Recent headlines about electronic spies hacking into computer networks from the Pentagon to China reinforce the dangerous reality that a “malware” (software that accesses systems to steal sensitive financial and client information) is becoming increasingly sophisticated and widespread.
According to a recent report from the NPD Group, the average U.S. household with a Web connection has 5.7 devices – desktops, laptops, tablets, and/or smart phones — which are highly vulnerable to malware attacks. The more workers who use these devices to access the Web sites of their employers, the greater the threat of cybercrime.
To help protect the security of your company’s data against intrusion from malware, experts recommend taking these precautions:
- Identify the business processes and data you need to protect and the risks associated with them.
- Limit access to sensitive data to authorized users. Provide them with strong passwords and don’t allow any sharing.
- Make sure that employees use only secure wireless networks when connecting to your site.
- Provide users with strong authentication measures and anti-malware software.
- Know your users and their behavior. Compare details of incoming login connections with the information you have about the user. If you find anomalies, add such precautions such answering a security question.
- Look for corrupted devices. Authenticated users might acquire malware on their devices that puts your data at risk once they log in. For example, man-in-the-browser (MitB) attacks can hijack authenticated sessions.
- Secure high-value transactions. Identify these transactions and refuse to accept them from devices with suspicious configurations.
Our agency’s specialists can work with you in developing and implementing a comprehensive anti-malware program for your company. Please feel free to get in touch with us at any time.
