It wasn’t long ago that one of the largest retailers in Canada had a major security breach of the credit cards and terminal computers. The retailer may have survived the initial ramifications however there is little doubt that this eventually lead (among other things) to a general mistrust by consumers, and perhaps the eventual closing of its doors.
In more recent memory a website with a very large database of users was leaked with malicious intent. There are all sorts of motives for this kind of activity, but almost every time the outcome is a negative one. Never more than now has taking preventative action been in the forefront of home and business users alike.
There are a few things we can do to protect ourselves against those who wish to extract information or even money from an individual or organization.
First of all, password complexity and two stage verification are more important than ever before. This will either text or email you a confirmation code to verify your identity, and also doubles as a notification if someone is trying to log in to one of your accounts who is not authorized to do so.
In a perfect world every password would be different, but we can pair this with two stage verification. This means there is generally a code or phrase that is texted to your cell phone or email address asking you to verify that in fact you are trying to log into the service or account in question.
Second, in a business environment particular user groups and permission rules should be assessed by a security professional and implemented across all platforms without prejudice. Security breaches are almost always user related however recently managed firewall services (such as Sonic Wall which we offer and support) are a great security net and and tremendously difficult to breach.
Finally, we don’t always have to learn from our mistakes. Professionals such as ourselves are always monitoring risks and new threats. It takes a special attention to detail to successfully secure a work or personal environment. With an ever changing software arena its not only important to be able to trust our gut, but its also almost essential to have a team of reliable advice.
If you’ve got any questions about security we’ll be hosting an event at Outpost2, White Oaks Mall on Wednesday, October 21st from 3pm – 6pm and would love to meet security minded individuals. If you’d like us to come out and assess your security levels in your organization or would like to beef up security with our Firewall services I’d love to chat.
Stay secure.
