Hackers are always on the prowl for weaknesses in your systems, but there are ways to beef up security so you don't become the next easy target. Hackers are finding new systems vulnerabilities and developing new means of attack all the time. What methods do they favour and how secure is your network?. . .
Hackers are always on the prowl for weaknesses in your systems, but there are ways to beef up security so you don't become the next easy target. Hackers are finding new systems vulnerabilities and developing new means of attack all the time. What methods do they favour and how secure is your network? This article identifies some common vulnerabilities and offers 10 useful and easy-to-apply tips on how to make your network more secure.

  1. Perform discover-and-scan tests
    The purpose of these tests is to highlight all entry points from the internet to the internal network. Make sure you know all entry points into your network rather than assume where these points are.

    Most large organisations, organisations that have merged or been taken over, and organisations that have in any way gained systems from sources not under their direct control cannot confidently say they are aware of all entry points to their network.

    A firewall is merely a door to the network; there may be many holes and entry points that an organisation is unaware of. These supposedly `unknown' points are targets for hackers, as they normally have the weakest security controls in place.

    The first step in securing these weak entry points is to identify them. This is not an easy task and requires skilled attack-and-penetration experts to perform the discovery successfully.

  2. Perform attack-and-penetration tests
    The aim of these tests is to quickly highlight vulnerable points and aspects of the network: ones that are accessible from both an external and internal user's perspective. By assessing the extent to which you are able to thwart attacks from external sources through the tests, you are able to patch and correct the holes that could allow intruders to hack into your network.

    As surveys have consistently shown, hacking is as great a concern from an internal user's perspective as from an external unknown source. Thus, these penetration tests should be performed from the inside (internal user) as well as from an external (unknown) perspective for the true vulnerabilities to be detected.

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