We have all heard about the recent Cyber-attacks on the Australian Government and other organisations which have been ongoing for some time.  This has highlighted the need to remain vigilant and proactive against such activity. 

At IRIS IT we are consistently reminding our customers to consider their IT systems exposure and to mitigate their risks.  Your IT security and data protection are not only important for your business but equally as important to the customers and organisations that you are dealing with, as you are collecting a great deal of information about them.

Unauthorised access to this data can result in your customers information being compromised, malicious attackers possibly gaining access to your customer’s systems, and confidential data such as credit card details etc. being stolen. Equally, malicious intrusion can result in damage to your organisation, from information being stolen, your web sites being hacked to your systems being compromised.

Scott Morrison recently stated in relation to recent hacking attempts:

“To raise awareness of this important issue, to encourage organisations, particularly those in health, critical infrastructure and essential services, to take expert advice and implement technical defences to thwart this malicious cyber activity.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

So, when is the last time you looked at what IT security you have in place? You more than likely have introduced some measures but is it enough?  

The following lists measures that IRIS IT can conduct or implement to mitigate your risks and assist you to maintain your systems integrity and resilience.

Auditing

IRIS IT can conduct an audit of your IT systems to give you a detailed report on the current state of your IT. We will then provide you with a report that will identify any weaknesses in your IT environment, from here we will  advise measures that maybe implemented to ensure that all networks are as secure as possible, making sure there are no “holes” for malicious intruders to exploit.

Further, we can advise on ICT processes including password updates and security levels, removal of ex-employees and redundant log ins. 

Patching

Another important area is that of Microsoft patching. Security updates are continually released by Microsoft as vulnerabilities are found in their operating systems and software.  We ensure that the latest relevant patches are installed on all devices.

Port Forwarding

The way in which your network is configured will make a difference to your vulnerability. We regularly check this for you, ensuring your organisation is protected from unwanted access. 

Remote Monitoring

Our remote monitoring tool gives us many indicators of the “health” of your system. This includes metrics such as the number of log-in fails, disk space usage and patch status.

Changes in these and other metrics may indicate an attempt to gain unauthorised access to your system.

Intrusion Detection

There are tools that can detect attempted “intrusion” to your system. Where requested we can implement and monitor this for you.

Anti-Virus

All devices need to have anti-virus software to prevent malicious software being installed, that can either disrupt your business and/or steal your information. With our antivirus software we can remotely monitor and control any issues leaving you with peace of mind.

Spam

Another method of malicious attacks is when the attacker sends an email that may appear legitimate, but that either runs an unwanted program and/or “steals” information.

Our spam filtering product detects spam emails and filters them before they are presented to your business eliminating most unwanted nuisance emails.

Password Security

The level of security your passwords supply depends on the needs of your business. As logins become more difficult for hackers to break, your employees will need longer to legitimately access your systems.

However, two factor authentications are now readily available and can be set up for most businesses. This ensures that two (or more) pieces of information are needed to access your system (e.g. a password and a code sent to a mobile). This will make your system very secure, as even when the user login and password is compromised, another level of security is in place.

VPN

Recently many organisations have had the need to have their employees work remotely. IRIS IT can set up remote access securely, providing only authorised users access to your systems. There are several ways we achieve this, and IRIS IT will ensure the method used is appropriate for your business.

Managed Online Backup

There are many reasons why you may need to restore your files or IT system, for example, when a malicious attack has deleted your data or locked your systems completely like Crypto Locker. Using our managed online backup system will ensure that automated backups will occur to the cloud seamlessly and you will be able to recover your data and your systems to a previous point in time. 

This backup procedure will safeguard your businesses continuity from malicious cyber-attacks and from a disaster such as theft or a fire.

If you would like to discuss any of the above security measures or are not sure how secure your systems are and would like some assistance identifying your risks, our team would be very happy to speak with you. 

Our aim is to protect your systems and have them as secure as possible and resilient against cyber-attacks. We can start with an audit so we can advise on your current state, and then we can advise how IRIS IT can partner with you to look after your IT security while you can concentrate on your running your business.