Tag Archives: security
How to protect your valuable data?
We are currently living in a Digital age and economy. Over the past few years, we have embraced several new technologies coming out. The key aspect of these Digital technologies is to deliver information to end-users and peers in better and faster ways. On the other hand, easier access and distribution of digital data paved a path to malicious attacks.
Nowadays, residential users and business are highly reliant on Data. It is vital for everyone to be able to access and share without security concerns. It is highly recommended to review security measures and optimise security for greater cost effectiveness. The breach of financial records, personal information and intellectual property will pose a greater threat. There is no doubt that Data is a valuable asset and it is vital to ensure business continuity. However, Data is at risk from a number of sources and broadly classified into internal and external attackers.
Effective data management is necessary to reduce security concerns. Data is spread across various databases, file servers, email messages, hard disks and removable media such as USB drives. Most of the businesses are aware of the risks of improper data management, however, implementing a solution can be challenging. There are so many technical aspects plaguing businesses of all sizes. Today, we will try to analyse plausible solutions to address security risks.
Data Loss Prevention is a technique used to identify potential data breach. The Data Loss Prevention solution identifies sensitive information and safeguard regardless of format and data storage type. For instance, uploading information or sending an email is highly monitored and blocks if there is any data breach.
Encryption is one of the most famous strategies to ensure confidentiality. Files and folders on a personal computer or across a network should be encrypted.
Database activity and monitoring assist in keeping track of huge amounts of data in a single location and finding crucial records of data very easily.
It would be cumbersome to setup a well organised data management plan and executing it. However, it is worth taking a time and paying attention to it as it will improve performance and reduce security concerns. Sometimes, data loss can take place due to accidental deletion or hardware/software failure. The only solution to recover you lost data is to seek a data recovery service.
Reliable Signs that Website Security has Been Breached
Until relatively recently, attacks against websites were fairly easy to spot. In most cases, the hacker or hackers behind such attacks defaced vulnerable websites or simply caused them to crash. Such attacks were typically mass scale in nature and were designed to cause as much damage as possible to a very wide number of targets. In contrast, many of the web attacks these days are far more targeted and stealthy in nature and are designed specifically to evade detection by anti-malware tools and intrusion detection systems. The most common modern goal behind website attacks is often to steal sensitive information such as customer data, financial information and customer data or to extort money from targeted businesses. Detecting such website security compromises can be challenging, but even the most sophisticated attacks often end up leaving telltale signs.
One reliable sign that website security has been compromised is when an internal system suddenly begins to transmit data to an unknown IP address. Web attacks are often launched to steal data from the underlying Web servers and the systems that are attached to it. The theft is typically carried out using malware programs that are capable of sniffing out specific pieces of information and then stealthily sending it out to a remote server from where the stolen data is collected by the attacker. Sometimes, the stolen data can be sent out in a continuous stream via commonly used ports, or sometimes in can be sent out in batches at previously scheduled intervals. In either case, such data transmissions are a good indicator of compromised site security. The rogue traffic can be hard to spot without the proper malware detection and network monitoring tools.
Unexplained traffic slowdowns can be another sign that website security has been compromised. Hackers often employ what are known as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt a websites operations. In a DDoS attack, the network connections linking a website to the Internet become clogged up with useless data packets making it very hard for legitimate traffic to get through. Such attacks are very common these days and are often used to extort money from targeted websites. Dealing with DDoS attacks can be extremely challenging and often require companies to add extra network capacity and traffic filtering tools.
One of the most obvious signs of a website security compromise is when it starts serving up malicious code, adware or spyware programs. Hackers often compromise reputed and well-known websites and use those sites to distribute their malware programs to unsuspecting web page visitors. The malware programs can be hidden in banner advertisements or on other parts of the site and get automatically downloaded onto a visitors browser. Such compromises are often hard to find, but can be detected using website malware monitoring and malware detection tools.
Protecting Against a List of Malicious Attacks
A threat profile is a list of things that a malicious attack can do to a computer. When a penetration testing company is performing security checks against threats to a customers database or website applications, they focus on specific areas that coordinate with the threat profile. There are several diagnostics that an application security testing company can perform to see how easily a companys system can be breached. Once a threat profile has been established, the security company can begin web application security testing.
What Types of Threats Exist?
Different threats have different goals. Depending on who and what is attacking the site, different things may happen. For example, the idea behind the threat may be to steal credit card information on a companys clients or to cause an e-commerce site to malfunction and lose business. To protect an application against threats, a computer security company must first know what the system needs to protect against, before it can create and implement a plan.
What Does Testing Involve?
Checking and testing for possible security weaknesses is done through a battery of testing procedures. The plan for testing must first be custom designed with the particular application in mind. The security company tries to mimic the possible avenues that could be used to cause trouble. The tests are then performed. Depending on how in depth the process is and how many tests are performed, it can take anywhere from 10 days to one month. A quality security company will not rush the process and risk problems down the road for the sake of saving a few minutes here and there. Qualified personnel will take their time to verify that an application is as secure as possible through a variety of exhaustive methods. Tests using scanners are helpful, but people-driven testing tools are often more effective for preventing sabotage, malicious attacks, siphoning and other threats.
Certification
When consumers use a website for e-commerce or to exchange personal information, they want to know that its secure. They do not want their personal contact information, credit card numbers, financial details to be shared with other people. They want reassurances that any website or website application they use is safe from hackers and identity thieves. Without a security certification posted on the website, many potential customers will gladly take their business elsewhere in favor of personal safety. Once a website application has been authentically certified, it should be displayed where it can be seen. The site should be certified by experts who have had proper, up-to-date training in prevention of risks and thwarting attacks.