Tag: IT security

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Security

The Importance of Cyber Security Architecture

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Organizations spend enormous amounts of time and money on cyber security. As a result, they prioritize protection based on potential harm. This includes theft of customer information, loss of intellectual property, or direct damage to the physical infrastructure.

However, cyber security is not just about protecting the organization from external threats. It is also about protecting the employees of the organization. Employees often have access to confidential information about customers, suppliers, and other vendors and data about the company’s employees, products, and finances. If sold or stolen, this confidential information can lead to identity theft, loss of customers, and lower employee morale.

Having a solid security plan can increase the overall security of the IT infrastructure and enable an additional level of protection in all online activities.

Every Business Needs Security

data-security-corpus-christi

Security architecture helps IT and security professionals identify the security controls that are required to protect an organization. It takes into account the organization’s goals, policies, business needs, and existing technology. 

The framework helps determine how security controls will be managed and implemented. It also identifies what security capabilities are required and what controls need to be implemented.

Security architecture is much more than a collection of security tools and policies. It is a set of interconnected processes, procedures, and technologies that protect information and infrastructure from threats.

Here’s how to think about security architecture: Your business needs to communicate securely with partners, customers, and vendors. It needs to store information securely. It needs to authenticate users and devices and encrypt their communications. It needs to manage user privileges, provide secure remote access, and protect against information leakage.

Security architecture supports all of this. In addition, it ensures that security is implemented effectively and consistently.

Essential Components of Security Architecture

Security architecture framework should include the following components:

  • Security framework: This refers to a collection of statements that describe how security controls should be implemented.
  • Security policies: These define the acceptable levels of risk, operations, and loss for the organization.
  • Security requirements: These determine how security controls should be implemented to protect the organization from threats.
  • Security capabilities: These set how security controls will respond when a security event occurs.
  • Security controls: These define how security controls are implemented.
  • Security management: This refers to a collection of statements describing how security should be managed.

Implementing a security architecture for your business

Security architecture is an organization’s overall security strategy to protect its information and systems from external threats.

However, not all security architectures are created equally. While all organizations need security architecture, not all organizations have the same needs or goals. 

Whatever the plans are, the need for IT security in an organization can be split into four categories: 

  • Prevention and detection 
  • Monitoring and analysis 
  • Incident response  
  • Crisis communications

This is why security experts from our IT consultant service do extensive research before coming up with a security architecture plan that meets your company’s needs. Here are some of the key processes for creating a security architecture.

1. Understanding Business Goals & Structure

Security architectures are most often designed to meet an organization’s business objectives, such as maintaining data security, preventing unauthorized access, and complying with regulatory standards.

For example, a healthcare organization’s security architecture might include measures to prevent hacking of its computer systems from complying with HIPAA regulations.

Security architecture aims to identify, manage, and mitigate risks to an organization’s information assets. Good security architecture helps an organization achieve its business objectives, such as protecting sensitive data and controlling costs.

Understanding the scope of IT security and devising a plan around it is incredibly important.

2. Customize the plan according to the scope

Security architectures are not one-size-fits-all. Some organizations, such as financial institutions, need more protection than others. Different businesses, such as manufacturing corporations deal with different risks. An organization’s security architecture should meet its business objectives by protecting information assets and supporting business strategy.

The best security architectures are those that align with an organization’s specific business goals. This is why we sit down with the team to develop a strong plan and an implementation strategy for the security architecture. 

3. Creating a Strategy

We begin by creating an overall security strategy. Most security architectures include the software, hardware, and policies that provide security. Security architectures also address various security technologies, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and anti-virus systems.

This high-level strategy includes a high level of threat and risk analysis.

4. Building the Design

We set security priorities first. The highest priorities are mapped to the highest priority projects.

Security architects design security processes. These may include incident reporting, handling, and change management.

5. Developing architecture 

Security architects create security plans that identify which security technologies are suitable for the highest priority security projects. Security architects also develop policies, standards, and procedures that guide security engineers and system administrators in implementing and using the security architectures.

6. Training employees

They train employees with the best security practices in mind. This is crucial to ensure that the employees meet the high-security standards and do everything they can to maintain online security. 

Do you want to implement a robust security architecture for your organization? Let our security experts at LayerOne Networks help you. We are one of the most experienced IT consulting firms that provide the best security service in Corpus Christi. Contact our team to get insights into devising an architecture customized for you.

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IT Security
Security

IT Security vs. IT Compliance: What is the Difference?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Is there any difference between IT security and IT compliance?

This is often one of the common doubts many get when talking about securing their IT systems.

IT security and IT compliance both have to deal with protecting the information. But that’s where the similarities stop. There are quite a lot of differences between what goes on in IT security and IT compliance.

But, for some IT professionals, both terms are interchangeable, and their differences get blurred. This blog specifically sheds light on what constitutes IT security and IT compliance and the differences between them both.

What is IT Security?

IT Security vs. IT Compliance: What is the Difference?

IT security is needed to prevent attacks from malicious sources and protect our IT systems. IT security is also about minimizing the damage in the event of an unstoppable attack and ensuring that sensitive information is kept safe.

While the explanation seems simple, the process behind IT security is not. There are many ways through which hackers can gain access to our IT systems, and IT security professionals need to predict and enforce firewalls to prevent them.

At LayerOne Networks, we provide security services for companies in Corpus Christi and use a combination of IT security practices to keep the security systems updated. We use a set of automated tools, security kits, and manual processes wherever needed to conduct regular audits and tests to reinforce and strengthen IT security.

What is IT Compliance?

IT Security vs. IT Compliance: What is the Difference?

IT compliance is the need to follow a specific set of regulations based on third-party requirements. While there’s no direct motivation for IT compliance, like IT security, failure to meet the compliance needs can have serious repercussions.

IT compliance helps maintain a standard of security for the users by enforcing specialized IT security practices. Usually, IT compliance is mandated by:

  • Government
  • Client contract 
  • Industry-specific regulations and standards

For example, healthcare companies need to follow HIPAA compliance for all of their IT systems to maintain the data security of the patient’s information.

Similarly, there are various other industry standards that every business needs to follow. Moreover, adhering to the standards of compliance will also serve as a plus point for client acquisition. 

Our IT consulting firm has helped many companies to understand such compliance needs and adhere to them. We analyze such mandatory IT compliances for a business and assist them to be in line with them all.

What’s the difference between IT security & IT compliance?

IT compliance is fixed when compared to IT security. With IT compliance, you’ll need to follow all the particulars in the industry, government, and contract compliance. You don’t need to go out of your way to come up with novel ideas for it.

However, IT security is entirely flexible based on your business needs, budget, and capability. You can exercise any amount of cybersecurity as much as you need to keep your information protected. You’ll look at the security of your system from different points of view and analyze the best way to maximize data security.

Let’s compare the difference with the actual processes of IT security and IT compliance.

3 Different ways to improve IT security

Most hackers try to gain access to an IT system in 3 common ways:

  • Networks: There are network security tools and firewalls that we can install to fortify the networks. It can prevent hackers from attacking the system and quickly rely on the hacking attempt by security professionals.
  • People: One of the most common ways hackers try to crack an IT system is through the people. The employees may carelessly click on malicious links or open websites through which the malware gets installed, gains all the login information, and sends it to the hacker. To prevent it, we need to conduct regular IT security seminars to warn people against such hacking attempts.
  • Devices: The physical devices we carry may be prone to phishing attacks. There is specific software we need to install and conduct regular screening to prevent such types of attacks.

3 Different ways to follow IT compliance

Here are some common IT compliance frameworks that many companies need to adhere to:

  • SOX ( Sarbanes-Oxley Act) is required to maintain the financial data of public companies. It has several requirements for maintaining, destroying, and altering the data.
  • PCI DSS compliance stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. It is created for maintaining financial information by using secured networks, different levels of access, and testing. 
  • ISO 27000 is a standard that certifies companies that follow certain high levels of security. It outlines how a company should approach and follow information security management. While this isn’t mandatory, companies that follow ISO 27000 have an edge in clients’ eyes over those who don’t.

Striking a balance between IT security & IT compliance

When we look at it closely, IT compliance is often seen as a mandatory one where we can do the minimum and get by. This is where IT security complements compliance and adds to the protection of IT systems.

Every organization requires robust security systems, multi-layered defense protocols, and IT security training sessions. We can use compliance to find the gap in IT security and further increase the protection with advanced security systems and tools.

IT compliance establishes the foundation of IT security, and with further protection measures, we can ensure that your IT infrastructure is kept safe at all times. 

With the new improvements in technology, it’s becoming challenging for organizations to keep up with the latest hacking techniques and update their IT security. This is where our IT consulting firm is of the best use.

With our managed IT services focused specifically on IT security and compliance, we can keep your entire IT ecosystem secure. Reach out to us at (361)653-6800 to discuss your IT security needs in detail.

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An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business
Security

An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business

Written by Layer One Networks Published

There are so many things for a small business owner to juggle — everyday operations, new improvements, and employee management are just the tip of the iceberg.

Add to it the scare of IT security, and the whole thing becomes all the more difficult.

Small businesses are more prone to hacking attempts. In fact, 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses. While this statistic may scare any small business owner, there are so many things that you can do to reinforce security — and at no additional cost.

And one of such essential security measures you need to employ is two-factor authentication, commonly known as 2FA.

What is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?

Most online platforms are offering 2FA now. Right from Gmail to cryptocurrency exchanges, 2FA has added an extra layer of security and prevented many hacking attempts. If you want to strengthen your protection further, you can enforce zero-force security.

But if you want to start small and slowly add more layers to your data security, then the very first thing you need to enable is 2FA.

2FA is the next level of authentication after verifying your login details. Even if the hacker knows your username and password, 2FA can still stop the hacker from accessing your account.

How Can a 2FA Look Like?

An Ultimate Guide on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) for Small Business

Every platform offers a certain type of two-factor authentication. For example, when you log in to your Google account and enable 2FA, you’ll receive a notification to confirm the login from a new location on your registered smartphone. 

But this is not the only form of 2FA.

A 2FA can be:

  • A security question
  • An instant security number
  • A pre-created pin or security question
  • A fingerprint scanner on your smartphones

While these types of 2FAs can be found commonly on many online platforms, there are also physical forms of 2FA like a card or a key. This is best for physical storage locations of sensitive data or products.

It’s highly advisable that you enable 2FA on the common platforms you use for your small business. If you’re unsure of enabling 2FA on any online platforms, you can reach out to your IT service provider or any other reliable IT consulting firm to help out.

4 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs 2FA

Every small business needs 2FA, but why? Because there are no drawbacks and lots of advantages. Here are some prime reasons why you need to enable 2FA for your small business right now.

  • You Need to Keep Your Sensitive Information Safe

Can you imagine the repercussions if your sensitive information, including customer’s data, falls into the wrong hands?

This one incident could very well lead to the derailing of your small business. When you don’t want such unfortunate situations to happen, you need to add as much security as possible to your critical platforms. This includes any cloud storage you’re using, your email account, CRM, online banking, and other platforms where you share or store important data.

  • You Need to Give The Hackers a Hard Fight

Let’s face the truth. It’s become very easy for hackers to use malware to access all our usernames and passwords. If there’s one thing that can stop them and give them a hard fight, it is the 2FA. 

If your platforms allow you to get notified of logins from new devices, it’s vital that you enable them. This way, you can be informed when someone tries to hack your account and quickly take steps to prevent it.

  • You Have Nothing to Lose Since it’s Free!

While many other managed IT services and security solutions may cost you at least some money, there’s no investment to use 2FA on online platforms. All you need to do is enable 2FA, test it once, and be assured that you’ve added an extra layer of security. You don’t have anything to lose!

  • You Don’t Need to Spend Time to Implement 2FA

Now that we’ve cleared that it’s free, the next question you may ask is, ‘Should I spend a long time on 2FA?’ Not at all!

It’s as simple as clicking a button on and off. You can switch off 2FA anytime you need, of course, with some password protection and verification. But you still have complete control over your 2FA. You just need to make sure to remember the type of 2FA you’ve enabled and remember it.

Wrapping Up

As a small business starting, you don’t need to pour tons of money for your data security. With just a few simple steps free of cost, you can ensure an additional level of security — with no strings attached.

If you still haven’t enabled 2FA for your critical applications, then it’s high time you do it. It can make all the difference between a successful hacking or a failed attempt.

If you’re looking for additional security than 2FA, then you can reach out to our company offering security service in Corpus Christi. Layer One Networks is a popular IT consulting firm specializing in managed IT services and IT security. You can reach out to us now to know more about our cost-effective security solutions for small businesses.

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Cyber Security
Security

Cybersecurity Risks in a Pandemic: What You Need to Know

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Ever since the work-from-home culture has become the norm, many cybersecurity risks are coming to light.

Companies that were once confident in their data security can now be seen fretting about picking up the pieces and enforcing high-security measures to protect their confidential information. And many new cyberthreats that weren’t given much notice before and are becoming the prime focus now.

At LayerOne Networks, we have helped our customers transition with ease to the new work-from-home norm and maintain their IT security. While there are a few critical adjustments needed from the side of the organization, you can still enforce the same level of security even during this change of workplace. 

The Vulnerable State of Companies in the Remote Culture

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the whole world upside down. Companies that never allowed WFH before are now becoming a permanent remote team now. Managers who once preferred to have their teams work from the office have to meet them on virtual calls. Everyone is adopting the new normal and so should your IT system.

It’s a vulnerable state for the company, especially for the cybersecurity team, to navigate this sudden change. Within a single month, many organizations have to facilitate the means for employees to work from anywhere and the IT infrastructure and security teams played a central role in it.

Understandably, not a lot of businesses were ready for this shift. The quick rise in digital communications that replaced face-to-face discussions made companies more prone to attacks from outside. As a result, the cybersecurity teams and IT consulting firms were under immense pressure to develop new ways to safeguard the organizations from threats.

Cybersecurity Risks In A Pandemic: What You Need To Know

Meanwhile, the hackers quickly got down to work and used phishing emails and fake websites to lure the employees into allowing the malware inside. Some unfortunate companies to become victims went swiftly under attack and were struggling hard to survive.

During such times, we worked with many clients to quickly facilitate safe operations with remote working. Our managed IT services took care of this shift to remote work-life and enforced new security systems and procedures for a safe working atmosphere from anywhere.

Here are some of the crucial things that every business needs to know about cybersecurity in the pandemic.

5 Essential Evolutions to Improve Cybersecurity During Pandemic

Cybersecurity Risks In A Pandemic: What You Need To Know

First of all, we need to understand that developing better cybersecurity systems for employees in the pandemic isn’t complete without their involvement. Here are the things we need to address to upgrade security systems.

  • Educate the Employees About Safe Practices

The entire workforce should be aware of cybersecurity threats that could compromise the whole company. Most of these threats trick the employees into taking some action and then gaining access through that. 

Firstly, businesses need to conduct regular security workshops with practical examples to take the employees through various ways to be targeted. Secondly, the cybersecurity team should send test phishing emails and other similar security attacks designed to draw out the employees who are most vulnerable and help them increase their security awareness. 

Read More: Tips for Protecting Your Email from Cyber Threats

  • Shift to New IT Operating Models

Businesses that need to respond quickly to such a long-term situation can’t do well with a bare minimum solution. You need a new operating model that considers the remote work culture and includes high-security tools and applications with stringent protection measures. 

  • Use Cloud-Based Security Platform

When even your cybersecurity professionals are working from home, adapting to a cloud-based security system makes sense.

It will give your employees instant access to files and databases and help your data security team maintain a stronghold on security. They can enforce threat protection solutions, conduct regular testing and security audits and take quick actions when a threat is detected. Also, cloud-based solutions can reduce your operating costs and give control over remote employees’ protection measures.

  • Create a Renewing System of Access & Authorization

Gaining access to passwords and authorization answers is easier in the remote work culture. This is why you need to make sure that they don’t fall into the wrong hands or safeguard the system even when that happens.

You need to create a regular system of changing the passwords every few weeks, along with any other authorization details. You can also provide remote access to systems without a VPN and set up privileged access management to give a higher level of access to the IT admin teams.

  • Implement New Security Technologies

As new cyber technologies emerge, so do hacking technologies.

With that in mind, you need to educate your employees about updating their systems to newer software versions and conducting regular checks for viruses and malware.

You can hire an external IT consulting firm to implement new cybersecurity technologies that identify the latest threats and prepare to prevent them from gaining access. These new threats are often not detected during manual checks, and therefore, cybersecurity technology should be able to see instances in nanoseconds. 

If you want to implement such security solutions, you can now consult with one of our data security experts.

Wrapping Up

Cybersecurity risks have heightened ever since the pandemic broke out and remote work culture was introduced. You can still keep your business protected by staying on top of the cybersecurity threats, raising new policies for employees, educating them, and implementing new security measures.

LayerOne Networks is one of the top IT consulting firms in Corpus Christi offering security services. Reach out to our team to know more about how we can enhance your cybersecurity.

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What Is The Need For IT Security And Cybersecurity
data security services

What is The Need For IT Security And Cybersecurity?

Written by Layer One Networks Published

Ever had a scare of an unauthorized attempt to breach your IT system?

When you had to go through such a harrowing experience, you would know why you should give due importance to IT security. 

Cyberattacks are becoming so frequent and common. Nowadays, hackers aren’t just targeting the big corporations but also the small startups and even ordinary individuals. So when the risks of being open to such cyber threats are increasing, we need to mount additional security to protect our IT systems from such malicious attempts.

In this blog, we’ll look at some strong reasons you need data security systems and how you can enforce them.

3 Reasons Why Your Company Needs Powerful IT Security

3 Reasons Why Your Company Needs Powerful IT Security

At LayerOne Networks, one of the top IT consulting firms in the country, we’ve seen many clients coming to us after data breaches or cyber threats. And there’s one thing we advise to all of them — take preventive measures before the danger becomes real and does real damage. We offer security IT services for clients to protect themselves before the threat becomes a significant issue.

This is why our cybersecurity experts are bringing together some compelling reasons for you to take IT security seriously before you become a victim.

  • Hackers Leave No One

Hackers Leave No One

The threat of cyberattacks is accurate, and it’s there to stay. Therefore, every organization has to take preventive measures to keep their data safe and their customers’ sensitive information secure. 

Several hackers have different purposes for hacking and gaining access. Some do it for monetary purposes, some for political reasons, and some do it just because they can! There are so many different kinds of hacking attempts that don’t see the nature of your business or the amount of money you have.

You may be a slowly-growing startup, and you may still be hacked or infiltrated with ransomware just because your system was easy to break.

In a first-ever study at the University of Maryland, hacker attempts are found to happen every 39 seconds on average! Even if you’ve been spared till now, you never know when your turn might come. So, it’s always better to be cautious and on your defense to protect your IT systems.

  • The Developments in Technologies Help the Hackers Too

The Developments in Technologies Help the Hackers Too

As we see new technologies coming up for data protection and cybersecurity, we must remember that more such technologies can help hackers. The hackers are also getting armed with new tools and software, which allows them to break firewalls and find loopholes in the security systems.

For example, when your employees use IoT devices in the same network they use to log in to your company’s server, it becomes even more accessible for hackers to gain access. Such technological advancements are proving to be a cybersecurity threat and can compromise even highly secure systems.

Companies need to be cautious with the software they use and be stringent with employee policies on the login. You don’t just need robust cybersecurity solutions but should also teach your employees to conduct business in a safe atmosphere.

  • Cybersecurity Threats Are Far More Than We Think

When we say cybersecurity, it doesn’t just mean protecting the access pages and keeping up firewalls. There are multiple threats in cybersecurity that require individual attention:

Data security is the protection of the information stored in an offline database or online cloud storage. There are numerous ways through which hackers can gain access to these storage systems. Several security measures are needed to prevent that, like data encryption, tokenization, data access security management, and many more.

Network security is essential to protect the entire IT system from unauthorized access through the networks. Intruders generally use malware or viruses to get access details and codes and use them to target companies.

You can improve network security through antivirus programs, firewalls, renewing new passwords regularly, antispy software, and antimalware software.

Application security is needed when a particular application is targeted — either to gain access to the application’s critical information or gain access to the entire system through the application. Applications can be protected from such access through regular maintenance and security checks, updating the applications often, and conducting vulnerability and penetration testing to find loopholes in the security systems.

These are just a few of the common cybersecurity risks and systems you need. Unfortunately, there are far more such security risks your company is prone to, and it’s vital to analyze and understand every one of them to ensure their security.

What to Look for in a Cybersecurity Service Provider

If you’re searching for someone to provide managed IT services, including cybersecurity, then you need to know what you’re looking for.

Here are some essential qualities that a cybersecurity provider should have:

  • Expertise in various types of cybersecurity 
  • Expertise in the recent hacking technologies and IT security solutions
  • Prompt in chipping in and fixing issues
  • Dependable to handle the sensitive information
  • Previous history of successful security projects and satisfied clients
  • Demonstrated ability to control the security of your entire IT infrastructure 
  • An eye for finding security loopholes and knowledge of improving the current position

If you’ve been wondering, ‘Where can I find such IT services near me to enforce cybersecurity?’, we have the solution. LayerOne Networks offers IT consulting services on cybersecurity to help you figure out the best way to keep your systems safe.

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