10 Steps to Safeguard Data & Network Security of an Organization…

Much of the information stored electronically on the Organization is sensitive monetary, personal, scientific, and otherwise private data. Unauthorized dissemination or access to data and the Organization community is unethical and, probable, illegal. Personal liability may be incurred whether or not both are compromised intentionally or inadvertently.

There are numerous statutory privateness necessities we need to comply with (HIPPA, GBL, FERPA, and many others.) to prevent the unauthorized dissemination of these facts. While following the suggestions below will not assure full compliance, they will help by using offering affirmative evidence of our compliance efforts. The obligation rests with the layout and management of the Organization Network and is predicated upon you to stick to fine safety practices.

The reason for this report isn’t to become aware of what’s or isn’t sensitive. Rather, there are several practices we’ve fallen into which are an open invitation to unauthorized get entry. There are 10 simple modifications in work conduct that might cross a long way in proscribing our vulnerability to unauthorized get entry to and dissemination of confidential facts.

Step 1: Use a Strong, Unique Password and Never Share?It

The key to gaining access to the community is your password. To reduce the hazard of a computer or some other individual guessing your password, you ought to select a robust one. A strong password is a mixture of letters, numbers, and emblems that isn’t a phrase or common phrase. Your password needs to no longer be a phrase from the dictionary or one which a person with a little non-public know-how of you may wager (i.e. Your baby’s call or your telephone number). As properly, the password you operate to get entry to Organization assets to have to be unique from the ones you operate to access assets out of doors the Organization, and, most significantly, you must by no means share your password with absolutely everyone or write it down everywhere.

One of the most not unusual password-stealing tricks employed by using hackers and data thieves is to name on the cellphone and impersonate a company’s help desk team of workers or community administrator. Don’t fall for it. If you receive a name or e-mail soliciting for your password, you have to refuse to offer it and right away document the incident to the Helpdesk.

Step 2: Do Not Let Another Person Use Your User?Account

Your consumer account represents all of the computing assets that you in my opinion were authorized to access. By letting someone else use your consumer account, you are permitting them to get the right of entry to resources for which they’ll not have approval. Anything that they will do well, in the end, be your duty.

Step 3: Use Network Drives for Sensitive or Important Files

All files that incorporate touchy records, or that are important to the Organization’s work have to be stored on a community power — but only so long as they’re wished.

Why use network drives?

• Security: Anyone with physical access to a computer can, one way or another, get access to the files stored on the computer’s local drives — A:\ through E:\.
• Data Protection: If a computer “crashes,” then all data on the local drives might be lost. Files stored on the network drives are backed up on a nightly basis. In the event data is lost due to some disaster, there is a much greater chance that the data can be restored to a relatively recent state.

Step 4: Lock Your Computer When Away from Your Desk During the?Day

The global’ s strongest password won’t count numbers at all if you stroll far away from your table, even for a couple of minutes, and leave your laptop on and unlocked. For computers walking Windows 2000 and Windows XP, press Ctrl-Alt-Del keys concurrently and pick out Lock Workstation. When you return to your table, you will enter your Novell password to free up the laptop. For Mac workstations using OS X, you could password-protect your account below “System Preferences” to be activated whenever the computer goes into Sleep mode.

While you are at your computer you should arrange your work area so that your screen cannot be viewed by casual visitors. This can alleviate a lot of inadvertent viewing of personal or confidential information.

Step 5: Shutdown Your Computer When You Leave for the?Day

When you leave the office each night, turn off your computer. A computer that is off cannot be infected or compromised by attacks from other computers.

Step 6: Use Encryption for Viewing and Exchanging Sensitive Data

You should always use encryption to view websites containing sensitive data. You can tell if a website is using encryption if the web address begins with “HTTPS”. If you have created a website that collects sensitive data, you should be sure that the site forces users to use encryption when submitting data and that the data, once submitted, is being stored securely.

Remember, email isn’t encrypted and therefore should now not be used to exchange touchy records. If you have got need to switch touchy facts via e-mail, the information ought to be dispatched in a password-blanketed zip document attachment. Tell the recipient the password in person or thru telephone, not thru email.

Finally, remember that when using wireless connections, they are not secure. Any data you may be accessed can be captured by someone using similar technology. When accessing data and information that is confidential, you should only use a connection that is hardwired to your machine.

Step 7: Do Not Install Unapproved Software

Only the programs found in Start > USM Apps > Install have been approved for installation on organizational computers. If you feel you need to install a piece of software not found there, you must get the approval of IT staff first.

Do not install unfastened software programs discovered on the Internet. These applications regularly gift a remarkable security risk. To keep away from this, be very cautious, while browsing the Internet, of pages that provide something at no cost by using just “clicking right here”. If surprising pop-up messages are displayed at the same time as browsing the Internet, use the “X” inside the upper proper corner of the message to close it.

Step 8: Think Before Opening Email Attachments

Be suspicious of emails with attachments that you were not expecting to receive, even if they appear to be from someone you know. If it appears to be from someone you know, before you open it, contact them and confirm that they intended to send you the attachment.

Step 9: Schedule an Antivirus Scan of Your?Computer

Most of us have a weekly staff meeting. At these times your computer is usually sitting idle in your office. That is a perfect time to schedule an antivirus scan of your computer to run. These can run while your computer is locked. If any viruses are detected, please report them to the Helpdesk.

Step 10: Be Careful Using Internet?Explorer

We feel it is best to only use Internet Explorer for those websites that require it (i.e., PeopleSoft) and use a different browser for all other web activity. The Internet Explorer web browser that comes with Microsoft Windows seems to have a new security flaw almost every month. While we apply patches for these flaws as quickly as possible, IT recommends the use of Mozilla’s Firefox.

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