Oct 10, 2012 | SMB Technology
IT Security Assessment An IT Security Assessment is a great way to take an inventory of what your needs are in IT Security. Whether you must comply with regulatory requirements, including HIPAA and PCI, or are concerned about your IT Security, consider an IT Security Assessment as a starting point to see how your company is protected today. If you perform an IT Security Self Assessment, the Computer Technology Industry Association, CompTIA recommends you ask yourself some of the following questions: Data Types and Storage Do you store Private Health Information (e.g. HR records). If so, how many records? Do you store Personal Financial Information (e.g. SSN, date of birth, account Information, banking information). How many records? Do you store credit card data? How many records? What is the nature of your confidential intellectual property? Where do you do business – state, national, international? Where are backup devices (tapes, drives) stored? In a secured area? Company Information What is your tolerance for downtime (for the most critical applications)? Do you carry breach insurance? Do you carry liability insurance? Have you had a breach in the past three years? If so, what were the consequences? Security Processes Do you have written security policies and procedures? Do you perform internal audits? How often? Do you perform external audits? How often? Do you perform vulnerability checks? How often? Do you regularly review policies and procedures? Do you have an incident response plan? Do you have employees working from home? Do you have encrypted hard drives? Removable media? Do you control and log privileged access? Do you have a mobile device strategy? These...
Jun 26, 2012 | SMB Technology
What Has Your Backup Done For You Lately? Businesses of all sizes rely on their data more than ever before. What’s more, businesses have more data to protect and backups to store than ever. Critical files, customer data, email archives and other application data run our world. It’s not a bad idea to backup that data to a local drive or tape. In the case of a true disaster, such as an earthquake or fire your local backup may not be enough. By using online or remote backup, you can store your data securely in an offsite location and have it available in a disaster recovery scenario. Also, with cloud computing, companies large and small, can now affordably backup data offsite. When you evaluate a remote backup solution here are a few things to consider: Is My Data Secure? When you think about moving your data backup offsite most business owners think about security first. While backup vendors take data security seriously, their approach may vary for how your data is protected. Data storage in a private cloud may add an additional physical layer of security by dedicating hardware to your individual needs. A private cloud solution may drive the cost up and may be more than you need. Public cloud storage may use a virtual environment to store your data, making it more affordable. However, a public cloud solution may not comply with your industry regulations for data security. It is important you understand your security needs and priorities to find the best remote backup solution for your business. How Long Does It Take To Recover? When you...
