HOSTING AND DESIGNS L.L.C. DEDICATED SERVERS

A recent study carried out by ISACA revealed a stunning figure. 92% of enterprises surveyed said that persistent advanced threats are a serious ongoing issue for them. This also can include targeting specific employees of a company who retain a lot of information. Therefore hackers would like to steal this information to assist in their efforts. Online businesses are not the only things that are being targeted but also the individuals. One of the reasons is that there are more of them than one single company. There are always a few employees that are the company’s weakest point when it comes to security and defending against outside (or even inside) attacks. Therefore, malware is able to target individuals, especially those who are not kept up to date on routine security measures and habits. 40% of enterprises also say security training and methods to defend against attacks is not part of their routine.

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Whatever device is least secured is the easiest point of entry for an attacker or malware.

Since BYOD’s are gaining in popularity this is cause for concerns in regards to security. Even having a different frame or state of mind when checking (phishing) emails may put one’s guard down. Employees can become less vigilant since they are using a different device or using that same device in a non-work environment. Even if a mail server is secured in some shape or form should not mean that is it’s only means of defense. Having a false sense of security can be a serious issue. Each individual’s knowledge of security should be accounted for and relied upon to some extent, regardless of what hardware or software security is doing. A human being’s “gut feeling” can even be a better-safe-than-sorry defense. Therfore, blindly accepting what security software is telling them is not always bullet-proof.

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The Morris worm was able to spread rapidly and exploit the many computers connected via ARPAnet. This then infected thousands of machines in a very short time. Since the Internet and the Internet of Things are so interconnected, security breaches can spread even more rapidly. However, it can also spread very rapidly the same way in how to actually stop and fix the exploit. Staying up to date on anti-virus and malware software is essential. This software must be updated and maintained 24/7 or it will quickly become useless. Now, of course, getting infected is as easy as opening an email attachment or even clicking on a link from within the email message.

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The malware that does the most harm are the ones that remain undetected.

Malware, and now advanced malware is becoming more complicated in its ways to gain access to a system. The most damaging malware is stealthy and able to adapt to its target, environment, and behavior. Malware is no longer seeking to attack or cause harm to a large number of targets all at one time. In many instances, advanced malware can be designed to help carry out a single specific goal. Targeted malware does not always just cause a single large destructive event as malware in the past has done.

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The numerous defenses required to thwart these endless attacks and keeping up with the ever-evolving and adapting threats may be out of reach of many online businesses. Implementing hardware solutions or finding a provider that offers all of the security required in today’s sometimes ominous Internet may not even be possible, especially on a limited budget.