The statistics around cyber security depict a challenging landscape for businesses of all sizes. Hundreds of millions of consumers have been impacted by data breaches over the last year, and the cost for companies to recover from an attack can skyrocket into the billions of dollars.
While the big companies such as Equifax, Target and Marriott have garnered headlines in the evening news, small and medium sized businesses can find themselves to be even more attractive targets for hackers looking to access data. The resulting downtime, loss of revenue, damage to the brand, and potential fines can be impossible to overcome. In fact, the National Cyber Security Alliance reports that 60% of small businesses close their doors within six months of a cyber attack.
Regardless of your company’s size, it’s important to acknowledge that you are a target. Applied Technologies can help you be prepared, leveraging our knowledge, resources, and best-in-class solutions on your behalf. Before any of that can take place, the first step is a Security Assessment to identify your current situation and risks, and catalog hardware and software to develop a plan of action that’s best suited for your needs.
The Two-Pronged Approach to the Network Security Assessment
The first step involved in your security assessment may involve a diagnostic assessment. This process works very similarly to what your local mechanic might do when diagnosing the health of your car. Your car, or your system in this case, are plugged into a special diagnostic apparatus that can read what is happening, identify problems and provide guidance as to what components might need attention.
This uncovers a great deal of information for the Applied Technologies team to assess. It can point us in the direction of key vulnerabilities, and provide a reporting of network function, as well as hardware and software tied into the network.
The second piece of the security assessment is a more in-depth analysis of your network, and this process is customized. Our work may take as little as eight hours, or as much as several days:
- Fact finding …. Applied Technologies meets with key stakeholders to learn about your specific concerns and goals.
- Assess … Our engineers work with your team to assess the network for a more detailed overview of the system.
- Workflow … Many breaches are the result of the human factor, so we’ll work to understand security policies and practices within your organization.
- Report … Once our work is complete, we’ll provide you with a full report of findings and recommendations, while collaborating with your team to prioritize and create a plan of action. This plan could include security hardware, or managed security monitoring services from Applied Technologies, a topic we’ll cover in our next blog.
What You’ll Learn in Your Network Assessment Report
Each network and each customer’s goals are different, but there are many common things that may be included in your report:
- Security Risk Report … Executive-level report which calculates a proprietary Security Risk Score along with summary charts, graphs and an explanation of the risks found in the security scans.
- Security Policy Assessment Report … A detailed review of the security policies that are in place on both a domain wide and local machine basis.
- Share Permission Report by Computer … Comprehensive lists of all network “shares” by computer, detailing which users and groups have access to which devices and files, and what level of access they have.
- Share Permission Report by User … Organizes permissions by user, showing all shared computers and files to which, each has access.
- Outbound Security Report … Highlights deviation from industry standards compared to outbound port and protocol accessibility, lists available wireless networks as part of a wireless security survey, and provides information on Internet content accessibility.
- External Vulnerabilities Full Detail Report … A comprehensive output including security holes, warnings, and items that can help make better network security decisions, This is an essential item for many standard security compliance reports.
- Anomalous User Login Activity … A report using mathematical modeling and proprietary pattern recognition to highlight potential unauthorized users who log into machines they normally do not access and at times they normally do not log in.
There may be more (or different) reporting metrics included on your specific report to match your system setup, user behavior, and goals.
The Security Journey
The assessment is your first step along the security journey, and we at Applied Technologies make it easy and accessible for you to get started.
Having a security benchmark and identifying your network vulnerabilities it a vital first step in identifying potential risk. After your initial assessment is completed, we can help map out a security strategy for your company. This can include conducting follow-up assessments to determine if identified issues have been corrected (to) addressing additional security requirements uncovered by the initial assessment. Our in-house Applied Technologies team, in coordination with our network of technology partners and leading manufacturers of security technologies can help you obtain a level of security that supports industry standards and best practices.
Don’t Be a Statistic
It’s often said that it’s not a matter of if you’ll experience a breach – it’s a matter of when you’ll experience it. The key is to be prepared to minimize the likelihood of major damage to your company, your reputation and your customers. Contact us today to learn more.
Sources:
https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/01/cyber-security-statistics-small-business.html
https://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/23/small-companies-cyber-attack-out-of-business/