Where is the Biggest Threat to Cyber Security: Internal

There are numerous threats to cyber security. There are new ransomware or crypto viruses lurking everywhere that are looking for opportunities to capture business networks and hold them hostage. Even with the great strides in security, companies are overlooking their biggest hole in their security.  It is not an external vulnerability.  It is an internal threat.  It is the unsuspecting employees who open emails without thought to what the emails may be carrying. Most companies believe that if they have safeguards against external threats then the cyber security job has been done. They think they are completely safe from any data hack or breach. No, the hacker community is full of smart and cunning people..

No matter how your organization handles their current IT, regular employee training must occur on a frequent basis. Not only should the network firewall be up to date, the entire network should be secured. This false sense of security could end up being your businesses downfall. It takes very little for a hacker to launch a simple phishing attempt, to gather information that should never be shared with others.  Hackers are sending emails claiming to be the security division of the organization. Once in,  the hacker only needs a few minutes  to steal sensitive information  and gain complete access to these organizations network.

Hackers are increasingly sophisticated and nuanced in their approach. Disguising email addresses so they appear to be coming from within the organization of their victims.  Experts in Cyber Security are working with companies to provide training to help people easily identify these attacks; whether it is phishing email training, webinars, or dark web scans to see what data has already been compromised. 

Training and vigilance is crucial for every business and is something that all companies need to take seriously.

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency Issues Ransomware Activity Warnings

 

Who is the CISA?

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is the Nation’s risk advisor, working with partners to defend against today’s threats and collaborating with industry to build more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future. CISA is at the heart of mobilizing a collective defense to understand and manage risk to our critical infrastructure. Their partners in this mission span the public and private sectors. The programs and services CISA provides are driven by the comprehensive understanding of the risk environment and the corresponding needs identified by our stakeholders. CISA seeks to help organizations better manage risk and increase resilience using all available resources, whether provided by the Federal Government, commercial vendors, or their own capabilities. 

What Does  CISA Do?

CISA builds the national capacity to defend against cyber attacks and works with the federal government to provide cybersecurity tools, incident response services and assessment capabilities to safeguard the ‘.gov’ networks that support the essential operations of partner departments and agencies.

From helping to secure the COVID-19 supply chain to supporting free and fair elections – See what CISA accomplished in 2020.

CISA coordinates security and resilience efforts using trusted partnerships across the private and public sectors, and deliver technical assistance and assessments to federal stakeholders as well as to infrastructure owners and operators nationwide. CISA also delivers insights on these assessments related to current capabilities to identify gaps, which—along with an examination of emerging technologies—help determine the demand for future capabilities (both near- and long-term).

 CISA enhances public safety interoperable communications at all levels of government to help partners across the country develop their emergency communications capabilities.

Working with stakeholders across the country, CISA conducts extensive, nationwide outreach to support and promote the ability of emergency response providers and relevant government officials to continue to communicate in the event of a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster.

The National Risk Management Center (NRMC) is housed within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). NRMC is a planning, analysis, and collaboration center working to identify and address the most significant risks to our nation’s critical infrastructure.

NRMC works in close coordination with the private sector and other key stakeholders in the critical infrastructure community to: Identify; Analyze; Prioritize; and Manage the most strategic risks to our National Critical Functions—the functions of government and the private sector so vital to the United States that their disruption, corruption, or dysfunction would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued alerts for increased Ransomware activity of the business and public sector. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CISA has seen increased attempts to utilize ransomware. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has also seen an uptick in phishing attempts.

Management should be diligent  to ensure that their business are safeguarded from cyber threats. During this time of heightened security concerns, they should follow the CISA guidelines 

Additional Information

For additional information about on-going threats go to the CISA website.     Also, if you suspect  potential cyber incidents report them to the FBI 24/7 CyberWatch Command Center at 855-292-3937

Data Protection Solutions: Six Questions to Ask

 

Company management is under growing pressure from government regulation and the business environment to make sure the company's operation is not jeopardized by a data loss. You have been given the responsibility of determining what type of data protection solution would be appropriate for the company. Where do you start? What should you look for when evaluating data protection plans? Read this article to find out.

Many network administrators are considering an all-in-one data protection solution because it can greatly simplify data protection process. These solutions also tend to be less expensive than buying each component separately, and they provide a single point of contact for all their support needs.

In a recent survey it was found that over half of the respondents indicated that they would prefer to rely on a single vendor for their data protection solutions whenever possible.

An all-in-one Data Protection solution for the purposes of this article includes the hardware components and necessary backup software to backup an organization's critical data, maintain the backup data both on-site and at secure off-site locations, monitor the system 24X7, provide server virtualization, and data restoration so the data network can be up and running as soon as possible.

There are a few things to consider before making a decision about going with a particular solution.

What type of hardware is being used?
A network attached storage (NAS) server with internal storage capacity is attached to the network and the server hard drive is mirrored in the NAS storage.

What software is included?
There is client software loaded on the server for the backup process. The resident NAS software is used for compression, encryption, bare-metal recovery, and continuous data protection.

Is the solution secure?
Most solutions offer encryption. Encryption is a critical component in backup data protection. The solution should support AES-level encryption. The backup data should be encrypted on site and while in transit to the off-site location and at the hosted site.

Can the solution scale to data storage demands?
The data protection solution should be capable of running efficiently and scale without a lot of specialized hardware

Is offsite backup included in the solution?
Most companies today need not only onsite backup, but they also need the capability to have a redundant copy of their backup data stored off-site so the data can be recovered in the event their site was unusable. Both on-site storage and remote storage should be part of the solution.

How often is the data backed up?
The frequency of the data backup determines how much data will be lost. If the data is only backed up once a day then 24 hours of data will be lost. Most businesses could not accept that kind of loss. They require a shorter recovery point. Most solutions provide backups take place every 15 minutes. The best practice is to determine an acceptable recovery point and pick a solution that meets that objective.

There are a lot of all-in-one data protection solutions. Some companies prefer to purchase deploy, and maintain the solution themselves. The in-house option also requires the labor and expertise to administer the system. Some solution providers bundle the data protection equipment and software into a bundle that also includes the labor to monitor the system 24X7 as well as the labor to maintain and respond to notifications and outages. The system should be flexible enough to scale as needs change and provide a one-point-of contact when there is a need for service.