Taking the Risk Out of Managing Your Network

Ever heard a small-business owner say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? This simple old saying depicts the mentality of thousands of SMBs when it comes to preventing security breaches and assessing vulnerabilities within their networks.

If the servers are running, e-mails are accessible and customers aren’t complaining about identity theft — companies logically assume that their security measures, however informal, are working. This false sense of security is exactly what hackers and identity thieves prey on.

The truth of the matter is that networks of all sizes are vulnerable to attacks and security threats 24/7/365. Spyware, worms and viruses don’t discriminate. If there is a way into your network, they will find it and you may, or may not, know about it. Although the short-term impact to your business is obvious, the long-term impact is what really keeps us up at night.

Security breaches and other malicious attacks not only take down the network and compromise your company’s data and your customers’ privacy, they can ruin your company’s reputation. With competition around every corner, and new laws mandating the disclosure of data theft to affected consumers, news like this travels fast. So what should you do?

Depending on the level of IT support you have on hand, you may try to safeguard your network by deploying highly publicized software upgrades and security patches. If you have a bit more technical sophistication, you may even install a firewall to protect drive-by prowlers and wireless network spies. That’s good, but it is not good enough. You must take comprehensive steps to proactively manage your network day-in and day-out. Especially when it comes to managing security risks and network vulnerabilities.

The number of cyberattacks launched each day on businesses just like yours is staggering. That is why it comes as no surprise that reducing network security risks and managing vulnerabilities is fast becoming the leading concern for today’s business owners and IT administrators. For example, did you know when a manufacturer issues a patch or upgrade to an existing software, the “new code” they just released is likely to be hacked or compromised and another point of entry established within one hour. It’s a scary statistic, but with the bad news, comes good news. And there is good news.

Experts say that nearly 99 percent of all security intrusions are the result of known vulnerabilities and configuration errors within a network’s software applications. That means 99 percent of today’s network security breaches are preventable. How is that possible? Through vulnerability management.

True vulnerability management is not about one-time software patches or hardware upgrades. It is an outsourced security service that automatically monitors, manages and protects your network 24/7. As a provider of this service, we can proactively identify, report and, in many cases, eliminate threats before they happen, helping businesses just like yours maintain a secure and productive network. Here’s how we do it:

We take a close look at your network. We call this a vulnerability assessment. This comprehensive health check will allow us to:

1. Identify what’s in your network.
2. Learn what vulnerabilities exist and what risks may be looming.
3. Determine what you need to reduce your vulnerabilities now and protect your network in the future, as threats evolve.

Once we assess the situation and agree with you on the right vulnerability management solution, we move to automate your security service.

We begin monitoring your network’s security. This includes updating your security tools as needed. This no-hassle service can be done remotely from our offices. Vulnerability management is a virtual lifeline that automatically feeds the industry’s latest patches, upgrades and security solutions directly into your network.

We provide regular reports to you. These include follow-up assessments and activity reports. These data sheets provide us with real-time information about the health of your network and tell us where to focus our security efforts now and in the future.

You get results: Organizations that adopt vulnerability management as a security practice are likely to experience 90 percent fewer attacks on their network.

So what are you waiting for? Take the headache of managing your network’s security off your to-do list. Call us today.