3 Reasons How Managed Security Services Can Help Save Your Business
Viruses, once the bane of every IT administrator’s existence have taken a back-seat in light of the cyber and data security threats faced by businesses today. This increasing awareness of security threats in system infrastructures as well as determined and highly sophisticated cyber criminals is causing a shift in IT security systems and how they are being managed.
In order to mitigate risks, businesses are turning to professional managed security services because why not?
Protecting Businesses against Security Breaches, an Insurmountable Task
Companies are trying to keep themselves floating in the turbulent sea of security breaches and global onslaught of cyber attacks but are badly failing. Its obvious staying ahead of the curve requires more than just a sound IT infrastructure and what with 61% of Australian companies expecting a security breach, the question here is: what needs to be done?
Outsourcing your IT functions and department to a professional managed security service seems to be one answer. How would it help?
Your Company Can Make the Most of Their Security Budget
You’ll have to face huge costs by implementing your own security measures. Additionally maintenance of a rigid security posture isn’t possible with a large organization, using various devices and networks to conduct their work. While many cyber challenges do get addressed by rising security budgets, more often than not the need for extra security funding and staff retention is realized late.
Don’t forget, recruitment of new security personnel requires time and training which is why outsourcing this task to a MSSP (managed security service provider) can help decrease the large, upfront costs.
Admit It; You Simply Can’t Take Care of Everything
Even if you can take care of the company’s web application security, there’s a stark difference between doing a very good job and doing an okay one. Yes, outsourcing wasn’t considered a good word before but it is now proving to be a viable and highly effective solution to business growth and to utilize specific skill sets.
Outsourcing your security needs to a trusted managed service provider will ensure you can concentrate on developing and expanding your business.
Increasing Threat of Evolving Security Anomalies
What you see now in the security landscape may be very different tomorrow. Since the threat environment is forever evolving and adapting to new security measures and technologies, the need to have a professional team of security experts back your business is an advantage.
An established managed security service like Lean Security can help address every security concern, monitor and respond to the gravest of threats so that you can run your business with ease and no concern at all.
Top 4 Application Security Issues in Healthcare Industry
The healthcare industry is increasingly becoming a promising domain for applications that can help provide better services to patients, while making the job considerably easier for healthcare providers.
A large number of applications utilize Wireless Medical Sensor Networks (WMSNs) for effective communication, efficient practices and patient mobility.
While the integration of WMSNs keeps growing every day in the healthcare sector, applications still face some security issues.
Here we discuss the 4 most prominent WMSN application security issues in the healthcare industry:
#1-Monitoring Patient Vital Signs
The most common application security threats that arise in the healthcare industry have a lot to do with patient confidentiality. If there are no appropriate security protocols in place, an adversary can snoop on patient vital signs through free communication channels. Similarly, if the individuals have a powerful antenna, they can easily pick up on the messages from the network.
#2-Routing Threats
In a multi-hop environment, data packets are forwarded to the base station through multi-hop routing procedures. This comes with its own set of security threats. A malicious code may refuse to forward certain information and it may simply be lost in transit. If the attacker is overtly included in the routing path, this threat could be stronger.
#3-Location Threats
Patient mobility is supported by medical sensor networks so that the location of patients can be identified to reach them on time. Typically, location features are based around radio frequency, received signal strength indicator or ultrasound. If adversaries constantly receive radio signals and are able to identify codes, they could gain direct information that may compromise a patient’s privacy. Of course, someone who is probing information to identify patient location could have even worse intents.
#4-Activity Tracking Threats
Those with malicious intent can also break into patient records when the patient is busy exercising in a health-club. Based on the wireless medical sensor data a hacker could precisely identify the present activity on the patient. Even worse, the hacker could even send over the wrong exercise tips or advise medication that could result in injuries and bodily harm.
As medical sensors are placed on a patient’s body to send over health data like location, heart rate and health feedback to a base station, it might very well be possible for a hacker to alter information which may raise erroneous concerns about the patient’s health.
A well-planned security mechanism with appropriate security testing services in place can help keep the risks of these threats to a minimum. Drop us an email at info@leansecurity.com.au to learn more about our services.
A Guide to Establishing a Successful BYOD Policy
While the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a growing phenomenon among business in various industries, it certainly comes with its own risks. Allowing employees to use their own devices to perform organisational functions results in substantial benefits as workers can access information from anywhere.
This makes up for increased productivity and smooth communication as employees can speak with individuals in entirely different time zones whenever it is convenient.
If you are struggling to establish and implement a BYOD policy that contributes to your overall success, here are a few tips that can help:
Identify Permitted Devices
While it was quite easy back in the Blackberry days, things are complicated today. There are a number of device choices that range from iOS to Android based phones.
Therefore, it is imperative to specify what you imply with the integration of a BYOD policy. Do you think you should tell employees to bring Android tabs but not iPhone?
Make sure you let employees know which devices they can bring in addition to the organisation-issued devices you continue to use.
Establish Strict Security Policies
A prominent number of smartphone users avoid keeping their devices locked. They see locks as hurdles to easy access to their device. This can particularly be problematic when you have too much of sensitive information accessible through employees’ devices.
If your employees wish to make use of their own devices with the corporate systems, make sure they accept a complicated password. The password should be lengthy and alphanumeric in nature. You simply can’t settle with a four-digit pin code.
Specify Which Apps Are Allowed And Those That Are Prohibited
This rule should apply to all devices connected to your environment, personal or corporate. Some of the most significant considerations should include replacement email applications, social media browsing apps along with VPNs.
Address questions like:
· Should you allow users to install and download apps that come with serious security risks?
· Do the commonly used apps have security holes in their integration?
· What if an app enables spammers to gain access to mail through your company?
Specify Your Employee Exit Approach
Having a BYOD policy is not all about personal device use within the organization.
What happens to those devices and data within when the employees leave? How would you ensure that removal of email, access tokens, and other sensitive information?
The trouble is, ensuring this is not as simple as having the employees return the corporate issued devices. Implement an ‘exit wipe’ to the devices and make sure your rights to enforce this wipe are clearly communicated to exiting employees.
Are you looking for mobile app security testing or a penetration testing provider who can help you implement the perfect BYOD policy in your organisation? Look no further.
At Lean Security, we can provide actionable insight to implement a successful BYOD policy that actually works for you. Give us a call at +61 (0) 2 8231 6635 to learn more.
4 Tips to Improve Security of Financial Apps
Although mobile applications provide users with easier ways to gain access to critical information on the go, these apps can quickly turn into a nightmare, in cases of breaches.
In order to provide immediate access to financial data for users, apps need to be balanced perfectly between convenience and security. When considering financial mobile apps for your financial institution, make sure you follow these tips to remain safe:
#1-Protect Sensitive Data
Most financial applications either use a person’s bank account details or card numbers to establish identity.
This data is constantly transmitted over the internet to conduct transactions. There should absolutely be no reason to store this data on the device or send it over the wire. Applications should always make use of a different key for identifying a user account.
#2-Passcode Access
A prominent number of smartphone users will turn off the PIN access to the device if they have enabled security for the device itself. It is important to have the financial application check if the user ever turns of the password for their device. If they do so, the user should automatically be prompted to turn it back on.
It is also important to constantly re-evaluate users when they are conducting money transfers, paying bills, or making peer to peer payments. Doing this will not necessarily slow down the user experience, but will work as confirmation for the action to be implemented. If the applications notices any suspicious activity from the Web services side, it should push an additional question to the user before the action can be completed.
#3-Data Services Access
All data should be requested over a SSL to enhance encrypted communication. This SSL certificate should at least be of 256-bit encryption strength. Furthermore, the native application client should utilize OAuth, which allows applications to connect to data services without having to store username and password. This way the sending of credentials is kept to a minimum.
#4-Images Of Checks
Check images consist of all user data like account numbers, routing numbers and billing addresses. Encryption of large images on a device is slow compared to text data. It is highly recommended that images of checks that are stored for remote deposit capture should be forwarded to the server immediately after being taken. The check image should never be cached or stored in the device to be retrieved later.
These basic practices are the heart of what we do at Lean Security to make sure your mobile and web applications stay safe.
Get in touch with us at +61 (0) 2 8231 6635 or drop us an email at info@leansecurity.com.au to learn more about our security testing services.
BYOD and Growing Security Threats
With more and more companies allowing employees to bring their own devices, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is gaining traction. By allowing workforce mobility and flexibility, BYOD has had a significant impact on the traditional IT model.
Although BYOD has greatly improved workforce productivity, it has brought about various challenges to business data and IT security. This is especially true of small and medium enterprises that typically lack knowledge and resources to mitigate BYOD risks and make the most of the opportunities it brings.
Let’s take a look at some of the key challenges that you might be facing when implementing BYOD policy in your organization.
Software Issues
Mobile phones and tablets are the weakest links when it comes to data security. A study identifies that 97 percent of employee’s devices have privacy issues, while 75 percent of them lack appropriate encryption to keep business data secure. This, coupled with the fact that most of the devices lack anti-virus protection or contain outdated firewall protection, means that the company’s digital environment has become more prone to attacks, thus opening the floodgates of data leakage.
Gartner predicts that one in two companies will stop providing devices to their employees by 2017. Therefore, organizations are responsible to implement robust device management policies to keep devices secure so as to control the riskiness of the business environment.
A centralized system like Mobile Device Management (MDM) can be a good way to keep track of the operating systems within the environment to ensure that the entire system is upgraded and secure.
Malicious Attacks
One of the most serious concerns for BYOD-driven organizations is dealing with the challenges of storing personal and corporate data on the same device. When the employees use a single device for both personal and professional purposes, there is always a risk of data theft. Theft may result from malware or malicious programs that users may install unknowingly. With these malicious programs, hackers may acquire login credentials to have access to the business network. An effective way to overcome the challenge is to implement a multi-layered verification system to make sure that only authorized users are granted the access to the business network.
Untrustworthy Employees
BYOD can make it easier for people to steal company’s confidential data. While it’s not possible to obliterate the risk completely, businesses need to have a strong endpoint security to prevent data leakage. Besides, establish a stricter policy regarding data privacy and confidentiality to prevent people from exploiting corporate data.
Secure your IT environment by running a vulnerability scan with us. Along with vulnerability scanning service, we offer penetration testing, web service security testing, and mobile app security testing to make sure that your business environment remains safe and protected. Get a trial or contact us at +61 (0) 2 8231 6635 to learn more about our services.