The more connected modern businesses become, the more important cybersecurity is to their success and survival. At Carden IT Services, we take the security of our clients’ hardware, software, and devices seriously. Here are 5 of the tools and techniques we use to keep them safe.
Antivirus
We use trusted antivirus brands which keep our clients’ endpoints secured. Antivirus software prevents malware from inflicting damage to your device by identifying, quarantining, and then removing dangerous code. It is updated automatically through the cloud to protect you from new and emerging cyber threats the moment they are discovered.
Secure Web Gateway
Desktops, business software, and key infrastructure all used to be housed securely behind a firewall. However, off-network activity is becoming increasingly common these days, especially as remote work and cloud services become more prevalent.
A Secure Internet Gateway serves as the first line of defence against web-based threats wherever your users are. Internet gateways prevent suspicious traffic from entering or leaving your network and provide comprehensive visibility into internet activity by your users across all locations and devices. It can also protect your endpoints by blocking threats before they can reach your network. Secure gateways proactively reject requests to access malicious domains before those connections are even created – all without slowing your users down or getting in the way of their work.
Application Whitelisting
Historically, cybersecurity has focused on thwarting known or suspected attacks. Having a blacklist (a database of known malicious software) was a common method. A blacklist is a solid start, but it has the obvious drawback of only protecting you against threats that you are already aware of. Your defences will not identify or protect you from a fresh piece of ransomware or a threat that does not behave in the typical manner.
Application whitelisting tools work in the opposite way. Instead of only blocking software on a blacklist, they block all software which has not been pre-approved by your “whitelist”. These whitelists can be customised for different departments or users, so your team will always have access to the tools and software they need while blocking everything else. These whitelists can be changed and updated when new software is required.
Multi Factor Authentication
Multi Factor Authentication (MFA), also known as Two Factor Authentication (2FA), is the use of an additional piece of information to secure your accounts rather than just a username and password. This could take the form of a code generated by an application, a short series of numbers sent by SMS to your mobile, or a physical device like a USB key – which would need to be entered at the moment you were trying to log in. Implementing MFA significantly increases the security of your business-critical assets as a potential attacker would now need physical access to your device or mobile, which is far more difficult to obtain than your username and password.
Managed SOC
While antivirus and ransomware protection are important, with the rising number of cyber threats to businesses, a managed security operations centre (SOC) is the best way to keep you safe.
A security operation centre refers to a department within an organisation that employed a team of cyber-defence experts to monitor their network for suspicious activity and respond quickly to possible security breaches. But most small and medium-sized firms don’t have the resources or knowledge to support their own SOC.
Using a managed cybersecurity software platform, Carden IT can deliver a fully functional, managed SOC remotely. With Carden IT’s Managed SOC-as-a-Service, you get access to the knowledge of our complete cyber-defence team. Threats are dealt with immediately by members of our SOC team.
Carden IT Services Helps Your Business Stay Secure
These are just a few of the ways we keep your business’s IT secure. The first step in achieving effective cybersecurity is to conduct a thorough audit of all the IT assets in your network, including your hardware, software, network and cloud services. We can then start implementing advanced security solutions. Speak to Carden IT’s cyber-defence team today to book a cybersecurity audit.
