Undertstanding online threats

Guide: Protection against online threats

We all read about computer viruses and hacking in the newspapers, but many of us still take the ‘it’ll never happen to us’ approach to internet security.

Large companies generally have dedicated IT teams who update software and develop systems to prevent internet attacks. But, for small businesses, it may be the owner or one of the directors who has to deal with IT. Often with little or no direct IT experience, and seemingly nowhere to go for help, where should they start to protect their business? Ignorance, as well as apathy, can cost the company dear, as electronic data is becoming critical in all businesses.

Follow these five simple steps, and at least you know you’ll be heading in the right direction. Ignore them at your peril!

1. Be aware - and make sure your team is too

Ensure all staff are aware of security threats, covering:

a) P2P (peer-to-peer) use in the office, such as MP3 downloads. A significant amount of the downloadable data is likely to contain Trojan horses - malicious code that you download without knowing it, and that infects your computer (and possibly those of others) once it’s installed.

b) Personal use of company email - it’s not just wasting corporate time, it’s exposing the business to unnecessary risk.

c) Using the internet for activities not suitable for an office environment. Some adult sites, for instance, use malicious code to alter the PC of the ‘viewer’ to force premium rate diallers, hijack default homepages and install Trojan horses which can compromise a corporate network and expose it and its contents to the world.

2. Enforce where necessary

Ensure that security compliance is contractually binding. This is especially relevant in environments where staff take laptops home, or use them for personal business. It sounds pedantic, but if it’s not in their contract, you probably aren’t protected.

3. Patch, patch and patch again

Make sure all your systems are patched to the latest level as recommended by operating system vendors, and don’t rest until… well, ever. New exploits are discovered all the time, and if you know about them, there’s every chance that a hundred hackers also do. If someone got a key cut that fitted the lock on your front door, you wouldn’t wait till the following week to get it fixed, would you?

4. Have guard dogs at the gate, and at the door

Ensure that all desktop and laptop computers are equipped with - at the very least - virus protection software. Ideally, install firewall software as well. There are packages available, such as BT Internet Security Pack, that include both of these. And, as goes with all of these simple steps, make sure you keep them up to date. Viruses mutate like teenage fashions - what was ‘safe’ one week will most likely not be the next.

5. The golden rule

This is the message that lies behind all these tips - put simply, don’t ever let up. New threats spring up like daffodils in springtime, and each and every mutation can be a lot less pleasant. Stay alert - but don’t just rely on the press to let you know when something big is on the horizon. It’s far more likely they’ll cover a security risk after it has felled a corporate giant - and by then, it could be too late for you.

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