Untitled

[securityexperrt-blog]

How to make the best of the IT-security policy

There are a lot of times when the IT-security policy fails to work. One of the main reasons why the policy does not work is that the policy is usually not followed to the letter. That is a funny thing but quite normal.  So much work goes into planning the policy and in time of need that policy is usually neglected. Usually when trouble strikes, there is a rush of adrenaline in all of the management. This enforces management teams to take steps that are not dictated by any policy. The team usually undermines the policy and tries to manage the problem their own way. This is the worst thing that they can do in the time of crisis. The reason being that not always can instincts be right and just to the company. There will be times when those instincts are wrong and not serve their exact purpose. This is why even if your instincts are telling you otherwise, you should stick with the security policy you have come up with. When you have put in so much planning and work into making the policy then you need to trust the fact that in the times of crisis, this very policy will have the answers even if what is written down might not seem as the best possible course because your gut feeling tells you that it is not. People tend to make such a policy just as a formality, and when the time comes for such a policy to be used they do not since they do not take the policy seriously.

If the management of any company will fail to do its duty and follow the IT-security policy then you cannot expect the other members of the company to follow the policy. The management needs to set an example. When the security policy is new, it is actually most difficult to execute and enact at that point.  But the policy must be enacted at every point; may the policy be new or old, its enactment is important and fundamental.

While implementing the IT-security policy, you also need to make sure that all of the people who are responsible for enacting such a policy are literate enough to put the policy into action. Without literate people doing their job at the policy enactment point, the policy is a waste of money and time. Everything related to IT and computers is a literate man’s job. You cannot expect a layman to understand anything regarding such a policy without the knowledge to go with it. There are a lot of businesses out there that have switched to using the computers in all of their work but they have made one critical mistake. For example a real estate agent has all of their work on the computers but these offices do not have the necessary officials or people that have the necessary knowledge regarding the computers or the software that they are using. 

[securityexperrt-blog]

Why is an IT-security handbook needed?

Nowadays, the market of technology products and services is increasing dramatically. So, most of the organizations are busy with researches and development of advanced technologies in order to enhance their business, productivity and customer satisfaction. So they need to protect the information about their technology development and researches from the external access and disclosure. They use PCs, laptops and various wireless network systems in order to store and transfer this information. But most of the employees do not know the importance of information security and probably they would not be aware of the risks associated with surfing the internet on the systems which contain vital information.  Also, a recent survey reveals that most of the information security failures have happened due to human errors.  So, the protection of confidential data is always a challenging task for most of the organizations. It is necessary to make them aware of the risk management process in order to protect the confidential information from unauthorized access, virus and malware attacks, etc.

The IT-security handbook is a practical guide which helps understand and implement information security in business, home as well as government environments. It also contains policies and general guidelines for employees of the organizations. So all the departments of an organization which needs an IT infrastructure to store their confidential information must read the IT-security handbook and become familiar with the guidelines and policies listed within it.

Some IT-security handbook safety tips

As mentioned above, the IT-security handbook (Do you know that the Danish term is It-Sikkerhedshåndbog?) is a very informative practical guide which provides information about the information security. Here are some IT-security handbook basic tips to protect your vital information assets. Take a closer look at them.

·         The preliminary step to protect the documents and files is identifying where they are. So, always try to identify the location where they are stored and control the data flow when it is disclosed to a third person as well as throughout the organization.

·         By using automated scans, try to find out the untrusted documents.

·         Try to classify the data according to the availability, integrity and confidentiality ratings.

·         Use protective measures such as antivirus software, password protection and firewalls in order to secure the sensitive information.

·         Never save sensitive information on encrypted hard disks, USB, etc.

·         Whenever you leave, log off or lock the system.

Benefits

The IT-security handbook provides lots of benefits for the organizations and individuals. Since it provides a practical guide to manage the information security issues, it reduces the complexity of managing the IT infrastructure and increases the cost effectiveness of the system. The employees can easily determine the overall level of risk by analyzing the asset information, threats, controls and vulnerabilities if they have a good command over the IT-security handbook. It also helps the people understand how to protect the information and how to install security devices like firewalls, biometric scanners or detection devices to protect the more sensitive files and documents. Apart from all these things, it also helps the organizations develop and implement various risk assessment processes, security policies, etc.

[securityexperrt-blog]

Things to know about the IT emergency plan

The greatest threat to a data center is flood since basements are the places where data centers are located. But, in recent years the disasters like internet fraud, viruses, identity threat, spam attack, piracy, phishing, hacking and sabotage have added up to the list. Fire too is considered as a serious threat to data centers. IT emergency plan is an integral part of the organization. A plan should be developed and maintained by all the organizations to withstand these threats. The basic mandate of the IT emergency plan should be to decide on a solution that can be instantly implemented at the time of IT disaster, the ways to handle the business after a disaster strike, the alternative ways to carry on with the business transaction during the maintenance phrase.

Objectives

The major objective of the IT Emergency Plan is to safeguard the vital records of IT, protect the organization’s resources and most importantly to guarantee the continuous availability of IT services. The plan will be a roadmap from disaster to recovery. The plan should work irrespective of what disaster is occurred. Team concept should be kept in mind while chalking out IT Emergency plan so that the disaster recovery will be effective.  As the plan is set in a dynamic environment, it needs to be updated, revised and tested continuously. The four phases of IT Emergency plan will be assessment of disaster, activation of disaster recovery, rebuilding of alternate data center and finally restoring the system to normal.

Basic steps involved in building IT Emergency Plan

Firstly, the disaster recovery service levels for all applications have to be determined. The system owners should work with their IT staff to create disaster recovery service plan. The cost involved also has to be considered while establishing an IT Emergency Plan. The next step involved will be choosing the hardware replacement plan along with backup and recovery plan. The kind of data needs to be backed up and how fast it needs to be recovered determines the method chosen for database. There are different types of backup like full backup, differential back up and transactional log backup. In full back up, entire database along with transaction logs will be under back up and the recovery will be to the point in time. Heavy resources will be used and that might result in system degradation. It needs to be noted that only few users are on the system. Large files will be created. Only the changes to the database since the last full backup will be under differential backup. Lesser resources will be used and is quicker than the full backup. So these are used for very large databases. Under transactional log backup, a transactional log is used by backup to track the modifications implemented within the database. Fewer resources are used and it runs even when the data is being accessed. The recovery will be till the last committed transaction to the database. Proper training for the execution of IT Emergency Plan should be given to all the employees who are involved in the disaster recovery team.

[securityexperrt-blog]

The standards of DS484

When you are working in some organization, you are bound to ask yourself about the amount of risk and threats involved within the respective organization. It is a well known fact these days that you are living in a world where there is an overwhelming priority given to the information technology. This should come to everyone as no surprise since there are many people who come across activities and practices on daily basis which demonstrate the importance of security and protection to be provided to the information technology. As you may already know, it is something which most of the companies and organizations are reliant upon and even the slightest of hick up in its functioning or any type of relapse would lead to destruction of the companies as a whole unit. In a country like Denmark the security standard has been officially chosen as DS484. It is the prime example for the highest standard level of rules and regulation for the operation of securing the safety of the information technology.

What are the main aspects of DS484?

Every organization would give anything to make sure there is no flaw in the information security and other network functioning aspects. This is where Denmark’s DS484 comes into action. It is possibly the best option a company could opt for ensuring maximum protection for all its internal and external activities. Today, due to all types of fraud happenings that take place in realm of the information technology has made the most of the companies vulnerable and extremely exposed to the threats possessed by the outsiders. A company is bound to failure if it lacks the support of an effective security system. The fact that most of the hackers and frauds are more than equipped with malicious tools and other software’s to get easy access inside the private territory of an organization is very terrifying. DS484 has been designed with the greatest list of rules and regulations to ensure none of this happens. It has the most efficient methods for setting up the information security of the organizations. It gives your system a great sense of security.

Functions of DS484

These days you will find that even the smallest of company is required to have record containing all the database of the day to day operations. Pretty much all of it is done through online and you have to really question how exposed your database and private records are to the hackers. Of course you will have a great helping hand in the software such as fire wall to some extend but DS484 analyze the situation of the organization and recommends exactly what it needs. It enables the company to have a swift functioning network. It is also known for its amazing range of versatility and ability to recover the network from unexpected breakdowns. The requirement for the effective functioning of DS484 varies from company to company. It is just equivalent for the ISO in Denmark and is also updated consistently in order to cope with the latest threats to your information security.

[securityexperrt-blog]

Why do you need an information security tool?

Have you ever wondered what sets one business apart from the others? Well, the main distinguishing factor would be the information or the trade secrets that one organization harbors. So, it is important that you safeguard the information related to the business. Otherwise, if it falls into the hands of competitors, then the edge that you retained over them previously would diminish. So, you should take the pain and effort to set in place an adequate information security tool which would ensure that this does not happen. Besides that it will help you secure information as well. In case you don’t know much about the resources or tools that you can utilize, continue reading this article to learn more.

Is it important?

Usually security related issues are the topmost priority of most companies. So, it is important that you use an information security tool in order to make sure that the information stored electronically is not compromised on. This can be done by setting in place encryption tools or software that would make it near to impossible for a third party to access sensitive data related to a business. Apart from that, you should ensure that the service provider that you opt for has set in place tools that would help detect the presence of any threats to information security.

So, it is important that you take up the assistance of security consultants as they would be in a position to suggest the perfect information security tool that you can use. This way, you can curb the chances of a third party logging into the server and accessing sensitive data. Also, this would restrict unauthorized usage of data and at the same time these tools would let you know that a security violation has taken place. Therefore, you can secure your network and at the same time prevent these attacks.

Impose restrictions

Another way in which you can curb threats to data security would be to use strong passwords. This would help the information security tool (Interesting and useful information for you could be that the Danish term is informationssikkerhed værktøj) function in an optimal manner. You should keep in mind that the entire security mechanism needs to mesh well and only then can you be certain that you would be in a position to effectively and efficiently arrest these threats.  Also, if access codes were given to different employees you would be able to keep a tab on by whom, how and when sensitive information was accessed. In this way, in case a breach does take place, you would be in a position to track down the source of the information leak.

Arrest threats

Since prevention is always better than cure, setting in place an adept information security tool would help minimize the instances where data security is compromised. You can set up antivirus and antimalware software that would help reduce data vulnerability or threats from hackers or scams. In this way, you can ensure that the data security is not breached. These are a few things that you need to keep in mind when it comes to information security and the various tools that you can utilize in order to maintain it.

[securityexperrt-blog]

Because information security is one of the most important things nowadays.

[securityexperrt-blog]

Risk Assessment Basics

There is a saying that there is a certain percentage of risk involved in any activity that takes place. This is particularly relevant in a day and age where most people are becoming increasingly dependent on technology for their day-to-day activities. This in fact has raised the level of risk involved since there are a large number of people who are taking up these services when compared to the past. Therefore, it is essential that companies set in place a risk assessment mechanism that would help eliminate these hassles before they become a big problem. Continue reading to learn more about this.

Need for risk assessment

Even though a certain amount of risk can prove to be beneficial to a business, it needs to be tackled with caution. This is the reason why a risk assessment mechanismneeds to be set in place so that these inherent dangers can be eliminated while they are at their infancy and their subsequent impact would lessen. Therefore, this process requires extensive and comprehensive research. Apart from that analysis needs to take place as well. This means that there are several aspects that need to be taken care of.

Qualitative

The first thing that you should look at is qualitative risk assessment (Do you know that the Danish term is risikovurdering?) by way of which you will be able to identify the threats that are directed towards the company’s assets. These threats could come from the ambiguity posed by credit risk, financial market, legal liabilities as well as thereat to information security. After this process is executed you will be aware of the various threats and potential problems that the business could face. As a result of this, the business would be in a position to set in place countermeasures that would scale down the damages that could have been caused by these risks. Additionally, you would be in a position to prioritize these and then eliminate these inconsistencies.

Danger Evaluation

The next task that you have on your hands is to evaluate all the dangers that are involved. This forms an integral part of the risk assessment process. Here the impact of these threats is assessed and evaluated. In this way, you would be able to count the benefit or cost against the risks involved. In this way you can ascertain, whether it is a risk that is worth investing time and effort in to root out immediately or it should be systematically eliminated in the due course of time.

Quantitative

After that you can take up a quantitative analysis where you can look at the problem in a more detailed manner. Here you can take the aid of statistical tools to measure the threats that are posed and then find ways in which you can root them out. Also, you can use this strategy to maximize the profits as well. Additionally, you can use this in order to look at the impact that the risk could have cost the company. These are a few tools that you can use that would support the risk assessment process. 

[securityexperrt-blog]

The Importance of Setting in Place a Tight Security Policy

In the fast paced world that is the immediate reality we witness innumerable technological advancements. Each of these advancements does make the lives of people simpler and at the same time exposes them to new risks as well. This is precisely the reason why you should be looking at ways in which you can safeguard your personal information and data, so that is doesn’t become vulnerable to any type of security threats. The best way to ensure this would be to set in place a tight security policy that would help you avert many of these issues all at one go. In this way you will be able to assure your clients that their information is safe with you and at the same time you will be able to ensure that the relationship based on trust with them is kept intact.

Steep Increase in Cyber Crimes

It is true that people are becoming more and more dependent on technology. This has opened up a whole new possibility of cyber crimes to take place. It is precisely owing to this reason that you need to set in place a tight security policy as it would be sure to help minimize the risks of the information getting compromised. This way you will be able to safeguard information, which is sensitive in nature and at the same time you will be in a position to set in place a mechanism where you can curb unauthorized access to information. Also, you need to ensure that the information is well safeguarded; otherwise it could tarnish the company’s reputation.

Data Security

If you were to evaluate the levels of threats that exist these days, then it would be safe to say that it is something that would take you a lot of time to determine. Therefore, you need to keep these threats at bay as they could act as a deterrent to the growth experienced by the company. Apart from that you would be able to reach the top slot in this way. And you need to be aware of the fact that there are a few businesses that would do anything to get their hands on your trade secrets. This is one of the reasons why you need to set in place a strict security policy so that the company’s data will be safeguarded. Ensure that these polices are set in place are devoid of any loopholes and are air tight.

Additional Measures

Now that you know about the threats that are posed to your security, you need to be alert about the hackers and scams as well. This is because for the most part you can keep them at bay when you have a tight security policy. In this way, you can be sure that you can increase the level of efficiency within the company and at the same time safeguard it from any threats. These are a few things that you need to keep in mind in order to safeguard your business.

[securityexperrt-blog]

Everything You Need to Know About Risk Management

The most important aspect that revolves around any business these days is security concerns. This is largely due to the fact that preventive measures can arrest the threats to an extent, but it does not mean that they can completely eliminate them. Therefore, there are various types of security breaches that can take place. At least you will be able to set in place a system that would minimize the likelihood that the security would be breached at some point in time or the other. It is important that you get on it right away as you will be in a position to avert damage that would have been caused otherwise. The best way in which you can ensure that this operation takes place is by setting up a risk management system that you can count on.

Important

The foremost priority of most organizations is to ensure that they have set in place adequate security measures. This can be owed to the fact that the integrity and the security of the data needs to be secure. The risk management (Interesting information for you could be that the Danish term is risikostyring) system will help in more ways than one. The next probable question that might arise in your mind would be related to the various steps that are involved in the process. Well, this means that you are on the right track. First, the team needs to identify all the risks and vulnerabilities in a systematic manner. After they have been identified they will be eliminated. Also, this particular process involves the threats and the countermeasures that can help you arrest this problem.

Supervision

In order to set in place a successful risk management mechanism, it requires constant supervision. This means that the team needs to be on their toes all the time. This has a lot to do with the sea of change that has been experienced in the business landscape. Therefore, if you want your data and trade secrets to remain secrets, you need to ensure that they are safeguarded. Besides that you need to make sure that at no point in time this security would be compromised. It is because this could prove to be detrimental to the business and could even have damaging consequences.

Summing it all up

To sum it all up, risk management is a system that needs to be set in place. This is because it will help you identify and analyze all the risks to your data. In this way, you will be in a position to safeguard your information and at the same time save yourself from various vulnerabilities. Therefore, the best way that you can ensure that all these threats are arrested before they blow up into a big problem would be to set up a team that would take care of this aspect. Also, the team would be in a position to tackle the problem before it becomes a big issue. These are a few reasons why you need to set in place a risk management mechanism.