Tag Archives: practices
Effective Ways to Optimize Security in it
Chances are your computer network or PC has been attacked at some point or another. Perhaps a worm caused your system to slow down severely, a virus erased your entire hard drive, or, malware plagued your registry and browser, leaving you helpless and frustrated. What you probably learned from these attacks was how or where to find a quick-fix while your overall security remained unchanged. What you may not know is that there are a few fundamental practices in relation to the hardware, software and people that can help to improve or optimize the safety level of your computer network and personal system. These practices or ways are sound, easy to implement and highly effective.
* On the Hardware/Software Side
While they may appear relatively basic at the onset, some practical measures should be taken to not just establish and maintain but also to increase ongoing security to computer hardware and software. Failure to adhere to these measures or ways of implementing security can potentially lead to disaster. Of course, you can further add to or enhance these measures depending on your particular situationsuch as budget restraints, time-frame, etc.
Specifically, you will want to:
– Upgrade or replace: Older hardware can malfunction and become unstable; older software can have security holes and vulnerabilities or could fail to properly integrate with newer technologies.
– Patch up and harden: Whether its a domain controller or your home PC, install anti-virus software, configure a firewall, update the OS using service packs and remove unnecessary services.
– Limit access: Keep the system away from prying eyes and unauthorized users. Implement strong passwords; use encryption. Locks and biometrics are strongly recommended, too.
– Monitor regularly: Make a habit of watching network activity and reading system logs to find inconsistencies and unusual traffic patterns.
– Maintain good backups: Backup often and verify your backups always. Keep one or more copies off-site, if possible.
* On the People Side
When it comes to security, people usually are the weakest link in the chain. They can be lazy, indifferent, uninformed or represent some other security liability. Because you, too, may possibly exhibit such characteristics and behaviors yourself, here are ways to address these people problems and successfully increase and ensure IT security. For example, you should:
– Establish controls: Rules and policies can help to specify what is or isnt acceptable use. Enforce them. Be prompt at acting on the slightest deviation.
– Train and educate: You and your staff can never be too knowledgeable about the newest technologies or the latest types of attacksworms, viruses, Trojans, malware and others. Be prepared to learn and learn to be prepared.
– Be safety aware: Dont expose yourself or your systems to potential attacks by linking to questionable websites. And, opening an email attachment from an unknown source could quench much more than sheer curiosity.
– Go “long” on commitment: Engage people by assigning them (or yourself) duties and responsibilities with realistic goals and rewards. Foster loyalty and support alongside accountability for non-performance.
Experiencing a malicious attack is sometimes the result of weak or ineffective security practices. And, while finding quick solutions to the attack may be reactionary and expected, it is not necessarily the only or best course of action in securing PCs and networks. There are far more sensible and fundamental ways to implement and address security in relation to the hardware, software and people involved in day to day operations. It is, in fact, by applying those ways and practices that you can effectively and successfully improve upon and optimize security in it.
Effective Ways to Optimize Security in it
Chances are your computer network or PC has been attacked at some point or another. Perhaps a worm caused your system to slow down severely, a virus erased your entire hard drive, or, malware plagued your registry and browser, leaving you helpless and frustrated. What you probably learned from these attacks was how or where to find a quick-fix while your overall security remained unchanged. What you may not know is that there are a few fundamental practices in relation to the hardware, software and people that can help to improve or optimize the safety level of your computer network and personal system. These practices or ways are sound, easy to implement and highly effective.
* On the Hardware/Software Side
While they may appear relatively basic at the onset, some practical measures should be taken to not just establish and maintain but also to increase ongoing security to computer hardware and software. Failure to adhere to these measures or ways of implementing security can potentially lead to disaster. Of course, you can further add to or enhance these measures depending on your particular situationsuch as budget restraints, time-frame, etc.
Specifically, you will want to:
– Upgrade or replace: Older hardware can malfunction and become unstable; older software can have security holes and vulnerabilities or could fail to properly integrate with newer technologies.
– Patch up and harden: Whether its a domain controller or your home PC, install anti-virus software, configure a firewall, update the OS using service packs and remove unnecessary services.
– Limit access: Keep the system away from prying eyes and unauthorized users. Implement strong passwords; use encryption. Locks and biometrics are strongly recommended, too.
– Monitor regularly: Make a habit of watching network activity and reading system logs to find inconsistencies and unusual traffic patterns.
– Maintain good backups: Backup often and verify your backups always. Keep one or more copies off-site, if possible.
* On the People Side
When it comes to security, people usually are the weakest link in the chain. They can be lazy, indifferent, uninformed or represent some other security liability. Because you, too, may possibly exhibit such characteristics and behaviors yourself, here are ways to address these people problems and successfully increase and ensure IT security. For example, you should:
– Establish controls: Rules and policies can help to specify what is or isnt acceptable use. Enforce them. Be prompt at acting on the slightest deviation.
– Train and educate: You and your staff can never be too knowledgeable about the newest technologies or the latest types of attacksworms, viruses, Trojans, malware and others. Be prepared to learn and learn to be prepared.
– Be safety aware: Dont expose yourself or your systems to potential attacks by linking to questionable websites. And, opening an email attachment from an unknown source could quench much more than sheer curiosity.
– Go “long” on commitment: Engage people by assigning them (or yourself) duties and responsibilities with realistic goals and rewards. Foster loyalty and support alongside accountability for non-performance.
Experiencing a malicious attack is sometimes the result of weak or ineffective security practices. And, while finding quick solutions to the attack may be reactionary and expected, it is not necessarily the only or best course of action in securing PCs and networks. There are far more sensible and fundamental ways to implement and address security in relation to the hardware, software and people involved in day to day operations. It is, in fact, by applying those ways and practices that you can effectively and successfully improve upon and optimize security in it.
Just a few Thinkings In relation to File and Document Management Systems Protection
What sorts of obstacles are associated when implementing a document security system; & may a digital document management system be the remedy?
Documents face threats of several types. Customer lists, sales-strategy reports and comprehensive revenue stat may fall in-to the hands of opponents. Sensitive personal information given by customers and workers may very well be destroyed resulting in legal cases. Personal identity details for instance bank-account login advice or credit-card particulars might be snatched by crooks. Because of those chances in today’s society, the concern of document security must become a top level concern.
Manually operated & Digital Document Security Measures
First, safety options under a document management system attempt to safeguard business data & business welfare & keep to legal conditions, just like safety of secrecy & avert monetary losses through Identity theft & fraudulence. It is the most significant part of document security to consider.
Document security is usually ascertained by limiting access towards documents. In a paper-based method, highly susceptible documents might be kept in lock & key for viewing by only top managers, for example. Yet it is basically extremely hard to assure appropriate security for records under a paper-based system merely because keeping all documents underneath lock & key can affect business results. For example, decision makers could possibly find that documents that offer decision-support information can’t be traced suddenly.
Thus, an appropriate document management system might strengthen things in a significant way, basically because entry to specified folders & documents can be precisely confined by employing electronic techniques. For instance, employees may be categorized in-to distinct streams and every stream can get different access privileges and authorizations. Admittance rights typically involve reviewing & editing rights, i.e. chosen individuals could be allowed to watch a specified document although not modify it. Other folks might have extensive rights, such as editing privileges. Users could also have to present passwords access to the files. This may formally hinder unauthorized folks from finding documents at staff members’ work station.
As will likely be evident, permissions alone cannot really present full safe practices. An employee might forget to log out following searching a document & if perhaps that person leaves the workstation, somebody else may then be capable to view it. Training staff to follow best practices for safety is a key point of over-all document security. It has been noted that many security lapses are because of employees, either through carelessness or dishonesty. It’s imperative to provide access rights strictly on a need-to-have grounds, with each and every worker (including senior staff members) being allowed to have access only those files that they require to complete their particular tasks.
Online Potential risks
Then, there’s the Online world. The existence of the online world lets risks to originate from external sources. Particular perils from viruses & other destructive software programs, from cyber criminals who can erase precious business information and from identity burglars have turned much more dangerous presently. These outer threats are guarded against thru the installing of security software for example anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, implementation of fire-walls & secure-access systems, just like SSL & consistent updates to operating systems and software programs. Software developers usually provide patches to plug any feasible security problems.
Authentication & Audit Trails
Verification of documents is a second key security preventative measure to be taken into consideration, imposed by Law. Advancements such as electronic signatures could not merely help sender’s signature outbound documents, but additionally help receivers to make sure that documents they acquire are definitely from who they assert to be; and also that no alterations have taken place since that time it was basically authenticated.
For security reasons & as a way to follow freshly released European legal regulations, any document management system needs to retain audit trails that monitor who accessed which document and at what time; and what changes were made during each accessibility. The trail should then be monitored from a trustworthy personal for any strange activities. Advanced document management systems usually include a trace function which stores the entire processes made over a document.
Data Security and ISO Standards
Especially, routine reviews should be accomplished to discover any security weaknesses, including practices such as creating backups & employing document retention & wreckage policies. Documents that have exceeded their lifetimes should be shredded in place of left all-around.
Since document security has become an integral issue, various valuable businesses have published rules to help agencies to overcome these security issues. An excellent sample is ISO 27002, a standard applied with the International Standards Organization trading explicitly with data security.
The ISO 27002 STANDARD was originally published as the rename of existing ISO 17799 STANDARD, a code of practice for data protection. It primarily describes hundreds of potential controls & control mechanisms, which may be accomplished, in theory, subject to the guidance provided within ISO 27001.
Applying these practices & policies, mainly thru a suitable document management system, can be of help for your company to boost the security of your documents and data & enormously enhance your firm’s corporate image relating to the quality of your products & services.