Hackers from around the
world descended on Las Vegas
in July to uncover the
latest scams criminals are
using to take advantage of
businesses. With so much of
our online lives vulnerable
to hacker attacks,
understanding the need for
business network security is
now more important than
ever. Criminals are always
finding new ways to spy on
Internet users even if they
are using secure connections
to banks, online retailers
and other sensitive
websites.
In July, at the
Black Hat technical
security conference in Las
Vegas, researchers
demonstrated
hacks against automated
teller machines that
made them give out dozens of
bills. In one of the
attacks, the researcher was
able to reprogram the ATM
remotely over a network
without ever touching the
machine.
Also taking place last month
in Las Vegas was the
DEF CON hacking
conference, where
hackers were able to trick
random employees at 10
major U.S. tech, oil, and
retail companies into giving
them sensitive information
over the phone that could be
used in targeted computer
attacks on the companies.
This type of hacking
technique is known as social
engineering that involves
simply tricking people into
offering up sensitive
information, rather than
breaking into computer
systems to get at such data.
Businesses put a lot of
emphasis on buying security
software and building
technological defenses for
their information, but they
ignore the most basic
element: the people who work
for them. Social engineering
exploits this basic
vulnerability.
Demonstrations such as the
ones that took place during
Black Hat and DEF CON are
done by professionals to
bring awareness to the
situation and to get people
to look more closely at the
security of systems that are
presumed to be impenetrable.
As soon as system
vulnerabilities are
discovered, new security
patches are installed,
updating the system against
the same attacks in the
future. However, hackers are
always at work looking for
new ways to access sensitive
information to exploit for
gain. Network security
engineers work around the
clock to prevent attacks and
quickly correct security
flaws.
For companies that engage in
electronic commerce, great
care needs to be taken to
keep customer information
secure so those customers
will continue to feel that
is it safe to do business
with that company. With new
network attacks being
discovered and released all
the time, businesses need to
be vigilant and make ongoing
investments into securing
their network and data.
In business, it's best to
take a look at network
security from many different
angles in order to identify,
evaluate and mitigate risk.
By employing IT best
practices, investing in IT
infrastructure and educating
employees about security
issues, companies will
greatly reduce network
security risks. As with most
things, a little bit of
knowledge goes a long way.
Tech Tip of the Month:
Back Up Your Data!
While this may seem like a
difficult and daunting task,
it's really very simple. If
you have documents and
photos stored on your home
computer, buy a USB hard
drive for about $100. At
least once a month, copy
your documents and photos to
the drive to save yourself
the heartache of losing your
data.
If you have any questions
about the article in this
email, please email info@neteffect-it.com
or call us at 702-318-7700.
We always enjoy hearing from
you!
Happy Computing!
The NetEffect Team
Your Partner in Technology
