Security
There is an old cliche about all new technologies being usable for good or evil, with the obvious example of nuclear power and the Atom bomb - although some would argue that's two evils! It is certainly true that no step forward in Internet technology has arrived yet without its corresponding security threat. Internet banking, for instance, while a great facility for many, is not so good for those who have been daft enough to send off their security details in a Phishing attack. In an era when Microsoft has seen the need to build a firewall into every laptop, security should now be the primary concern of anyone who uses a computer.
Bazaar Systems has many years of experience in this area from designing and building Firewalls, to establishing Corporate Anti-Virus Standards. We were there when the first viruses arrived on Floppy disks and when the Criminal fraternity first realised the true power of the Internet.
Why not ask Bazaar Systems to do a quick Security appraisal of your company?
Below are three of the cornerstones in any company's security policy. What's important about all three of these technologies is how they are supported. It is not sufficient to deploy them, tick a box and walk away. They must be constantly monitored to ensure they are fully operational and have not been compromised.
A Security Policy book is a good idea. It should, among other things, detail what should happen in the event of a virus outbreak. This is not as obvious as it seems. Most companies that have suffered from a virus outbreak have such a policy book. Hindsight is wonderful but Bazaar systems can help you get a step ahead.
Anti-Virus Systems
These have become almost a commodity nowadays; there are very few computers on the planet that don't have an AV product running. However, to be any use at all the product must be kept up to date and regularly checked. Almost the first thing a modern virus does is disable the AV product - usually in a way that's not obvious to the user, like setting it to ignore certain file types, or only update manually.
How does your AV product update itself? Nowadays every AV product will check its status with the manufacturers web site every few hours - it's what you pay the subscription for! But what if you have more than, say, five computers. Do you allow each of them to individually update from the Internet, there are load implication there, and how do you check they are all up to date? Nowadays even small companies should consider a central AV system. It can check that all computers in the company are up to date, can flag when a virus is detected on a machine, and can draw the attention of IT staff to problems like update failures. Bazaar Systems can help you deploy a Central AV system.
Anti-Spyware
Spyware originally started out as glorified Browser cookies keeping a track on what users were doing, but they soon got into the hands of the criminal element and spyware now often takes the form of a keystroke monitor watching for usernames and passwords, which are then sent off to the person who wrote the spyware. There are many anti-spyware systems on the market now, some integrated with anti-virus software and some stand-alone. Talk to Bazaar Systems to help assess how best to deploy an anti-spyware solution.
Firewall Systems
Every company with an Internet connection needs a reliable firewall - many companies have two or more. Bazaar Systems can help you asses your needs here.
Like most things in IT Firewalls come in all shapes and sizes: some as software you install on a server and others as a stand-alone box; some are designed to work on the perimeter of the company network (usually where it connects to the Internet) and some are designed to work inside every desktop or server.
Most small companies with an Internet connection will have "firewall" software built in to their Broadband modem/router. But within the security industry this kind of software is known as a "port blocker" and is not considered a true Firewall. On the other hand true Firewalls can be expensive and complex to set up - it all depends on who you are and what you are trying to protect. There is an International Standard for IT security:
BS ISO/IEC 17799:2005 (BS 7799-1:2005) Information technology. Security techniques. Code of practice for information security management ( Available form the British Standards Institute for £110. )
But any Firewall, from the humble port-blocker to a Corporate ISO/IEC 17799 system, is only as good as its configuration. If the config has loopholes and errors then there are security risks. Moreover tools to detect and exploit "holes" in firewalls are freely available on the Internet. Most Firewall holes are caused by errors and omissions in configuration tables, and the only reliable way to find them is an external security scan. Talk to Bazaar systems about this.
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