technology update
Top 5 tips on how to not to be the next victim of Cybercrime
Halfway through 2010, cybercrime continues to evolve and grow in both scale and sophistication. As social networking becomes ever more deeply embedded in our everyday lives, it has become an ever more fertile hunting ground for those who would steal and abuse your personal information, and compromise and misuse your computer systems to gain financial advantage by stealing personal or corporate funds or obtaining illicit funds from advertisers or spammers. Even if you do not hold valuable data you may become an unwitting participant with your internet connection being hi jacked by spammers.
The following top five offer advice to help you protect your resources and your reputation against an ever-growing body of threats.
1) Control outbound content as well as inbound content
Most companies’ firewalls are set up to scan incoming email for inappropriate content or attachments. But have you considered the data being sent from your company? You can stop the accidental or deliberate loss of sensitive data by considering software that scans outbound content for sensitive information whether it’s sent by e-mail, instant message, or saved on removable storage devices.
2) Protect against malware, block access to Web ports and scan traffic
According to current research one new Web page is infected every 4.5 seconds, web pages are now the number one vector of attack for cybercriminals. In what is called a ‘drive by’ attackers covertly inject malicious code into legitimate Web sites and wait for you to view the page. You should use content-based filtering technology to analyse Web traffic to determine the true content coming back from a Web site.
3) Educate users about the dangers and safe use of social networking Web sites
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have become popular playgrounds for attackers. Some industry data shows that there was a 70% rise in proportion of firms that report encountering spam and malware attacks via social networks during 2009. Reports are that social engineering is on the rise. This is where employees may unwitting divulge sensitive company information to ‘friends’ on line. You must educate users of the risks, and if appropriate look at a ‘responsible use’ policy.
4) Encrypt sensitive data wherever it is, and whatever it is on
Business and individuals that hold sensitive data are now obligated to protect against data loss. To ensure that data is always protected, it should be encrypted when it is ‘on the move’ in devices such as smart phones and laptops or when it is sent over a public network such as wireless hotspots. Also when it is ‘at rest’ when stored as backups and on network hard drives. Properly deployed encryption software should be transparent to the user and not impact performance of the machine.
5) Restrict or monitor the use of removable storage device
Automatically executable files that install from USB hard drives or memory sticks can introduce vulnerabilities or unauthorised software to the network and you may be unaware that it has happened. Sensitive data can also be easily taken outside of an organisation on these devices, and many recent high-profile incidents confirm how easily they can be lost. Consider software that can disable or restrict the auto-run functionality for these drives or remove them entirely from users’ machines.
If you wish to speak to us about protecting yourself against cybercrime, then feel free to contact us on 0845 688 8663 or complete our Contact Us form and we'll call YOU back.