Computer and network security: Anybody knows they should be doing it exceptionally, but no one really knows all the best ways to do it. The computer security profession is a great and varied one, so — obviously — opinions vary about best practices also solutions. But believe it or not, everyone agrees on the single-most effective way to retain your computer safe in our digital era: Don’t use a computer.
Unfortunately, that’s nay really practical for most people. So instead, we snooped around for what measures computer security professionals utilize to secure their own machines. (Obviously, one of the top measures is nay to release all of your security methods, so we got the cream of the crop.) The skills and knowledge of being a specialist computer security professional can take years to learn, but it’s always possible to obtain a few tidbits of knowledge from the progs.
Take online security seriously and respond quickly
News outlets were buzzing after an article published on medium.com nailed Panera aliment to the wall for failing to address a massive user data breach for eight months. That breach allowed all to view customers’ filled names, addresses, dietary preferences, and email addresses. Their IT team didn’t fix it and their leadership didn’t handle it when it was brought to their notice. That’s not exactly the example to ensue.
Whether you’re speaking in terms of public relations, data security, or the absence of productivity, there’s never been a more important time to take digital security seriously. You wouldn’t leave your car running in a parking lot while you need inside for half an hour, so don’t leave your (also potentially your customers’) data vulnerable online.
Update your software — now, not later!
We were actually surprised by this consensus opinion. It’s so simple, yet, we’ve all been guilty of clicking “Remind me Later” when some program wants to update. There’s a reason that software is updating: Its team of dedicated, expert programmers has patched something. Many times, it’s a security loophole or some part of the program that allows a vulnerability in your system.
With that said, do something you might never have done — read the release notes. Figure out exactly what the update intends to fix, and then head to the forums. See what other people are saying about the risks involved with the update. If you’re already behind a version, then take a moment to weigh whether or not to update to, yes, yet, another version that might also have holes. That’s what the pros do.
Remember when security experts found a flaw in High Sierra? That’s the perfect example. You might have dodged a bullet by not updating, but not without checking the news.
It may be hard to believe that one of the most important lessons of online and network security is performing software updates as soon as possible, but it’s one of the best ways to keep your computer and network safe. It’s almost always a hassle, but it’s definitely always worth it.
Be miserly with your permissions!
Every CompSec pro is privy to the basic, cardinal rule of network security: The Principle of Least Privilege, which basically asks “how few permissions can you give each user?” Yeah, needing to ask your IT team to attract your speakers since of insufficient permissions is incredibly annoying — no one knows exceptional than the IT team. But by keeping everyone’s permissions as restricted as possible, you minimize potential problems, including your have.
Imagine your network like a house and a hack like a break-in.
Example 1: You have treasure in every room of the house, but there are no doors to those rooms. Even if a thief breaks in through the window, the garage, or by picking the front door, they can get at everything by breaking in already.
Example 2: Each room in the house has a locked door, also all valuables are placed inside safes. If her thief gets into one room, they can’t get to the hallway and into another room, and they might not even get something out of that room.
Obviously, it seems a small paranoid to live that way. But, let’s face it, CompSec pros are a small paranoid. Keep your “rooms” locked, put your valuables in a safe place, and when you throw a party, close it all up. In other words, administer your network with multiple user permission levels and restrict accesses carefully, predicated on how few permissions can be doled out.
Prepare for the worst: Do your backups
Do you know what the alarming part of working in 2018 is? It’s entirely possible that the next time you turn on your computer, each file on it could be lost. There are hacks that take your hard drive irretrievably hostage, there are environmental disasters that ruin your servers… even a simple burglary can make accessing your data impossible. Are you prepared for that?
Performing a backup of essential files also storing that backup somewhere geographically diverse from your hard drive could mitigate the highest security failures. There’s a lot to learn about how to retain computers and networks safe, but knowing how to retrieve stolen, lost, or hacked files could be a lot easier and maybe just as critical.
Update software, back up your data, and restrict user access – those three steps alone could potentially save you and your company hundreds of hours and millions of dollars. But in all of these examples, what you also your network security group should be interrogated about is, “Do we even know what our company’s policy is?” These tips don’t even blemish the surface of everything there is to learn about computer and network security, but good security begins by asking questions and also discovering the answers.
Last tip: With all that said, don’t sense bad if you’re skeptical your company or team is doing enough with security measures. When asked, “What do security professionals do to secure their personal computers?,” almost all network security professionals on the same answer: Not enough. You can always do also, so get started today!
Via: CBTNuggets
