Beyond The Firewall: Protect Yourself Against Cyber Attacks

Cyberattacks can devastate your company. Cybercriminals and hackers can outsmart security systems and gain access confidential information of customers and employees, no matter how well-defended they may be.

T-Mobile, Facebook, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles are just a few of the organizations that have been affected by data breaches in 2021. Your company must increase its security focus if global corporations or government agencies are at high risk of cybercrime.

Modern security threats are making traditional defenses such as antivirus software and firewalls as a stand-alone defense ineffective. Let’s take a look at these threats, and discuss the warning signs of a breach as well as best practices to protect yourself against them.

Popular Security Threats

A Trojan Horse Threat

A Trojan horse  can be a malware or virus. This is a little misleading. Viruses can spread by themselves, but the execution of Trojan malware requires that the victim click or open the seemingly harmless link. This allows the malware to infect the system. There are many types of Trojan malware that can be used to accomplish different goals. They can open a backdoor to your system, steal emails addresses, and install ransomware.

Rootkits

Rootkits work in a similar way to Trojans, but they are designed to stay on your computer secretly. Rootkits can be installed in the background and allow hackers to remotely control your computer, disable security measures, set up key trackers, steal sensitive data, and even take over your computer.

Spear Phishing

While most people are familiar with phishing techniques, spear phishing is more dangerous and sophisticated. While traditional phishing scams target large numbers of people, spear phishing targets a particular target. They use social media to research your company structure to pretend to be a member of your team. This allows them to gain the trust of the target, as well as credit card numbers and login credentials.

Malicious Email Attachments

Hackers use this tactic to send malware-infected emails to their victims disguised as PDFs and Excel tables. Voice memos are also used. The email’s body is designed to encourage the reader to open the attachment (“read the latest memo from the boss”), which will unleash the malware on your computer.

Drive-By Downloads

These codes are hidden on websites, sometimes in a benign way. They can cause malware or viruses to attach to your computer. This type of attack is able to gain access to your computer without the need for further action by its target. It is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable threats.

An Advanced Cyber Attack Signs

A 2020 IBM report found that it takes on average 228 days to detect a breach. It is impossible to imagine the amount of damage that could be done in just 228 days. Add on recovery time and it could take up to a year before you can get back to normal.

It is possible to not see a breach in your network immediately. Cyber attackers are smart and know how to conceal in plain sight to avoid detection. These attacks can be prevented by awareness and vigilance. Here are some warning signs to look out for:

Slow Network Connection

An increase in your connection speed could indicate that there has been a security breach and that malicious programs are running in the background. This could be caused by a hacker remotely controlling your computer.

Task Manager – Unfamiliar Programs

Task Manager should be your first port of call if you notice unusually slow connections. Your computer will heat up if it is being run by unknown programs that are not your knowledge. A denial-of service attack is when hackers flood your computer with untrue requests in an attempt to prevent actual work from happening.

Unusual Transactions

Are you seeing suspicious activity in your accounts? Even seemingly innocent payments and messages could indicate that someone has accessed your computer via the outside. Hackers will often try to make minor changes to your computer to check if you are paying attention, and then move on with larger attacks.

Unusual Password Behavior

Also, be aware if your passwords are being changed without you knowing or if you receive requests to reset passwords that you didn’t initiate. This could indicate that your system is being hacked and hackers are trying to gain further access.

Massive Data Sets Ready for Export

Hackers will use stolen data to compress and export it faster once they have access. A data breach is likely to occur if you see data in unfamiliar formats or groups.

Phishing emails targeted at specific targets

Spear phishing becomes much easier once hackers have access to your internal documents. You may have been unaware that you have seen more of these types of emails.

Increased Outgoing Emails

Hackers often use computers they have infiltrated in order to phish other computers within your network. If the attachments are from a trusted source within a company, people are more likely to open them.

Cyberattacks: How to protect yourself

These cyber threats will constantly be a threat to your computer systems. You can avoid them by raising awareness within your company and using the security tools available to you.

Training for employees

Advanced persistent threats can be detected early, so it is important to inform your employees about security breaches. Two-factor authentication and strong passwords are two benefits that you should inform your employees. Training your employees on advanced cyber threats is a great way to teach them what to look out for and to make sure they are aware of who should be notified in case there are any breaches.

Keep your systems up to date

These updates have been created to combat new cyberthreats as soon as they occur. You should not ignore a notification about an update. To fix vulnerabilities and keep your operating system running smoothly, you need to update it regularly.

Make the most of technology to your advantage

Security technology is continually evolving to counter new threats, just as hackers constantly find ways to undermine your defenses. Although it may seem like there is no way to avoid potential breaches, using new technology can prove to be extremely beneficial for your company. It is possible to encourage your employees to use password vaults, and to install malware detection. These are simple and affordable first steps. VPN firewalls offer more protection than older counterparts, as they include encryption. Prioritize the most valuable data to hackers as these will be the first areas targeted in an attack.

Technology can be an asset to your overall risk management plan. Adtek Advanced Technologies can assist you if you are unsure where to start. Adtek Advanced Technologies software makes it easy for your entire team to monitor cybersecurity risks across the company. It provides a seamless, integrated experience that allows users to share information in a single place. Adtek is compatible with a variety of frameworks. This will make it easy to use regardless of your field. To learn more about Adtek Advanced Technologies, schedule a demo today.

Adtek Advanced Technologies
Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803) 902-3111

Dillon, SC 29536
843-627-3079

Why a Firewall is the First Line of Defense Against Cyber Attacks

Every day we read about another company that was compromised because of a data breach. Adtek Advanced Technologies can protect your company’s network with firewall installation and management. 

A firewall can be used to provide protection an in depth defense and visibility protection by blocking malicious traffic and allowing it to be stopped before it enters the network perimeter. 

Why a modern, intelligent firewall is the best line of defense against cyberattacks 

Blocking Inbound Threats

 Although firewalls can be placed at many points in the corporate network, it is most commonly located at the network perimeter. A firewall placed at the network perimeter creates and enforces a boundary between the internal network protected and the public Internet. 

The network firewall can also take advantage of the fact all traffic entering or leaving the corporate network flows through one point of connection to the public Internet. This location allows for complete visibility of data flows across the network boundary. 

Proactive protection against cyber threats is possible with a perimeter-based firewall. Next-generation firewalls with threat prevention capabilities can detect and block attempted attacks before they reach the corporate network. This significantly reduces the potential damage these attacks could cause to an organization as well as the cyber risk for employees and managers. 

Protecting Defense in Depth

Firewalls installed by Adtek can provide an in depth defense for threats that cross the network boundary. Your organization can use network firewalls to segregate the network to gain greater visibility into its internal traffic and make it harder for malicious insiders or attackers to move laterally within the organization’s network. 

A next-generation firewall installed within a corporate network is not only capable of protecting against core threats but also benefits from identity-based inspection and application control. Application control allows a firewall to identify which application is causing a flow of network traffic. This allows the firewall enforce application-specific security policies, which reduce risk associated with unsecure applications, and enable organizations to block unauthorized apps from their network.

An identity-based inspection adds context to an analysis of network flows. A firewall installed by a local IT Services company can identify the user who is performing a specific action and enforce access controls based on employee job roles or permissions. It is crucial to have visibility over the actions of these accounts as 74% of data breaches are caused by privileged accounts being misused.

Meeting Unique Security Needs 

Next-generation firewalls installed by our IT Services team can also be used to secure an organization’s entire network infrastructure. Corporate networks evolve and include a variety of endpoints. These can include traditional workstations and servers as well as mobile devices and cloud-based infrastructure and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It can be very difficult to secure a heterogeneous network that is growing quickly. 

Because it protects all devices within an organization, a firewall works at the network level rather than the endpoint. An Adtek managed firewall is a next-generation firewall that integrates all security data within one console. This is crucial because many companies are having difficulty finding enough cybersecurity talent to staff their security departments. 

A next-generation firewall can also be deployed as a virtual appliance in the cloud. This allows organizations to deploy security wherever they are needed, and take advantage of cloud-based infrastructure’s scalability. Cloud firewalls are able to grow with the organization’s security needs, unlike hardware-based security appliances that require additional hardware to scale. 

Provide Individualized Security 

Different sizes of companies have different security needs. While traditional firewalls were “one-size fits all” in the past. Modern firewalls can be tailored to fit an organization’s security requirements. We match the needs of your business to your level of security during our consultation with your staff. 

Organizations that operate critical infrastructure and industrial facilities face different threats. They also have different operating environments. Choosing an commercial firewall capable of operating in extreme environments will ensure that cybersecurity is not compromised. 

A Strong First Line of Defense

It can be hard to choose a firewall because there are so many options and not all firewalls are the same. Firewalls can be small gateways or large-scale network security solutions. There are many differences between traditional firewalls as well as next-generation firewalls. Understanding these differences and their importance is an important step in the procurement process. 

To learn more about how firewalls can help your company defend against cyber threats, you are welcome to request a demo and to contact us.

Adtek Advanced Technologies
Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803) 902-3111

Dillon, SC 29536
843-627-3079
www.adtekitservices.com