital data assets in an organization against unauthorized access, use and alteration during storage and transmission.
- Website security
Website security is the protection of web pages and their underlying infrastructure from cybercriminals. Most personal websites often get affected by malware, phishing attacks or are used as sub hosts for DDoS attacks. Additionally, attacks such as SQL injection vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting (XSS), command injections, file inclusions (LFI/RFI), session prediction, session fixation and session hijacking can cause widespread damage, financial loss or even denial of service leading to downtime.
- Cloud security (DevSecOps)
Cloud security involves protecting the data and services running on the cloud from external threats, malware and other types of attacks. DevSecOps is a cultural shift that is helping organizations around the world incorporate security as an integral part of their processes and policies through automation, comprehensive discovery and audit management.
- Data security
Data is possibly the most critical asset of any organization. The more valid data your organization possesses, the better your projections will be—resulting in better business decision making. All available data in a system must be reliable, accessible and accurate throughout its lifecycle. Additionally, data must be secure from pilferage, theft and modification to preserve its integrity. This makes data security and ensuring data integrity an essential security requirement for all organizations.
- End-user system security
Securing end-user systems is an important aspect of IT security. Most phishing and other types of attacks owe their origins to unsecured end-user systems, and these threats can originate from spam emails, messages shared with systems and other means. Securing end-user machines is the first step towards organization-wide information and data security.
Types of cyber attacks
Cyber-attacks are so common today that most businesses consider it only a matter of time before the attack occurs. Additionally, the higher the amount of confidential information, the higher the chances of an attack.
Attacks can be of three different categories depending on what the attacker targets. These include:
- Confidentiality
Attacks on confidentiality target an individual’s personal information such as banking and credit card details, which is usually stolen and sold to third parties to exploit.
- Integrity
Integrity attacks usually involve sabotaging information and data in a company, and criminals often leak this data to harm the company’s reputation.
- Availability
Attacks on availability are mostly denial of service or ransomware attacks that block legitimate users until they pay up.
The various types of attacks that exploit these categories include:
- Malware
Malware involves installing malicious software on the system that steals information or causes damages. A good example is Pegasus that acts as malware if in the wrong hands.
- Social engineering
Social engineering attacks manipulate people to give away their personal information, which is then used to steal data or cause financial damage.
- Ransomware
Ransomware involves taking control of a network or systems and demanding money to gain access to it again.
- DDoS
A DoS or DDoS (denial of service or distributed denial of service) attack targets a website or a service by flooding it with fake traffic. This causes the server to get overloaded and eventually crash.
- Persistent threats
Persistent threats occur when users access a network through unauthorized means and stay there to steal data constantly until detected and removed.
Preparing for better cybersecurity
Every business must invest in cyber security to ensure the integrity and safety of their systems and data. Today, as businesses get extremely agile, they are also constantly developing, testing and deploying new products and services on the web rapidly. This calls for an increased need to incorporate security into the very fabric of the company to ensure end-to-end security at the system, network and server level.
- Investing in business for cyber security
Today, businesses cannot ignore the importance of security in their day-to-day operations. Investment in security is important, essential and not an option.
- Building security into the company as a culture
Security must be pervasive and built-in at every level in the organization. From developers to testers to general staff, everyone must follow safe development and usage practices to ensure total commitment to security.
- Assessment of network and systems infrastructure
Regular audits and assessment of network, systems and security infrastructure are essential to detect newer threats.
- Better monitoring for reduced incidents of malware
Regular and deep monitoring reduces the chances of intrusions and malware injection.
- In-time response to security threats
Addressing security threats immediately is essential to reduce the damage to your organizational networks, systems and data.
- Intrusion prevention and detection
Detecting and preventing cyberattacks is important. Using firewalls and policies to reduce the damage to sensitive data, networks, services, and systems is of utmost importance.
- Using AI for cyber security
Using artificial intelligence or AI for cyber security is the right approach today. AI learns more as it evolves, can identify unknown threats, handle a lot of data and provide better overall security to organizations.
- Website security for WordPress-driven and other websites
Using WAFs (Web Application Firewalls) such as Wordfence for WordPress-driven websites and other hardening techniques for websites can significantly reduce the incidents of hacking and theft.
- Backup and Recovery
Data is only good if it can be accessed and used. Securing data that has integrity issues or using compromised data is a bigger problem than losing it. Backing up your data regularly and ensuring data reliability by checking backed-up data integrity is essential for any organization.
- Backups online and offline
Automated online and offline backups ensure that skeletal and incremental changes and regular data dumps are taken online with scheduled alerts to start offline drive or tape storage for data reliability.
- Data integrity and security in backups
Backed up data must be problem-free. A lot of times backed up data can have the same problem as the existing data set. Ensuring that your data is problem-free is essential for a high-quality backup regimen.
- Recovering from data loss
Recovering data in the case of theft or loss is essential for every organization. An excellent way to ensure high levels of data integrity is to run regular automated recovery scripts and use automation to check data integrity in recovered data.
Services from orquidea and maracana
At orquidea IT Services and maracana SDC, we believe that your organization should not settle for anything but the best in security and data reliability. Our highly experienced security engineers are well-versed in the nuances of data, application and infrastructural security and can offer quality solutions that work for you.
- Benefits
Our highly-trained engineers follow a prevent and secure approach. We secure your network to reduce the chances of an intrusion to the minimum. Additionally, our detection services ensure that nothing is left to chance. With detection, prevention, backup and recovery offered under one roof, orquidea and maracana have the security solutions your business needs to succeed.
- Cost vs quality advantage
Most security regimens are priced too high for businesses to be able to afford them. At orquidea and maracana, we leverage the power of our global team to reduce costs while ensuring the highest quality of services for your business.
- Expertise
Our team members have spent years honing their application, data and network security skills. Our experienced and certified engineers and security experts will help you to harden and maintain your networks and protect your data like none other.
Final Thoughts and conclusion?
When it comes to security, IT companies cannot make compromises. The reputation of your business depends on the level of security your business can offer to its users. At orquidea and maracana, we understand this pressing need for end-to-end security and offer world-class solutions that will help you to provide a safe and secure working environment for your end-users and customers. Contact us today to know how we can help your business boost its security with ease.