Remote service across the US / Onsite service for SF Bay Area, Sacramento, and the Stockton Valley
Proactive Defenses For Effective Cyber Security Solutions
When it comes to network security, IT Pro Source believes in having both a strong defense and offense.
OFFENSE
- IT Pro Source has several offensive tools we use to prevent cyber-attacks and provide network security. These tools center around the two most common means hackers use to gain access to your data - exploiting vulnerabilities in your hardware/software and exploiting human behavior.
Finding software/hardware vulnerabilities before they can be exploited is our goal at IT Pro Source. To achieve our goal, we proactively perform intrusion testing of our clients' networks. This allows us to identify and address areas of risk within the infrastructure that would otherwise remain undetected and could pose a network security risk to the organization.
Having a secure network, antivirus software, and spam filters won't mean a thing if users inadvertently open the door for hackers. Phishing campaigns are the most common infiltration tactic used by hackers. Opening a file or clicking a link from a legitimate looking email can have devastating consequences. Also, breaches at large institutions have resulted in personally identifiable information (PII) like email addresses, log on credentials, and passwords being available for purchase on dark web sites (sites not accessible via a regular web browser). Hackers use PII to make their phishing scams more potent and the PII may even allow direct access if identical passwords and email addresses are used across multiple platforms. To combat this, IT Pro Source offers Dark Web Scans to find compromised log on credentials, simulated phishing campaigns, and micro training to ensure users are not opening the door to hackers.
DEFENSE - IT Pro Source employs many different tools to provide a strong wall of defense against cyber-attacks. These tools include firewalls, antivirus software, URL defense, spam filtering, patch management, VPN's, local and cloud backup, etc. This arsenal of strong defensive tools works together seamlessly to provide outstanding network security protection. These tools are included with our contract IT service plans or can be purchased separately.
Vulnerability Network Scans - Find The Weaknesses Before They Are Exploited
A typical visit to the dentist includes a dental X-ray. Why? Because it identifies underlying issues that can’t be seen. Those issues can lead to pain, costly dental work and a loss of productivity during the healing process. Vulnerability network scans are no different. Network scans identify underlying network issues that may not otherwise be noticed. However, when these issues are identified and exploited by a cybercriminal, they result in organizational distress, loss and disruption in productivity.
Cybercriminals scan your computer systems from the outside for vulnerabilities in your firewall (if you have one). Once breached, hackers use automation to quickly probe every single device connected to your network, looking for an opening to gain administrative access to take over a computer or even the entire network. For cybercriminals, it’s not the size of the business that matters, it’s the ease of access.
Although many small and midsize businesses (SMBs) think they’re too insignificant to draw the attention of hackers, breach reports prove otherwise with
66% of SMBs experiencing a cyberattack in the past 12 months. Most of those attacks (70%) were executed via web applications and miscellaneous errors, aka internal vulnerabilities.
Network scans play a crucial role in safeguarding networks. The process involves both external vulnerability scanning — a scan from the outside to check your network’s firewall and other “perimeter” defenses — and internal vulnerability scanning — a scan that tests every device on your network. Internal vulnerability scans not only look at your servers and workstations but also check laptops, mobile devices, printers, network phones and anything else internally networked.
The scanning process is identical to what hackers do when they search for weaknesses on a targeted network. The scans detect any known vulnerability and send an alert after each scan with details on the vulnerable devices and nature of the weaknesses. This is critically important because unless you find and fix the root cause of the problem, it leaves your systems inside the network vulnerable to attack.
Nobody LIKES going to the dentist, but an annual check-up is far less costly, painful and debilitating than ignoring routine inspections and ending up needing a root canal, crown or something worse. The same can be said about vulnerability scanning. Ignoring vulnerabilities and pretending that they don’t exist will eventually result in a cyberattack that could cost tens to hundreds of thousands in lost revenue, remediation, and extortion.
As part of our commitment to proactively prevent cyberattacks, IT Pro Source offers these scans at a very affordable cost and are further discounted for clients on our contract IT service plans. To find out more information about these network scans, or schedule one for your business, please use the link to connect with us.
Dark Web Scan - Discover Comprised Log On Credentials & Passwords
Improve Your Business Network Security With a Proactive IT Pro Source Service to Help Prevent Cyberattacks
The most secure wall in the world won't stop an intruder if there is an open gate. The same goes for your network. The best business network security measures won't matter if an intruder has valid log in credentials. Unfortunately, it is possible that valid log in credentials for your company are available on the Dark Web.
The Dark Web is a part of the internet that is not accessible by regular browsers and the websites will not show up on search engines like Google or Edge. You can call it the red-light district or underworld of the world wide web. Given the secretive nature criminal activity abounds on the Dark Web. It has become a commerce center for the buying and selling of prohibited and stolen data.
Over the past many years, data breaches have occurred at several large institutions. The breached data has included personally identifiable information (PII) like email addresses, usernames, passwords, credit card information, etc. This PII is now easily accessible on the Dark Web for criminals to utilize.
This should raise huge business network security concerns given the tendency of individuals to use the same password and log on information across multiple platforms. (59% of individuals admitted to mostly or always using the same password.) The LinkedIn data breach compromised 700 million user’s information like email addresses and passwords. If any employee used their work email address and password as their LinkedIn log in credentials, the information to access their employer’s network is now available on the Dark Web. The door is wide open for intrusion. This represents a huge business network security risk for all companies.
As part of IT Pro Source’s commitment to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity and increase business network security, we offer a Dark Web scan service for all companies – whether they are clients or not. This service generates a report of all compromised email addresses and passwords available on the Dark Web that are linked to a particular domain. We provide this report free of charge with no obligation. It is an invaluable tool for finding open pathways to your network which have resulted from data breaches and improper password usage.
For questions about the service or to receive your report, please
click here to have us run your dark web scan.
Business Cybersecurity Training
Prevent Criminals From Exploiting Human Behavior
Proactively Train and Test Employees on Their Cybersecurity Skills
In the Dark Web scan section, we mentioned the strongest wall won't stop an intruder if there is an open gate. The same holds true if someone opens a locked gate for the intruder. Cyber criminals have found it is often easier to exploit user’s weaknesses than it is to find a network or software vulnerability. This is why phishing scams are so prevalent and every year thousands of people fall victim to them.
For businesses, two important items to note are 1) phishing scams and other user focused attacks account for more than half of successful cyber-attacks and 2) small business account for a large portion of the victims. Furthermore, according to research done by the National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of small businesses that suffered an attack went out of business within 6 months. Therefore, ensuring a company's employees are cyber security savvy needs to be a top priority for any business - regardless of its size.
IT Pro Source offers a program for business cybersecurity training consisting of micro training and phishing simulations to train users on how to spot and defend against phishing and other scams. The business cybersecurity training only requires a few minutes a week but has resulted in extraordinary increases in users' cyber security awareness.
Our business cybersecurity training program is a very low-cost program but is a must have for every company. A few minutes of your employee’s time every week is well worth the return in improved security.