"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's jobs with yesterday's tools."
- Marshall McLuhan
Security. It seems like I can’t have a conversation about technology lately without hearing that word. Everyone is worried about security… and with good reason. In the age of information, few things are more valuable, or sought after than your information. As such there are literally millions of people out there after your information, and millions more making a good living building products to stop them from getting it. Although now it seems as though there are almost as many ways to lose your data, either by accident or otherwise, here’s the good news; you can protect yourself and your data, and it’s not really that difficult. Let’s look at some of the most common threats.
Data loss. In this brave new world of viruses and spyware, hackers and identity theft, believe it or not I see more data lost through outright negligence than anything else. The fact is, having your information stolen is certainly a real concern but having a hard drive crash without a backup is a lot more common. And although having a hard drive go down probably won’t result in your bank account getting cleaned out, it can certainly be extremely damaging. Let me put it this way; pretty much every hard drive out there is spinning at 7,200 RPMs, and at this speed will inevitably fail within a few years out of the factory. I’ve seen some hard drives last upwards of seven years, but I’ve seen many, many more die after fewer than three – more often than not without warning, and without the possibility of data recovery, at least not at a price any non-oil company exec could afford.
The tremendous growth in laptop sales only amplifies this reality – hard drives that are constantly being bumped around invariably die much more quickly – I’ve personally lost probably five hard drives in laptops over the past few years – no kidding. Your hard drive is without question the most likely component in your computer to fail, and someday it will, guaranteed. A recent study by Google showed that approximately one in fourteen hard drives fails per year – not great odds for your hard drive. Knowing this, not having critical data stored on something other than a single hard drive can be seen as nothing short of negligent. Whether backing up to tape, DVD, data cartridge, USB memory stick, even a second hard drive, you must backup somehow. If you’re a business, you must have a comprehensive backup plan and you should get notification confirming your backups are being completed successfully every day. If your IT person or service provider is not giving you written confirmation that your backup is working, you might as well start crossing your fingers.
I don’t really know what part of human psychology it is that tends to ignore things until they’re a problem but in this area a problem can mean the end of your business. Crossing your fingers probably won’t help when you’re trying to figure out just how exactly you’re going to rebuild your client list from scratch, or determine how to get that P&L statement which no longer exists to the bank. To put things in context, an external hard drive runs something like a hundred bucks. A managed backup plan is insurance for your data. How much is your car worth? How much do you pay for insurance? How much is your data worth and how much do you pay for insuring that? Think about it.
Outside Threats, Inside Threats
Not having a comprehensive network and internet security plan is possibly as dangerous, if not more dangerous than not having a backup plan. With literally billions of records compromised each year this is not just someone else’s problem. Failure to recognize virus and spyware threats, the existence and effectiveness of hackers, wireless security, even security breaches from employees can definitely be classified as risky if not downright negligent. Firewalls are built for a reason; there are 12 year old kids out there who can compromise your server before getting through their “fun size” bag of Cheetos. And it’s not just individuals trying to get into your server, there are large, well funded organizations out there that would love to get the info in your databases; here, there, on the other side of the world. The U.S. suffered an estimated $8 billion in costs to consumers alone over the past two years due to information security breaches. Where viruses used to be written by kids looking for some sinister sort of recognition for their achievements, they’re often now the product of a team of programmers looking to fund their cause.
How many of your employees have access to customer records, credit card numbers? These threats don’t always come from a country whose name you can’t pronounce – sometimes they come from the person sitting right next to you. Is your network secure? Can employees get into network folders that might compromise your customers’ privacy? Is your wireless locked down or can the guy parked in the teardrop window van outside log himself onto your network? If you can’t answer these questions you might as well leave your front door unlocked when you close up shop tonight. Do you think it’s more likely someone will walk by, try your door and proceed to clean you out, or that someone on the other side of the world has a computer running a program to scan every security vulnerability your network might have while deciding what color his new BMW is going to be? Considering there are tens of millions of computers online, I’d say the latter may be a better bet.
So what can you do about it? Antivirus, antispyware, firewalls, wireless – “I don’t know how to deal with this stuff, let alone know what most of these things are!” you say. That’s fine, and you probably shouldn’t take too much time to learn – you’ve got better things to worry about, like how much longer 12 miles per gallon is going to work for your budget. But ignoring it isn’t fine. Find an expert and demand satisfaction! Demand a report on security. Is your firewall locked down? Prove it. Are your files safe from that new guy you just hired that always smells like a rock concert? Prove it. Is your antivirus updated? When? If it’s been a week since you got an update, you may want to rethink your strategy – many antivirus companies issue hourly updates – for a reason. If your IT guy can’t show you a legitimate report on the state of your network security, find a new IT guy or find a managed service provider who can. You don’t need to spend a fortune here, but it may cost you one if you don’t deal with it.
You lock your doors at night. You put your money in a safe. You pay your government for your protection. In the information age, information is valuable, very valuable. Lock it up. Keep it safe. Get the information you need to protect the information you possess.
If you’d like more information about protecting your information assets, feel free to call me at 734.3400 X-150 or contact me via e-mail at edonofrio@nwcomputer.us
- Marshall McLuhan
Security. It seems like I can’t have a conversation about technology lately without hearing that word. Everyone is worried about security… and with good reason. In the age of information, few things are more valuable, or sought after than your information. As such there are literally millions of people out there after your information, and millions more making a good living building products to stop them from getting it. Although now it seems as though there are almost as many ways to lose your data, either by accident or otherwise, here’s the good news; you can protect yourself and your data, and it’s not really that difficult. Let’s look at some of the most common threats.
Data loss. In this brave new world of viruses and spyware, hackers and identity theft, believe it or not I see more data lost through outright negligence than anything else. The fact is, having your information stolen is certainly a real concern but having a hard drive crash without a backup is a lot more common. And although having a hard drive go down probably won’t result in your bank account getting cleaned out, it can certainly be extremely damaging. Let me put it this way; pretty much every hard drive out there is spinning at 7,200 RPMs, and at this speed will inevitably fail within a few years out of the factory. I’ve seen some hard drives last upwards of seven years, but I’ve seen many, many more die after fewer than three – more often than not without warning, and without the possibility of data recovery, at least not at a price any non-oil company exec could afford.
The tremendous growth in laptop sales only amplifies this reality – hard drives that are constantly being bumped around invariably die much more quickly – I’ve personally lost probably five hard drives in laptops over the past few years – no kidding. Your hard drive is without question the most likely component in your computer to fail, and someday it will, guaranteed. A recent study by Google showed that approximately one in fourteen hard drives fails per year – not great odds for your hard drive. Knowing this, not having critical data stored on something other than a single hard drive can be seen as nothing short of negligent. Whether backing up to tape, DVD, data cartridge, USB memory stick, even a second hard drive, you must backup somehow. If you’re a business, you must have a comprehensive backup plan and you should get notification confirming your backups are being completed successfully every day. If your IT person or service provider is not giving you written confirmation that your backup is working, you might as well start crossing your fingers.
I don’t really know what part of human psychology it is that tends to ignore things until they’re a problem but in this area a problem can mean the end of your business. Crossing your fingers probably won’t help when you’re trying to figure out just how exactly you’re going to rebuild your client list from scratch, or determine how to get that P&L statement which no longer exists to the bank. To put things in context, an external hard drive runs something like a hundred bucks. A managed backup plan is insurance for your data. How much is your car worth? How much do you pay for insurance? How much is your data worth and how much do you pay for insuring that? Think about it.
Outside Threats, Inside Threats
Not having a comprehensive network and internet security plan is possibly as dangerous, if not more dangerous than not having a backup plan. With literally billions of records compromised each year this is not just someone else’s problem. Failure to recognize virus and spyware threats, the existence and effectiveness of hackers, wireless security, even security breaches from employees can definitely be classified as risky if not downright negligent. Firewalls are built for a reason; there are 12 year old kids out there who can compromise your server before getting through their “fun size” bag of Cheetos. And it’s not just individuals trying to get into your server, there are large, well funded organizations out there that would love to get the info in your databases; here, there, on the other side of the world. The U.S. suffered an estimated $8 billion in costs to consumers alone over the past two years due to information security breaches. Where viruses used to be written by kids looking for some sinister sort of recognition for their achievements, they’re often now the product of a team of programmers looking to fund their cause.
How many of your employees have access to customer records, credit card numbers? These threats don’t always come from a country whose name you can’t pronounce – sometimes they come from the person sitting right next to you. Is your network secure? Can employees get into network folders that might compromise your customers’ privacy? Is your wireless locked down or can the guy parked in the teardrop window van outside log himself onto your network? If you can’t answer these questions you might as well leave your front door unlocked when you close up shop tonight. Do you think it’s more likely someone will walk by, try your door and proceed to clean you out, or that someone on the other side of the world has a computer running a program to scan every security vulnerability your network might have while deciding what color his new BMW is going to be? Considering there are tens of millions of computers online, I’d say the latter may be a better bet.
So what can you do about it? Antivirus, antispyware, firewalls, wireless – “I don’t know how to deal with this stuff, let alone know what most of these things are!” you say. That’s fine, and you probably shouldn’t take too much time to learn – you’ve got better things to worry about, like how much longer 12 miles per gallon is going to work for your budget. But ignoring it isn’t fine. Find an expert and demand satisfaction! Demand a report on security. Is your firewall locked down? Prove it. Are your files safe from that new guy you just hired that always smells like a rock concert? Prove it. Is your antivirus updated? When? If it’s been a week since you got an update, you may want to rethink your strategy – many antivirus companies issue hourly updates – for a reason. If your IT guy can’t show you a legitimate report on the state of your network security, find a new IT guy or find a managed service provider who can. You don’t need to spend a fortune here, but it may cost you one if you don’t deal with it.
You lock your doors at night. You put your money in a safe. You pay your government for your protection. In the information age, information is valuable, very valuable. Lock it up. Keep it safe. Get the information you need to protect the information you possess.
If you’d like more information about protecting your information assets, feel free to call me at 734.3400 X-150 or contact me via e-mail at edonofrio@nwcomputer.us
