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Tag: Business Security

How to Protect Your Business From APT Malware?

Businesses must protect themselves from the most advanced malware attacks by organized threat groups nicknamed by many cybersecurity vendors as APTs (Advanced Persistent Threats). Malicious programs and software propagated by APT groups are designed to break into computer systems and steal data. APT malware can be difficult to detect and often go undetected for long periods. Hackers often use it to gain access to confidential information.

How would security personnel know whether the organization has been attacked by an APT group? 

Multiple signatures and behavioral changes indicate that organizational network infrastructure has possibly become a victim of an APT malware attack. Some of the common indications are as follows: –

  1. Unexplained or sudden changes in the behavior of computer systems or networks.
  2. Unauthorized access to or use of computer systems or networks.
  3. Unexpected or unexplained emails, attachments, or websites.
  4. Use of malicious software, such as viruses, worms, or Trojan horses.
  5. Suspicious or unauthorized network traffic or communications.
  6. Unusual patterns in file downloads or access.
  7. Changes in system configurations or settings.
  8. Suspicious or unauthorized use of privileged accounts.
  9. Tampering with or destruction of computer systems or data.
  10. The appearance of phishing or other social engineering attacks.

Advice for Security personnel to mitigate APT malware attacks

The most important thing is to have a plan before the attack. Security professionals need to have a plan for responding to the attack, recovering business-critical data, and preventing future attacks. SOCs (Security Operations Centers) should also have a backup and disaster recovery plan. All mission-critical data must be backed up regularly. There must be a plan in place to recover the corporate data if the primary systems or servers are damaged or destroyed. Security personnel is advised to follow the below-mentioned mitigation steps if the APT malware has infected the network systems of an organization:

  1. Disconnect all the corporate devices from the internet.
  2. Reboot those devices in safe mode.
  3. Run an anti-virus scan.
  4. Remove any infected files detected.
  5. Restart corporate devices in normal operating mode.
  6. Connect the devices to the internet.
  7. Run an anti-virus scan again.
  8. Remove any infected files detected.
  9. Now, restart the devices in safe mode.
  10. Run an anti-virus scan again.
  11. Remove any infected files detected.

How to proactively protect businesses and prevent APT malware attacks? 

Businesses can follow several best practices to protect themselves from APT malware. One of the most important steps is to install up-to-date security software on all devices and to make sure that all software is regularly updated. Businesses should also create strong passwords and use multi-factor authentication whenever possible. It is also important to be aware of phishing attacks and to never open emails or attachments from unknown sources. Finally, businesses should regularly back up their data. Here are a few tips to help security professionals protect the business from APT malware:

  1. Keep the software solutions and applications up to date. The software upgrades must be regularly checked to ensure the software is patched to recently disclosed vulnerabilities. The operating systems and other security solutions must be upgraded to the officially supported maintenance version offered by the vendor.
  2. Deploying a network and a web application firewall can help protect your business from network-based malware attacks by blocking unwanted and malicious traffic.
  3. Using strong and unique passwords and credentials are of utmost importance and a basic security best practice. Employees are advised never to use the same credentials for multiple accounts.
  4. Ensuring employee and staff cyber security awareness and education programs help the employees become aware of the risks of APT malware. They must be trained to thwart such attacks.
  5. Back up data in DR (Disaster Recovery) servers that are off-site and located across different regions in the world. This can help protect corporate data in the event of data loss or a malware attack.

Cybersecurity strategies for business leaders

There are many ways in which businesses can protect themselves from APT malware. One of the best ways to prevent an APT attack is to have a comprehensive security plan in place. This security plan should include measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software, intrusion detection systems, and email security. Businesses should also keep their software up to date. Out-of-date software is more vulnerable to attack. Employees should also be educated about APT attacks. They should be aware of the signs of an attack and know what to do if they think they are being targeted. Businesses should also have an incident response plan in place. If they are attacked, they will need to know how to respond. This plan should include steps to take to secure the network and how to investigate the attack. Following the Defense-in-Depth approach, the security leadership can also take steps to proactively protect the network infrastructure from future cyberattacks. Leaders are advised to stay calm if they are hit by an APT malware attack. Attackers or cyber criminals take the advantage of unnecessary panic. Stay calm and take the necessary steps to recover the system and protect the data.

Centex Technologies provide cybersecurity and computer networking solutions. You can contact Centex Technologies at Killeen (254) 213 – 4740, Dallas (972) 375 – 9654, Atlanta (404) 994 – 5074, and Austin (512) 956 – 5454.

Manufacturing Business Security: How To Protect Your Manufacturing Business From Cybersecurity Threats?

Manufacturing businesses across the world were able to operate without strengthening their cyber security posture as that sector initially did not face critical cyber threats. However, the advent of PLC-SCADA (Programmable Logic Controller – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), IoT (Internet of Things), Robotic Automation, M2M (Machine-to-Machine) Communication, and State-of-the-Art Technological innovations have attracted the heat from APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) groups. Disrupting production and assembly lines, intellectual property theft, economic and employment failures, and hacktivism are some of the causes and motives that drive attackers apart from just the financial gains.

5 Best practices businesses can follow to protect manufacturing, production and assembly lines from hackers:

  1. Educate and train the employees, partners, and customers: Humans are the weakest link in the entire IT infrastructure that is evident when attackers phish employees for credentials. Security awareness training must be conducted periodically and the company can release advisories and suggest best practices as well. People must be trained to identify, block and report phishing and malicious emails which often is the simplest yet effective way to ward off the biggest cyber threats. Employees must be able to differentiate between genuine and spoofed email senders and user profiles on social media based on a list of red flags provided to them. Everyone in the organizational ecosystem must take ownership of cybersecurity from the entry-level work roles to the C-Suite.
  2. Deploy 2FA / MFA with Biometrics: Implementing 2FA (2-Factor Authentication) and MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) along with biometric locks will keep unauthorized users or hackers at bay. It is advised to periodically change the credentials used to access the various digital resources across your organization. Modify and update the vendor-supplied default security configuration to customize as per the business requirements. Deploying an appropriate IAM (Identity and Access Management) plan not only prevents an accidental information modification from employees unauthorized to do so but also limits the scope of access for hackers having stolen the employees’ credentials.
  3. Update and upgrade the software and hardware: Always update the hardware and software components used in your equipment and technologies periodically as per the vendor’s suggestions. Your lethargy or temptation to ignore the security updates might attract the attention of attackers to hack into your production systems and cause damage. Customers, partners, and end-users must be notified every time a new hardware or software update or upgrade is available for roll-out with the company. Patch the software for existing vulnerabilities and also design plans for setting up network communication architecture implementing defense-in-depth and depth-in-defense approaches.
  4. Data Privacy & Security with Disaster Resiliency: Companies must be aware of all the T&Cs (Terms and Conditions) about data storage and usage policies of its partners and customers. It is advised to conduct KYC (Know Your Client) background checks before storing any PII (Personally Identifiable Information) or confidential data of your customers and partners. You must encrypt the trade secrets, blueprints, business strategy related files in online and/or offline storage. Utilize encrypted and secure channels to share or transfer data with authorized users and groups. Businesses must aim to procure and deploy a robust and reliable technology tech-stack. The SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) applications must be used along with leveraging Military-grade encryption, Fail-safe Data Backups, Anti-Ransomware Solutions and Disaster Recovery mechanisms to protect your data from loss or corruption in case of any human or natural disaster.
  5. Holistic IT Strategies: Maintaining your organization’s credibility in the market among customers via complying to the various regulatory compliances is very important to protect highly sensitive business information. In-house SOC (Security Operations Center) team can monitor the real-time activities of Users, Services, and Applications in your productions and assembly environment. Alternatively, to facilitate inadequate budgets and lack of resources, you can hire an MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider) to outsource your security logging & monitoring requirements. They help in preventing, detecting, analyzing, & mitigating security risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and incidents. Protect the industrial automation machinery & M2M communication equipments with various security solutions such as NGAVs (Next-Gen Anti-Virus), DLP (Data Loss Prevention), XDR (Extended Detection and Response), Honeypot and likewise. Securing the productions and assembly lines would give Hackers a hard time targeting your manufacturing business.

Centex Technologies provide IT and Cybersecurity solutions to businesses including manufacturing units. For more information, call Centex Technologies at (254) 213 – 4740

 

 

Cyber Security Technologies For Business Organizations

Cyber-crime environment is constantly evolving and cyber criminals are always trying to come with new types of attacks for outsmarting existing cyber security protocols. This emphasizes on the need to recognize and deploy advanced cyber security measures to combat cyber threats effectively.

Here are some reasons that strengthen the need for organizations to invest in advanced cyber security technologies:

  • Cyber-attacks are no longer targeted at merely extracting confidential details or earning quick money. They have moved on to more sinister motives, commonly known as cyber warfare. With increasing connectivity among critical utility infrastructure, cyber warfare has a tendency to grow.
  • Cyber criminals are getting more advanced and the number of sophisticated cyber-attack tools is growing in the deep and dark web.
  • Most organizations keep business-critical data recorded in digital format and are thus greatly dependent on their systems and network. Failure to secure these systems from cyber criminals can endanger credibility, sales, and profit.

Owing to the heating up cyber warfare, organizations need to identify and adopt emerging cyber security technologies constantly. Following is a list of top advanced cyber security technologies that businesses organizations should adopt:

  • Artificial Intelligence & Deep Learning: Application of artificial intelligence in cyber security is similar to two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication confirms user’s identity based on two different parameters. Artificial intelligence adds additional layers of information and authentication to identity confirmation. Deep learning is used to analyze data such as logs, transactions and real-time communications to detect threats trying to penetrate the system or network.
  • Behavioral Analytics: Behavioral analytics uses data mining techniques to determine patterns of activity across a system and network. This helps in detecting unusual activity such as abnormal increase in data transmission from a device connected to the network. Such deviations from normal pattern can be used to detect potential and real-time cyber threats.
  • Embedded Hardware Authentication: A PIN and password are no longer sufficient to protect hardware, so embedded authentication chips are being used to secure hardware. These powerful chips such as Sixth-generation vPro chips by Intel are embedded in the hardware. The chips employ multiple levels and methods of authentication that work in tandem to ensure authentication security.
  • Blockchain Cyber Security: Blockchain cyber security works on the basis of blockchain’s peer-to-peer network fundamentals. Every member in the blockchain is responsible for verifying the authenticity of data added. It creates a near-impenetrable network to secure organizational data.

For more information on cyber technologies for business organizations, contact Centex Technologies at (254) 213 – 4740.

Safeguard Your Business From Cyber Attacks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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