Continuous monitoring and proactive effort from the IT team are necessary to protect the end points of a network from viruses, spyware, and a range of other malicious threats to an organization’s data and important information. Business continuity requires strict enforcement of security standards and policies, and by following some of the common best practices, the IT department can stay on top of the problems before they get out of hand.
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Audit and Enforcement Challenges
Modern businesses are obligated to protect both confidentiality and availability of important data. This means that it must be easily accessible for business purposes, but it should also be securely hidden away from prying eyes. Maintaining this kind of balance can create a number of challenges for the IT department, and the team must be ready to deal with each of them.
The first challenge is to make sure that every device used throughout the organization is completely up to date. Each device must be set to receive and install the necessary patches, have its firewall settings configured properly, and cleared of any unwanted or risky applications and programs. Then, as the IT environment evolves with the business, it can be a challenge to maintain the same level of enforcement, and through it all you will need to gather enough information to show that you are meeting business and regulatory needs. It won’t always be easy, but there are some things you can do to improve the process.
Layers of Security
It is possible to automate some of the procedures for enforcing security configuration settings. By creating these layers of security and customizing the policies to automatically apply to the different classes of IT systems throughout the organization, it is possible to protect your network and company from a range of possible threats. Layers of security can make it harder for viruses or intruders to make problems. These layers could include:
- Browser Security Policies – A number of different browsers could be used throughout the company, which means each one needs personal attention. Since a company probably can’t make everyone use a single browser, you may need to take care of the browser security setting at the browser level.
- Anti-Virus Policies – Constant updates to the virus definitions files are necessary to protect the network from the most recent threats. It is also important for the IT team to set a regular scan schedule, which can be done before, during, or after normal work hours.
- Quarantine Policies – If any device is compromised and a risk is identified, it must be removed from the network to avoid further contamination. The problem can then be resolved without further disruption of normal work.
- Disallowed Programs – Many people in a company may try to do their own thing and may install unauthorized programs or applications. These risky apps must be removed from the system quickly, and standards should be set to define what is allowable and what isn’t.
A full assessment of the current security environment must be followed by quick remediation to correct the problem, whether this involves patching the applicathttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifions or security software, reconfiguring the device setting, and blocking or removihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifng certain applications. Security policies should include these types of actions as a part of the process so the IT team can react immediately to correct any problems and make sure those security barriers always remain in place.
Bio: Angela Luke
Angela works with Dell KACE. She is interested in all things related to software installation as well as automated software deployment. Outside of work she enjoys reading, hiking and writing about technology.
