You think you’re protected, but are you? You try to respect the best practices to keep the network safe including all the users who access it.
But John just opened another support ticket indicating that he has another virus or that the virus that was on his machine yesterday was not completely removed from his system.
There’s this false feeling of security you tend to have when you see that anti-virus pop-up saying that you are now up-to-date. But being secure isn’t all about receiving the latest anti-virus update.
Build Up Your Layers
Security is addressed in multi-layers. Having an anti-virus installed on your computer is just one layer. If your anti-virus is up-to-date and a virus got through, you need to check the layers that you have in place. Are you missing a layer? Is there a misconfiguration? Here are 10 tips to help you layer your security.
Regularly Install the Latest Security Patches
If you don’t, you are leaving holes in your security and creating an opportunity for a virus to get in. Do you know what is installed on users’ computers and the network servers? Is there a process to install the latest patches? Perhaps, you should consider using an automated patch solution. With the number of patches released, this can ease the workload from manually deploying them.
Enforce the Use of Strong Passwords
Some of the most common passwords are 123456 and password. How secure is that? Using common passwords makes it easy for attackers to guess and hack into the network. Enforce users to use strong passwords by having a minimum length of 12 characters, with lower and uppercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Connect Devices to the Lowest Security Zone on the Network
If the device is lost, stolen or hacked, restrict the device to the lowest security zone. It helps to isolate an attack and prevent hackers from getting deeper into the network.
Use an Email Security Gateway
Using an email security gateway monitors inbound and outbound emails. Emails that are detected as spam or virus is blocked or quarantined. Review the effectiveness of your email security gateway by its ability to catch threats before they get to the computer.
Restrict User Access
Users should only have access to shared drives and systems that they need to do their work. If a user clicks a link in a phishing email that installs ransomware, the damage will be limited to what the user has access to.
Educate Your Users
Users unknowingly engage in risky behavior that could put the company at risk of a security breach. What happens if an unsecured Wi-Fi is used or a found USB key is plugged in? Educating users empower them to do their part to help protect the company against threats.
Increase your Web Browser Security to Stop Scripts from Automatically Running
JavaScript is a common programming language that is used in web pages to improve the user experience. It can tell a user a mistake was made when filling in a form or respond to other user actions without reloading the web page. It can also be used by a hacker to launch an attack. To prevent commands from running automatically, change your Windows settings so the files open in Notepad.
Configure Your Firewall Rules
Is your firewall configuration for the network in line with the organization’s security policy? What about the firewall on the users’ computers? Are they enabled, as well? Configure your firewall rules to restrict access to the allowed connections defined in the security policy.
Keep Your Browser Patched
Keep your browser up-to-date with the latest software patches. This includes browser plugins. An unpatched plugin could leave your computer susceptible to hackers. Take advantage of the auto-update feature to update plugins as soon as a patch is available. If there is a security vulnerability with the plugin and there is no patch, remove it from your computer.
Block Installation of Unauthorized Software
This helps to prevent the installation of malware on users’ computers and facilitates software patching. Another approach some companies take is to restrict admin access to the computer to IT personnel.
Conclusion
The best defense against security threats is to take a multi-layer approach. If a virus makes it past one layer, you have your other layers as a preventive measure. If a virus makes it past all your security layers, you will need to conduct a forensic investigation to get to the root cause of the breach. Once you have determined the route cause, measures will need to be taken to correct the issue.
