Internet security
Is your business your own?---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Business enabler not a restricter

The internet is transforming the way businesses work. Emerging technologies are consolidating global markets and opening doors of opportunity to all, regardless of size. You cannot afford to miss out on the many opportunities the internet offers, but it's important to understand the security risks it can introduce into your business...
A secure solution must be the top priority for any business.


Risk versus Opportunity

Hardly a week goes by without a major internet security problem hitting the headlines. Well known sites have been brought down by hackers or have had confidential information stolen. No company is immune to these security breaches and they can seriously damage the reputation of your business - and when a company suffers a security breach, it damages its credibility which can adversely affect its share price.

The risk can be Substantially implementing a comprehensive security policy can substantially reduce the risks and making sure it's properly managed. That security policy has to be stringent enough to protect your business, but flexible enough to be workable. By outlining your security policy, you put your company in a position to take advantage of all the opportunities the Internet has to offer.

What are the dangers?

• Attack and breach of your Private Network
  
• Breaches of confidentiality during transmission of data, both internal and
external, via email, web, etc

• Viruses from external/internal sources
  
• The reduced ability of your network to service your requirements
  
• Failing to meet your legal responsibilities as outlined in the Data Protection Act
  
• Loss of staff productivity
  
• Corporate embarrassment or damaged reputation
  
• Security breaches by the well intentioned but badly educated.
  

Implement the solution - minimise the risks

The first step in creating a workable security policy for your business is to define your security risks; don't forget the old adage 'forewarned is forearmed'.

In understanding the risk (and hence the required security) you have to understand both the threat and the vulnerabilities associated with using the internet. It's important that you ask yourself some of the following questions;

The Threat
What happens if a hacker deletes our database?
The Answer
We lose the ability to trade

The Vulnerability
How could a hacker delete our database?
The Answer
The applications we are using are insecure and we're connected to the internet. The risk is that you could lose your database (and therefore your ability to trade), but if you're not using the internet you're not trading to the best advantage.

You have now:

• Identified the key assets of your company - which may be under threat
  
• Considered the vulnerabilities associated with these assets
  
• Evaluated associated risk.

Using the above information, you can decide on a security policy.

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Defining security policy
When it comes to defining your security policy some of the areas you need to think about are:

• Defining clear usage policies for the web and for email. These usage policies should be written down, explained to all employees and outlined in their contract of employment.
• Setting up and enforceing a password policy
• Educating your users about the value of security and giveing them the appropriate training
• Ensuring that senior management is involved.
  

No combination of hardware and software will remedy all your security concerns without an associated policy. Nor will a single product remedy your security concerns; you need a combination of software and hardware security solutions together with a security aware culture at all levels within your company. Beyond that you also need to make sure your hardware and software is configured properly. Firewalls can minimise the effects of sabotage, but a badly configured firewall is worse than no firewall at all - it leads to a totally false sense of security.