Sometimes, we fail to see the solution because our eyes are too far off from the obvious. A case in point is the protection of our computer and its system from the physical threats that are present in the environment. Before we even think of the the intricate digital barrier we should use to prevent malware and viruses that pervade the online world from entering our system, we should be considering the measures we can use to protect our devices which contain critical information, whether personal or business.
Good old-fashioned protection is not merely placing the computer and other devices under lock and key. It is also about considering who has access to these locks. A high-security risk environment will exactly be such in terms of possible theft  or intrusion. It is likewise about protection from the natural elements like water and heat and occurences like power surges and fluctuations.Â
Visitors are best received away from the regular work area. This prevents potential information thieves from being able to read computer screens, install malware on network devices, or simply being within reach of portable devices that can be stolen without being noticed. Desktop computers that come in individual cases can be locked to prevent tampering of  internal hardware.Â
Physical protection would also entail other sensible and simple acts such as locking the personal account whenever the user needs to step away from the computer and installing security cameras in areas of specific security concern. Not many people are aware that  the manner of placement of network cables and equipments can result to a tendency for accidental loss of information. Another important aspect of physical protection is securing the access point for those using wireless networks. Threats can come in all forms but the simplest defense is usually the most important.
Tags: physical protection, Physical Security
Categories: Physical Security
Checking accounts are very handy. With it you can pay your bills, pay for your purchases and keep track of your spending bills. Online checking account works the same way, except that they are more convenient to use. You can online fund transfer, unlimited ATM access and easy application procedures. Like with traditional banks, most of these are insured by the FDIC, which means that your money is safe and secured. Now here’s how to open online checking accounts.
Step 1 – Search online for online banks
When doing this, you need to consider the bank’s reputation, their accessibility, their security features, they accreditation and of how much fees they charge for the online application. Most of these banks do not charge you for anything but there are others that do.
Step 2 – Fill their online application
After deciding which online bank to enroll you into, it is now time to fill out the bank’s online application form. This may include your social security number, email address, physical address and name and birth date. After filling out the application form, they will give you some log in access including your password. They would usually ask you to change your password immediately and log back on to your account.
Step 3 – Read the terms and conditions
After signing up, it is important that you read the bank’s terms and conditions very carefully. Most of the times, the term contract are written in very small font so that customers will refuse to read them. But this is where you will find out about the hidden fees and other concerns that might cause complications in the future.
Tags: Banking, checking accounts
Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Physical Security
Research has shown that a survey conducted within a large company shows that although telecommuting is very much productive for many firms it tends to be on the downside for those employees who do stay within the physical office itself. This can be in the areas of personal assistants/secretaries and other office workers who are left to run the office in the absence of their counterparts/coworkers. This leads to dissatisfaction in the workplace hence lowering productivity and encouraging home-bodies to engage in dangerous liaisons from within and outside of the office.
The hatred felt is seen in the rising occurrences of these same people becoming the entry point for attacks on corporate networks when they visit social sites to pass on the otherwise boring day. This is also counterproductive for their attention to work and the other nuances such as physical security and IT security is so much a threat that it is under study on how to improve the working conditions for these people. They are distracted and left to do almost anything they please which is where the security gap seems to be, using the corporate network to access social sites to which they are members of. Even the installation of hardware and software security measures cannot guarantee security coverage at all angles for the main security risk is still the human behind the keyboard who does the typing and not on the structure of the system itself. It might be helpful to get them out more often to allow their facilities more practice letting the steam and pressures/boredom to dissipate. Role rotation may be a key but is not always feasible for there are certain knowledge associated issues that have to be addressed to be able to do that. Training and re-training people allows them to sharpen skills and add new knowledge to their already bored lives.
Tags: Mobile-Workforce, Telecommuting
Categories: General, Instant Messaging, IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, Physical Security, Privacy & Anonymity, Real-World Issues, Security Policies
This has been proven true by incidents broadcast around the world in minutes or hours after they have happened. Many have suffered the consequences of such incidents in the UK, US and mostly each and every place on earth where people have had their information taken and used for no good before there was even a sign that there was a problem.
Big business has been reminded again and again that complacency is it’s worst enemy and they have failed again and again at the area. Why? Well first, total protection is almost always imperfect and somebody out there with enough intent and resources can break-in however expensive the protection methods may be. Next is that the best systems for protection is always the ones that cost too much yet they still remain vulnerable and hackable. Contrary to most ad’s you see in print, the internet or your Television there is no one true solution to protection, for if the hardware and software measures succeed in protecting you, the human behind the computer/s are always the biggest risk. That is why even the most expensive solutions are used in conjunction with other solutions to provide the best of both worlds combining physical and software solutions hoping that combination will be enough protection from the continuous influx of attacks from the web and elsewhere. Encryption is nice but it takes a lot of computing power to implement making it too expensive for implementation on all levels of the company. All of these high-tech solutions and hardware would be nothing if the people using the various computer systems in the said organization fail to use them so the weakest link in every system is still the human. Strict adherence and compliance is the key with systems that process information somewhat autonomously already in use doing the searching and classification of information without the user’s input. This uses the latest in Artificial Intelligence with minimal intervention or input from the users.
Tags: IT Security Basics
Categories: Cryptography, General, IT Security Basics, Network Security, Physical Security, Privacy & Anonymity, Real-World Issues, Security Policies
Biometrics is seen as the next step in computer systems security and access control due to the failure of more primitive and fundamental security systems. Fingerprint scanners, passwords, security keys and even smartcards have failed miserably in providing the ultimate and most secure intrusion prevention method for just about anything. From your home, car, computer terminal at work to just about anything else that needs security, it has be come more and more of a must due to the increasing threat of identity theft and other computer related crimes in and out of the workplace.
Biometrics are security systems that are based on the differences the human body manifests in terms of eye structure, facial features and now vein geometry. We’ve all heard of DNA or the so-called blueprint for life and the way it makes each and every human different from everyone else on this earth (well, except for some genetic disorders and diseases that changes the DNA makeup). That is what biometrics takes advantage of as a source of a very unique key or method of identifying one from another person.
Your fingerprint is mapped when it is initially scanned into a computer system which convert’s your analog (actual) print into a digital map that is as unique as you are an individual. Iris scanners take into account the differences the iris has from each and every individual (through the use of a low powered light and scanner to obtain a picture of the eye’s iris which is also unique). Voice recognition takes into account, the differences our voices have from everybody else also converting it into a digital map or password of sorts. Vein geometry, uses a thermal imaging camera to take a picture of your hand or whole body which is sensitive to heat showing all the blood vessels which show as hotspots thus giving you a unique id of sorts as that is also mapped and converted into digital form. All of the above biometrics systems rely on our individual differences which are quite unique to us and add onto it, other more basic security measures such as a physical key (password, key or other devices) to give the ultimate security system preventing intrusion.
Tags: identity-theft, Secure workplace
Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Network Security, Operating Systems, Physical Security, Real-World Issues, Security Policies
Closed Circuit TV Cameras (CCTV) have indeed become a new face of overall protection and security. At the rate that security is breached and terrorism growing rampant these days, it is apparent that any place or business establishment needs to work up its security measures to ensure maximum protection for the innocent consumers and people who are unaware of threats that may come their way.
But one issue that has been heard all throughout the world is on their reliability. You can monitor various activities but then what? What action would you take? If you do, would it be enough to avoid any accidents that may suddenly occur.
Apparently, many establishments just want to avoid the trouble. Mischief lingers anywhere these days and the best thing that you can do is to try and avoid them. Compared to the early days, tighter security through videos allows the place owners to monitor abnormal and suspicious behaviors to which the proper steps to avoid them can be done.
The list goes as far as advanced security measures such as the high security of sealed places where new technology as thumbprints, eye scanners and card swiping for better monitoring of accessing people limits the list of potential breaches in a certain area.
This has helped a lot and in times where something unfortunate may happen, investigators can have a better time catching culprits thanks to these hidden monitors. These days, that is why most mischievous people have made it a point to survey before attacking. Sadly, some of them have found a way to get around CCTV security as well.
Tags: access, cctv, monitoring, security
Categories: IT Security Basics, Physical Security, Real-World Issues
I received an email about a year ago on 7 things to stop doing on Facebook. I will mention three of them and give real situations of friends and families who have almost been victimized by criminals because they failed to follow the necessary security protocols.
1) Using a Weak Password. A cousin of mine who was a first time user of Facebook, made the crucial mistake of using his social security number as his password. It was a misfortune that someone got a hold of his wallet and coincidentally tried his SS number to log on to his account. It was a good thing that is was his wife, and so he quickly changed his password, and hid his wallet in a locked safe.
2) Mentioning That You’ll Be Away From Home. A good friend of mine posted on his wall that he and his family are really excited to go on a 5-day Australian vacation after checking out Australia business directory. On the first day they were away, a neighbor called and said that there was a parked van in front of their house. He called the local police station immediately and had someone sent over. The van left just before the cop parked his car.
3) Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised. This experience is probably the scariest of all. My 5-year old nephew has a Facebook account that he shares with his mom who is a nurse. She is usually at his side as he writes random messages to friends and family members. However, in the course of preparing dinner one night, a message from a stranger popped out as her child was chatting with another cousin. Good thing she caught it on time. She never found out who the message was from, but now she lets her son write emails instead.
Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Physical Security, Privacy & Anonymity, Real-World Issues, Tips
For most companies, the computer room where the company servers containing the delicate data originating from daily transactions is the most important place in the office. So while the people here are trying to figure out ways to safeguard these servers, it would be likewise important to consider external security measures such as placing locks and monitoring the activities with the use of spy cams.
Why is this important? The right question should be geared on how well do you trust you IT personnel. Evaluate their personality and see the extent to which they may betray the company and place operations in jeopardy. This not of course to discredit them but in reality, a lot of people use their knowledge and access as leverage towards being able to command salaries and money-related deals that many of us know as blackmail.
Also, physical intrusion is always a possibility. No matter how secure your area would be, it can be breached at anytime if you do not address the right measure to make it harder for them to gain access to the computer room. In short, the harder it is to get in to you computer room, the better it is. This only means you have prepared on the physical aspect of securing your IT area which is a good approach the sake of safeguarding hardware and data.
Tags: Physical Security, security, spycams
Categories: Physical Security, Real-World Issues
It is perhaps the headache of any IT head when it comes to implement policies to have a smooth running network and department. But while the essence of a good security system is evident, it is really the implementation part that is hard to accomplish.
For one, the transition and building of security awareness from various threats that can easily make their way towards an acclaimed secure network is abundant. Manually or transmitted, suspicious files will always find a way especially if you are not that adamant towards making sure that all bases are covered as far as the security of your system and data is concerned.
Many people fail to appreciate that value of the data they have gathered. They fail to appreciate the value of a strict IT policy mainly because all they care about is a workstation to use and opening files (both internal and external) as they please. So if you put all these things together, you can imagine the problems that an IT guy has to work with. But to some, taking the initiative such as passwords and some hardware exclusions has to be made.
If you notice, some drives like the usual floppy drives or even USB ports are either missing or disabled. To make them work, certain permissions and passwords are set for them to be enabled. Only the IT administrator would know these security measures and basic as they may seem, they really help a lot.
This is just a basic but effective way that IT personnel use. There are the usual network policies but for the sake of people who want to making it doubly sure, old and basic practices such as this is perhaps the best way to go.
Tags: it, management, policy
Categories: IT Security Basics, Network Security, Operating Systems, Physical Security, Privacy & Anonymity, Security Policies
Harmful objects can be obtained from the web. We are all aware that Malware and Trojans are rampant objects that have been wandering of anywhere on the Internet, especially websites that are often visited by people for reference and information. Such sites would get hijacked and also contaminate visiting users as well, something that can be done through Internet cookies stored on the web folder in the machines.
While developers and security administrators have religiously searched for ways to find such solutions, the ever changing development of new threats coming from the Internet has been far from over. To date, even the well-protected workstations can still be penetrated by objects that are not immediately visible.
Internet fences in the form of firewalls and software protection templates have tried to stop such intrusions but need to be updated frequently to answer the related threats. Without such temporary fences that are up, workstations are sitting ducks waiting to be shot, and if web administrators are not up to date with the new threats, the fences used are good as gone once they occur.
Tags: firewall, Malware, Spyware, trojans
Categories: IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, Physical Security, Security Policies, Spyware
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