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Net Threats Don't Go Away - Be Prepared
Small businesses can’t afford to become complacent about the safety of
their data and business records. Threats from such ‘net nasties’ as
viruses, spyware and hackers are more serious than most business owners
realize.
Microsoft recently conducted a survey that showed 27% of small
businesses experienced virus prevention issues daily. Surprisingly, the
survey also found that many small business owners believe they don’t
have to worry much about security.
Kevin Burke, Microsoft Australia’s small business group Manager warns:
“While small businesses might not be directly attacked as often as
larger ones, they are often impacted by viruses, worms and identity
theft issues such as those which try to harvest credit card numbers.”
Smaller enterprises simply don’t have the resources to go it alone when
fighting potential security threats to their security. Their attention
is naturally focused on the commercial side of their activities and most
operate without a formal IT security strategy.
Protect What
Matters Most
George Spafford, in an article titled ‘Sensible IT Security for Small
Businesses’ on the SmallBusinessComputing.com website, says:
“Understanding how much time and money to invest in security requires
that you first determine what matters most to you. It may be customer
design files, accounting data and so on. Don't try to protect
everything. It's just not realistic; the focus should be on what matters
most.
“Second, look at how these critical items are threatened. Engage
vendors, consultants and colleagues to figure out the best layers of
defense that will reduce the risk to an acceptable level in a
cost-effective manner.
“Don't try to eliminate risk entirely. Your goal should be to lower the
risk to a point that you can live with it.”
New security issues arrive daily in the form of spyware and viruses, as
well as through technology developments such as wireless networking.
It’s essential that protection of a firm’s software and hardware is
maintained at a high level by taking advantage of offering like
Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2 launched in August, 2004.
Smaller Size
Can be an Advantage
Microsoft senior product manager Ben English says that smaller companies
are faster to upgrade their security functionalities than larger ones.
Larger firms need to text compatibility with their existing systems
while smaller users can just plug in the feature like XP’s inbuilt
firewall and let it do its job.
English points out that it’s not possible to prevent someone in a
company from downloading suspect attachments but it is possible to alert
them to the potential danger of what they’re doing. “There is also an
ongoing need for user education in Internet security”.
Use the
Checklist
Microsoft has prepared a checklist for businesses that will help them
establish a strategy to address their security concerns. It’s not
complicated and can be used as the basis of a company policy on IT
security.
1. Update your software. If there’s a patch or update available download
and install it.
2. Ensure all hardware is protected against viruses.
3. Set up a firewall. It’s the best protection against hackers.
4. Tighten in-house security. Employees can be as big a threat as
external hackers.
5. Strengthen passwords and change them regularly.
6. Back up critical data regularly and store off-site.
7. Embrace smart web browsing; don’t visit dangerous sites and never
browse from a server.
8. Safeguard vulnerable wireless networks; using encryption is
recommended.
9. Connect remote users securely. Their level of security protection
should be as high as any other user’s.
10. Lock down all servers and protect the network.
George Sluz, group product manager for the Symantec Gateway Security
Series at Symantec Corporation, tells us why all this effort is needed
and why the business owner must drive the security process.
“The Internet is vital to today’s small business. Unfortunately, the
dangers posed by viruses and hackers can jeopardize privacy and
productivity and erode customer trust.
“In an ideal world, small businesses would have around-the-clock network
protection from an experienced Information Technology (IT) team. In
reality, the small business owner faces 24/7 confusion and worry about a
network attack because he or she is the IT team.”
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