What are the Benefits of Firewall Security

Internet usage has been expanding and is becoming a vital part of everyone’s life. Internet is playing a great in connecting communities and helping them in developing to achieve the best of them.  Applications on the internet are the fun games, but they are also unsafe and prone to unauthorized access and security threats. Also, in many cases a person can face important information theft within the possibility of unauthorized software hampering, which all points to security threats. 

So, you must do to protect your computer? How can you protect yourself from getting hacked? The best-recommended thing is to use firewall security, here in this article how you can protect your system using firewall security practices will be discussed. But before that we should know that why internet security is very important?

Why is internet security so important?

All of us are vulnerable to a different type of cyber security threats, but we can protect ourselves from getting hitched by using proper security measures. We must understand few things especially when we talking about the hit target or hackers then we must consider governmental agencies, their IT system including defense and power generation projects. These attackers always look for the cyber security breach and simply jump inside the system. So how to protect such important places from devastating attacks the best-recommended thing is firewall security.

Firewall protection is essential to the security, how?

Firewalls both default and the third part are considered as the best solution for tackling cyber threats. Firewalls are hardware or software system protecting any unauthorized access from or to a network. Following are the benefits of firewalls security to the IT systems:

• Firewall protection makes sure that unauthorized internet users never reach private networks when connected to the internet. In fact, firewall is the midpoint, which checks the entering or leaving of data in the intranet and verify each packet and allow it to pass through if it matches specified security criteria.
• Firewalls are the most suitable ways to remain safe from viruses, malwares and Trojans which are reported to try repeatedly to interfere and damage connecting the internet or network.
• Firewall security bans unauthorized access to the network and only allows the access of authorized communications. Moreover, a firewall operates one way and monitors inbound traffic. Windows XP and Vista, for instance, fail to tackle multiple threats, although 8.1 comes with advanced firewall security, but still people and companies want more.
• For complete firewall protection, one should go with a two-way firewall or simply use third party firewalls. These firewalls check both the inbound and the outbound traffic for possible internet threats. The two-way firewall operates as an intrusion detection system that starts with the outbound connection.

Firewall security is one simple way to protect the network on the whole. Firewalls work really simple, they communicate with the system by sending small packets.

Top Benefits of Security Audits

Security audits are part of security and networks, their aim is to keep security measure in check to remove any vulnerability from the system. With the expansion observed in cyber-crime there is an increase in need of a comprehensive audit with the core focus on the security and safety of the IT infrastructure and data associated with it. The audit focuses on both Physical Access and virtual Data Security. So, why need regular security audits? Here, we are discussing them in detail.

Important security features:

There is a list of security features with regard to physical and virtual security will be audited and they are recorded as:

1. Data Access Control 
2. User Authentication System 
3. Data Folder Structure / Permission 
4. Storage Media Control 
5. Data Protection /Data Leak Protection 
6. Internet / Intranet
7. Email/network/software Security 
8. Firewall Setup 
9. Anti-Spyware Setup /Anti-SPAM Setup / Anti-Virus / 
10. Software Patch Management 
11. Vulnerability Assessment 
12. General Assessment (fire protection, security personnel, and burglar alarms,)

Any other security related features which may be left will be taken into consideration during the auditing on need basis. The data and information gathered forms the basis of the Audit recommendations, the first thing auditing team does an AS-IS Analysis of the security environment and maps it according business processes, objective and goals of the organization.

The auditing findings are then documented in Audit Report (which is a detailed presentation of complete AS-IS analysis, assessed issues and possible challenges) in the existing IT infrastructure.

The benefits:

1. Deficits and gaps in the security features, the failure point or simply vulnerabilities that are considered hinders in business continuity. The security audit recommendations focus on correcting things which are assumed to cause serious issues in the future. 
2. The security audit report also focuses on identifying data leakage pathways and unethical data access vulnerabilities.
3. The prime focus of creating comprehensive system audit report is to ensure the maximized security of the IT systems.
4. On the other hand, the AS-IS based report is the observation and situations to assess the system in various folds. Cost and utilization anomalies, are also highlighted in the detailed report (even from the darkest hidden part). 
5. Considering the audit report, the auditing team will recommend a possible solution to eradicate assessed vulnerabilities and to seal the data leakage pathways to ensure the security of IT system. 
6. The recommendations may include, downgrade, upgrade or even change of solutions to affect the long term security plan for the assessed system.

Purpose:

The purpose of a security audit is to offer an organization ways to improve its Return On Investment (ROI). According to security experts, the successful audit would be considered as one which does not need for further investment on the system; rather help the management to remove every possible vulnerability from the existing system. The additional benefits would be:

• Productivity benefits 
• Cost-saving benefits 
• Relationship benefits
• Security benefits

How A Good Audio Visual Design Can Benefit Your Business?

Intense global pressure is putting great pressure on engineers to deliver high-end audio visual systems with higher input. Now, corporate sector needs efficient and cost effective systems. For the success of a company, it is a must to convey its message to its guests. In the modern business world, corporate events range from fancy to spectacular, with each event aiming to outdo company’s previous event. The most important thing now is audio visual equipment as more companies rely on innovative design to make their event a big success.

There are several reasons why people choose to invest in innovative audio visual communication channels, whether they are the complete systems or simple video conferencing equipment – it is becoming a new standard. Here are top ten benefits of these great communication systems that will just scratch the surface and provide a plethora of benefits.

Enhance teamwork:

Video conferencing systems are the corporate success mantra as it can really bring people closer and encourage teamwork. The world of business is now expanding and most of the time people give an excuse that they cannot meet on a short notice and delay the meet-up session. With the help of modern audio visual design now, it is possible to have a meeting face-to-face. It is also impossible to ditch a meeting because it offers the quickest way of interacting with people from remote locations.

Boost productivity:

A good audio visual system can help in boosting productivity. An audio visual design is comprised of different devices from large screens to showcase targets or key messages. Your team can feel charged up and more motivated because of the continuous display of motivational content and they will work with more passion and it will obviously boost their productivity – A great thing for any company.

Save money:

A great way for companies to cut short their heavy expenses and look for better opportunities is to use innovative video conferencing system. A company can easily reduce its yearly traveling cost; what more is a company can save lots of time.

A less talked yet very effective benefit of using audio video design is they are helping companies in being eco-friendly. But for any organization, being green is really important and mitigate traveling can help them in achieving their objectives.

Increase efficiency:

A good audio video design can increase work efficiency of an organization. For a successful business, it is really important to know how well it is with its clients. The more efficient your business becomes, the better it can deliver. So, how video conferencing can improve efficiency, it can save time which can be invested in doing other important tasks such as improving your services or product quality. When you have a lot of time you become able to meet deadlines.

Using visuals, video conferencing and digital signage can have a real impact on employees as well as on stakeholders. People want to feel more engaged and a good visual system would be the right solution.

ICT Management For Modern Businesses

The current technology cycle is actually a new generation of technological devices, offering plethora opportunities and challenges to both organization and governments. Information and communication technology or ICT is a general term used in communication devices and applications, including: cellular Phones, radio, television, computers and networks (both hardware and software), satellite applications (including distance learning and video conferencing) and the various services and application associated with these devices.

ICT management is becoming vital to managing utilities like cloud computing and it must focus on supporting the holistic objectives of organizations implementing an EA. Factually, shared data have less value than reusable data as it has a direct impact on system reliability. Why we need ICT management and where it must be implemented to support several business objectives.

Where do we need ICT?

A recent survey report shows that in USA only almost every government agency needs a proper management. Here are two very important government sectors where we must implement ICT such as:

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR)

Recent surveys of government agencies around the world including USA, UK, and Dubai indicate in most cases limited or no disaster management or continuity of operations planning. In addition to that the risk of data loss due to natural or man-made disasters is very high, and the ability to recover from such loss is really restricted in terms of recovery time objective/RTO (it is a point when any government agency resume its services after a disaster occurred and the point of data restoral RPO).
Implementation: In recent ICT environments, it is now possible to extend RTOs and RPOs to near indefinite where data backup plan and system restoral resource capacity is not present.

Benefits of ICT:

Implementing information communication technology can positive change in your business and has the ability to thoroughly change the business perspective. It will make decision making really easy and increase productivity.

Decision Making:

ICT systems enable enterprises to process, analyze, share and store big data blocks. ICT systems ensure availability of essential corporate data for managers and employees to make quick and accurate decisions also enable them to manage operations effectively and respond wisely to business opportunities or threats. In addition to that ICT, system can bring decision makers from remote locations to one table to take a joint decision.

Increase productivity:

ICT tools can automate business processes and gives employees a freedom to perform tasks. For example, on the production line computer-aided design can improve manufacturing accuracy and reduce the reworking time. Fast access to manufacturing data will enable managers to plan production effectively, help them in using resources in a better way and also reduce load times.

In short, ICT management is vital for existing business especially when they have to retain their huge customer base; it will help an enterprise in managing its resources more accurately and can increase their productivity. 

Why Your Company Needs Their Services?

What is information security?

InfoSec is set of practices and methodologies implemented to protect confidential data from unauthorized access, to maintain the integrity and to ensure availability of a network/system. Information security management is implemented to ensure continuity by minimizing security threats. To prevent security threats, there is a need of comprehensive information security management system (ISMS). According to a commissions report most enterprises are facing following security challenges.

• Information security breaches
• Equipment theft
• IT frauds
• Computer hacking
• System interruptions

To deal with such security issue it is time to comprehend services of professional security consultants. Who are they and how they are reshaping security methodologies and common practices.

What security consulting UK can offer? 

 

Modern technology challenges force managers to think about revising their information security practices. They look for different sources can help them in assessing their system and suggest them better solution can overcome their needs of today and help in facing future challenges.

There are a lot of firms claim to offer best security consulting services UK making it difficult to choose the right one. They perform different security related tasks such as:

Here are few pointers can help managers in finding the best security consulting company in UK.

Are they certified?

Firstly, check whether the selected security consultant is backed with some security certification and must be associated with professional bodies. For example, for UK market, a security consultant can be a member of Government bodies such as:

• CESG (Communications Electronic Security Group)
• CLAS (Administered by government Advisor Scheme)
• CREST (Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers)
• CHECK (a UK Government scheme for IT “Health Checks”)

A security consultant with CLAS membership means security consulting services provided are approved for data that is marked up to SECRET level. CLAS membership also ensure that security consultant possess specific skills. All remaining have their own functionality specific to some industries and it is better to look for industry specific security specialist.

There are international security certifications offered by International Security Council (ISC). Few are pointed below:

• CISM (Certified Information Security Manager)
• CGEIT certification (Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT)
• CRISC (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control)
• CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)

There are individuals working as a freelance professional also come with ISC certifications, they are good options in case your company cannot opt for expensive firm.

My 10 years’ experience in this field made me think about budget and security consultation outcomes initially they are not balanced, but later results can prove your decision was right. Usually managers stick to security consulting UK companies with low price quotation, a big mistake instead they should look for the best and then negotiate on expenses and cost reduction.

Why a Company Must Deploy Superior Security Practices?

In today’s political, social and economic world where everything is connected to some kind of technology, customers are demanding the security of their information as with technology advancement the concern about privacy and identity theft rises. Business stakeholders are requiring security from one and another, especially when they are utilizing one mutual network and share same information. In fact, national and international regulators are asking enterprises to prove that they obey privacy laws and are into implementing high-end security measures.

In addition to that in July 2012, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners released their 7th report on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. The report was based on more than 1,300 cases of occupational frauds in nearly 100 countries, provided by certified fraud investigators. The findings of the report were eye-popping. Here we are sharing some of the facts from the horrifying report.

• The examined organization loses 5% of its revenue to fraud every year.
• The median loss caused by frauds was estimated at $140,000.
• More than one-fifth of the observed companies was facing loss of at least $1 million.
• Billing schemes and corruption pose the greatest risks to organizations.
• More than 50% of victim organizations do not recover any loss caused by frauds.

Why do we need proper Information security? To survive in such competent business world, it is really important to protect confidential data and business processed information. There is a need of superior information security practices that must be designed to capture system vulnerabilities on time and make a system proactive against security threats and risks.

Superior security information requires a combination of smart decisions and intelligent security strategies. Big budgets to implement new technologies are not enough to stop or control the growing rate of frauds and thefts. To implement security practices, it is really important to know when and how to implement complex security measures. It is really important to know that almost every company use a different setup and they have different requirements which can make designing security a completely difficult task and most of the time professionals are needed for this.

Benefits:

Here are five important outcomes that can be expected after implementing effective security governance.

• Reduce risks to an acceptable level.
• Strategic alignment of security practices with company’s ongoing strategies and objectives.
• Boost company’s market share by enhancing its reputation for safeguarding information.
• Business value increased through the optimization of security investments with the company’s goals.
• Efficient utilization of security investments to fit in company’s budget constraint.

It is really important for an enterprise to align their internal structure with security practices; it will help in eradicating internal information security risks. According to the survey report many companies in the Dubai started outsourcing security service providers to cut down costs without compromising the quality of service. Deployment of security strategies takes time and effort and unlike other fields it needs continuous surveillance.