There is a wide variety of network security hardware, software, and methods that can be combined to protect sensitive data against external attacks and insider threats.

This article outlines network security core principles and the most popular technologies used by cybersecurity professionals to reduce network vulnerabilities.

What is Network Security?

Network security is any practice or tool designed and implemented to secure a network and its data. It includes software, hardware, and cloud solutions. Effective network security tools stop a wide range of cyberattacks, and prevent attacks spreading throughout the network in case of a data breach.

In today’s cyber environment, every organization must implement network security processes and solutions to maintain the uptime of their online resources. All network security solutions are implemented in accordance with the core principles of network security.

Understanding the Principles of Network Security

The CIA Triad

The CIA triad consists of three core principles that work together to ensure network security. Any network security solution can be categorized as supporting one of the following principles:

• Confidentiality: Data is kept protected against threats and unauthorized access. 
• Integrity: Data is kept accurate and trustworthy by preventing accidental or intentional alterations or deletion.
• Availability: Data is kept accessible to those who are authorized to have access. 

Network Security Components

To deter cyberattacks and hacking attempts, a total of three types of network security components can be called upon – hardware, software, and cloud security components.

Hardware components include servers and devices that perform an array of security operations within a network. Hardware components can be set up in two ways:

• Out of the path of network traffic (“out-of-line”): Operating as a separate entity from network traffic, out-of-line security appliances are tasked with monitoring traffic and raising alerts when they detect malicious data.
• In the path of network traffic (“in-line”): A more popular option of the two, in-line hardware appliances are tasked with directly blocking data packets the moment they run into potential threats.

Security software components are installed on devices across the network, providing added detection capabilities and threat remediation. The far most common form of software network security components are antivirus applications.

Finally, cloud services entail offloading the security infrastructure onto a cloud provider. The protection strategy is similar to in-line hardware appliances as all the network traffic goes through the cloud provider. While there, the traffic gets scanned for potential threats before either being blocked or allowed into the network.

Sound networks usually rely on a combination of several security components working at once. This kind of a multi-layered defense system ensures that even if a threat manages to slip through the cracks of one component, another layer of protection will keep it from gaining access to the network.

Layered Security

Layered security is a network security practice that combines multiple security controls to protect networks against threats. By using a layered security approach, a network has the greatest amount of coverage possible to address the wide variety of security threats that could infiltrate the network. A layered security approach also provides added opportunities for threat detection and response in the event that a threat bypasses one of the security layers.

For example, in an effort to secure a house against outside intruders a homeowner may use a fence, locks on the doors, security cameras, and a guard dog. Each added layer of security increases the overall effectiveness of the defense strategy while simultaneously adding unique threat detection and prevention capabilities that complement and supplement the other security measures.

The Zero-Trust Framework

Zero-trust is a cybersecurity framework that emphasizes that organizations should not automatically allow traffic throughout the network, even if it comes from an internal source. This differs from the castle-and-moat framework, where network security is achieved by creating a hardened perimeter of security that is focused on addressing external threats. 

The core concept of zero-trust is that traffic cannot be trusted until it is properly verified as being legitimate. This protects networks against insider threats and compromised credentials within the internal perimeter that would normally provide threat actors with minimal resistance as they spread throughout the network.

Verification is achieved through a variety of methods and technologies, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), identity and access management (IAM), and data analytics. In a segmented network, the verification systems that are in place continue to verify traffic as it passes along each of the segments to ensure that the user activity is legitimate throughout the entire session.

Types of Network Security, Tools, & Methods 

Access Control & Authentication

Access control and authentication measures protect networks and data by validating user credentials and ensuring that those users are only permitted to access the data that is necessary for their role. Tools that aid access control and authentication include privileged access management (PAM), Identity as a Service (IaaS) providers, and network access control (NAC) solutions.

Access control and authentication solutions are also used to verify that valid users are accessing the network from secured endpoints. To verify, it performs a ‘health check’ that ensures the latest security updates and prerequisite software are installed on the endpoint device.

Anti-Virus & Anti-Malware

Anti-virus and anti-malware protect networks from malicious software that is used by threat actors to create a backdoor that they can use to further infiltrate the network. It’s important to note that while there are similarities between anti-virus and anti-malware programs, they are not exactly the same.

• Anti-Virus: Prevention-based, protects networks by proactively stopping endpoint devices from becoming infected.
• Anti-Malware: Treatment-based, protects networks by detecting and destroying malicious programs that have infiltrated the network.

As the nature of malicious software is continually evolving, implementing both network security options in conjunction is the best method for ensuring network security.

Application Security

Application security ensures that the software used throughout the network is secure. Application security is ensured by limiting the amount of software that is used, ensuring that software is kept up-to-date with the latest security patches and that applications developed for use in the network are appropriately hardened against potential exploits.

Behavioral Analytics

Behavioral analytics is an advanced threat detection method that compares historical network activity data to current events in an effort to detect anomalous behavior. An example of this would be if a user typically uses a given endpoint device to access a specific database somewhere between 3-4 times per day on average, an instance where that user instead uses a new endpoint device to access a different database several times would be flagged for review.

DDoS Prevention

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks attempt to crash the network by overloading it with a large influx of incoming connection requests. DDoS prevention solutions analyze incoming requests to identify and filter out illegitimate traffic in an effort to maintain the network’s accessibility for legitimate connections.

DDoS attacks are either carried out through a distributed network of attackers that execute scripts to send a large volume of incoming requests to the network or through a widespread series of devices that have been compromised and converted into an orchestrated system known as a botnet. 

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Data loss prevention (DLP) tools protect the data inside a network by preventing users from sharing sensitive or valuable information outside of the network and ensuring that data is not lost or misused. This can be accomplished by analyzing files that are sent via email, file transfers, and instant messages for data that is considered to be sensitive, such as personally identifiable information (PII). 

Email Security

Email security measures protect networks from phishing attacks that attempt to trick users into clicking links to malicious websites or downloading seemingly innocent attachments that introduce malware into the network. Email security tools proactively fight phishing by identifying suspicious emails and filtering them out before they reach the user’s inbox.

According to the 2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 94% of malware was discovered to have been delivered via email and 32% of data breaches involved phishing attacks. Email security tools complement anti-phishing training by reducing the volume of malicious emails that pass through the network and into the inboxes of users.

Endpoint Security

Endpoint security protects networks by ensuring that the devices that will be connected to the network are secured against potential threats. Endpoint security is achieved alongside network security by combining several other network security tools such as network access control, application security, and network monitoring.

An endpoint device is any piece of hardware that is connected to a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), such as workstations, laptops, smartphones, printers, and mobile kiosks. 

Firewalls

Firewalls are hardware appliances and software programs that act as a barrier between incoming traffic and the network. The firewall compares data packets that are sent over the network to predefined policies and rules that indicate whether or not the data should be permitted into the network. 

Mobile Device Security

Mobile device security centers around limiting the access that mobile devices have to the network and ensuring that the security vulnerabilities of mobile devices that are permitted on the network are monitored and managed.

Mobile device security measures include mobile device management (MDM) solutions that allow administrators to segment sensitive data on mobile devices, enforce data encryption, determine the applications that are permitted to be installed, locate lost or stolen devices, and remotely wipe sensitive data. 

Network Monitoring & Detection Systems

Network monitoring & detection systems include a wide variety of applications that are designed to monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic and respond to anomalous or malicious network activity. 

Examples of network monitoring & detection systems:

• Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) scan network traffic for suspicious activity such as policy violations in an effort to automatically block intrusion attempts.
• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) work similarly to IPS, with an emphasis on monitoring network packets and flagging suspicious activity for review.
• Security Information And Event Management (SIEM) provide a detailed overview of network events using a combination of host-based and network-based intrusion detection methods. SIEM systems provide administrators with valuable log data for investigating security incidents and flagging suspicious behavior.

Network Segmentation

Network segmentation is a common network security practice for reducing the ease of which network security threats can spread. Network segmentation involves classifying a larger network into multiple subnetworks, with each subnetwork being managed with its own unique access controls. Each subnetwork acts as its own unique network to improve monitoring capabilities, boost network performance, and enhance security.

Virtual Private Networks (VPN)

Virtual private networks provide secure remote access from a given endpoint into a network. A VPN encrypts all network traffic that goes through it to prevent the unauthorized analysis of data sent to and from the network. It is often used by off-site workers that need a secure connection to their company’s network, allowing them to access data and applications that are necessary for their role.

Web Security

Web security protects networks by proactively protecting endpoint devices against web-based threats. Web security technologies such as a web filter will use a database of known malicious or vulnerable websites to maintain a blacklist, block commonly exploited network ports, and prevent users from engaging in high-risk activities on the internet.

Web filtering solutions can be configured to only allow pre-authorized domains that are on the web filter’s whitelist. When a whitelist is used the web filter will block access to all websites that are not on the whitelist. 

Web security products may also include capabilities for analyzing connection requests to a website and determining if the website meets the minimum security requirements of the network before allowing users to access it. 

Wireless Security

Wireless security measures protect the network against vulnerabilities that are unique to wireless connections. Wi-Fi networks openly broadcast connections to nearby devices, creating added opportunities for nearby threat actors to attempt to access the network. Wireless security is enhanced through methods such as encrypting data passed over wireless networks, filtering MAC addresses to restrict access, and privatizing the network SSID to avoid broadcasting the name of the network.

Conclusion

To truly protect a network, multiple specialized hardware and software need to be installed and managed. By implementing a layered network security approach with tools that support the principles of the CIA triad, a network can be secured against a wide array of vulnerabilities.

This article was written in collaboration with Dale Strickland, Marketing Coordinator at CurrentWare.

Brute force attacks are alluring for hackers as they are often reliable and simple.

Hackers do not need to do much of the work. All they have to do is create an algorithm or use readily available brute force attack programs to automatically run different combinations of usernames and passwords until they find the right combination.  Such cyberattacks account for roughly 5 percent of all data breaches. According to statistics on data breaches, it only takes one data breach to create severe adverse implications for your business.

What is a Brute Force Attack?

The phrase “brute force” describes the simplistic manner in which the attack takes place. Since the attack involves guessing credentials to gain unauthorized access, it’s easy to see where it gets its name. Primitive as they are, brute force attacks can be very effective.

The majority of cyberattackers who specialize in brute force attacks use bots to do their bidding. Attackers will generally have a list of real or commonly used credentials and assign their bots to attack websites using these credentials.

Manual brute force cracking is time-consuming, and most attackers use brute force attack software and tools to aid them. With the tools at their disposal, attackers can attempt things like inputting numerous password combinations and accessing web applications by searching for the correct session ID, among others.

How Brute Force Attacks Work

In simple terms, brute force attacks try to guess login passwords. Brute force password cracking comes down to a numbers game.

For most online systems, a password is encouraged to be at least eight characters long. Most passwords are eight characters long but are often a mix of numeric and alphabetic (case sensitive) characters, which is 62 possibilities for a given character in a password chain. If we combine 62 options for every character in an eight-character password, the result would be 2.18 trillion possible combinations. That is a lot of combinations for a cyberattacker to try.

In the past, if a hacker tried to crack an eight-character password with one attempt per second, it would roughly take seven million years at most. Even if the hacker were able to attempt 1000 combinations per second, it would still take seven thousand years.

It’s a different story nowadays with brute force hacking software having the power to attempt vastly more combinations per second than mentioned above. For example, let’s say a supercomputer can input 1 trillion combinations per second. With that amount of power, a hacker can reduce the time it takes to try 2.18 trillion password/username combinations to just 22 seconds!

Computers manufactured within the last decade have advanced to the point where only two hours are necessary to crack an eight-character alphanumeric password. Many cyber attackers can decrypt a weak encryption hash in months by using an exhaustive key search brute force attack.

The example above applies to password combinations of 8 characters in length. The time it takes to crack a password varies depending on its length and overall complexity.

Why Hackers Use Brute Force Attacks?

Hackers use brute force attacks during initial reconnaissance and infiltration. They can easily automate brute force attacks and even run them in parallel to maximize their chances of cracking credentials. However, that is not where their actions stop.

Once they gain access to a system, attackers will attempt to move laterally to other systems, gain advanced privileges, or run encryption downgrade attacks. Their end goal is to cause a denial of service and get data out of the system.

Brute force attacks are also used to find hidden web pages that attackers can exploit. This attack can be programmed to test web addresses, find valid web pages, and identify code vulnerabilities. Once identified, attackers use that information to infiltrate the system and compromise data.

Types of Brute Force Attacks

Brute force cracking boils down to inputting every possible combination access is gained. However, there are variants of this kind of attack.

Dictionary Attack

A dictionary attack uses a dictionary of possible passwords and tests them all.

Instead of using an exhaustive key search, where they try every possible combination, the hacker begins from an assumption of common passwords. They build a dictionary of passwords and iterate the inputs.

With this approach, hackers eliminate having to attack websites randomly. Instead, they can acquire a password list to improve their chances of success.

Dictionary attacks often need a large number of attempts against multiple targets.

Simple Brute Force Attack

A simple brute force attack is used to gain access to local files, as there is no limit to the number of access attempts. The higher the scale of the attack, the more successful the chances are of entry.

Simple brute force attacks circulate inputting all possible passwords one at a time.

Hybrid Brute Force Attack

The hybrid brute force attack combines aspects of both the dictionary and simple brute force attack. It begins with an external logic, such as the dictionary attack, and moves on to modify passwords akin to a simple brute force attack.

The hybrid attack uses a list of passwords, and instead of testing every password, it will create and try small variations of the words in the password list, such as changing cases and adding numbers.

Reverse Brute Force Attack

The reverse brute force attack flips the method of guessing passwords on its head. Rather than guessing the password, it will use a generic one and try to brute force a username.

Credential Recycling

As it sounds, credential recycling reuses passwords. Since many institutions don’t use password managers or have strict password policies, password reuse is an easy way to gain access to accounts.

Because these cyberattacks depend entirely on lists of second-hand credentials gained from data breaches, they have a low rate of success. It’s essential to update usernames and passwords after a breach regularly, to limit the effectiveness of stolen credentials.

Rainbow Table Attacks

Rainbow table attacks are unique as they don’t target passwords; instead, they are used to target the hash function, which encrypts the credentials.

The table is a precomputed dictionary of plain text passwords and corresponding hash values. Hackers can then see which plain text passwords produce a specific hash and expose them.

When a user enters a password, it converts into a hash value. If the hash value of the inputted password matches the stored hash value, the user authenticates. Rainbow table attacks exploit this process.

Examples of Brute Force Attacks

How common are brute force attacks?

Brute force attacks are so frequent that everyone, from individuals to enterprises operating in the online realm, has experienced such an attack. The organizations that have been hit the hardest in the last couple of years include:

• In 2018, Firefox’s master password feature was proven to be easily cracked with a brute force attack. It is unknown how many users’ credentials were exposed. In 2019. Firefox deployed a fix to resolve this issue.
• In March 2018, Magento was hit by a brute force attack. Up to 1000 admin panels had been compromised.
• In March 2018, several accounts of members of the Northern Irish Parliament had been compromised in a brute force attack.
• In 2016, a brute force attack resulted in a massive data leak in the e-Commerce giant, Alibaba.
• According to Kaspersky, RDP-related brute force attacks rose dramatically in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every brute force attack’s end-goal attack is to steal data and/or cause a disruption of service.

How to Detect Brute Force Attacks

The key indication a bad actor is trying to brute force their way into your system is to monitor unsuccessful login attempts. If you see there have been many repeated failed login attempts, be suspicious. Watch for signs related to multiple failed login attempts from the same IP address and the use of multiple usernames from the same IP address.

Other signs can include a variety of unrecognized IP addresses unsuccessfully attempting to login to a single account, an unusual numerical or alphabetical pattern of failed logins, and multiple login attempts in a short time period.

It’s also possible for these cyberattacks to add you to a botnet that can perform denial-of-service attacks on your website. Aside from the above, spam, malware, and phishing attacks can all be the prerequisite of a brute force attack.

If you receive an email from your network service provider notifying you of a user from an unrecognized location logged into your system, immediately change all passwords and credentials.

In Conclusion, Stay Safe and Secure

The primitive nature of brute force attacks means there is an easy way to defend against them. The best defense against a brute force attack is to buy yourself as much time as you can, as these types of attacks usually take weeks or months to provide anything of substance to the hacker. The simplest precaution you can take to boost your accounts’ security is to use strong passwords.

It is also highly recommended to monitor servers and systems at all times. Utilizing a threat management system can significantly help as it detects and reports issues in real-time.

For more information, read our detailed knowledge base article on how to prevent brute force attacks.

Introduction

phoenixNAP Managed Backup for Microsoft Office 365 solution powered by Veeam has gained popularity amongst Managed Service Providers and Office 365 administrators in recent years.

Following the publication of our KB article, How To Install & Configure Veeam Backup For Office 365, we wanted to shed light on how one can leverage Object Storage as a target to offload bulk Office 365 backup data. Object Storage support has been introduced in the recent release of Veeam Backup for Office 365 v4 as of November 2019. It has significantly increased the product’s ability to offload backup data to cloud providers.

Unlike other Office 365 backup products, VBO has further solidified the product’s flexibility benefits to be deployed in different scenarios, on-premises, as a hybrid cloud solution, or as a cloud service. phoenixNAP has now made it easier for Office 365 Tenants to leverage Object Storage, and for MSPs to increase margins as part of their Managed Backup service offerings. It’s simple deployment, lower storage cost and ability to scale infinitely has made Veeam Backup for Office 365 a top performer amongst its peers.

In this article, we will be discussing the importance of taking Office 365 backup, explain Object Storage architecture in brief and present the necessary steps required to configure Object Storage as a backup repository for Veeam Backup for Office 365.

You may have different considerations in the way the product should be configured. Nonetheless, this blog will focus on leveraging Object Storage as a backup target for Office 365 data. Since Veeam Backup for Office 365 can be hosted in many ways, this blog will remain deployment-neutral as the process required to add Object Storage target repository is common to all deployment models.

Why Should We Backup Office 365?

Some misconceptions which frequently surface when mentioning Office 365 backup is the idea that since Office 365 data resides on Microsoft cloud, such data is already being taken care of. To some extent they do, Microsoft goes a long way to have this service highly available and provide some data retention capabilities, but they still make it clear that as per the Shared Responsibility Model and GDPR regulation, the data owner/controller is still the one responsible for Office 365 data. Even if they did, should you really want to place all the eggs in one basket?

Office 365 is not just limited to email communication – Exchange Online, but it is also the service used for SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Teams which are most commonly used amongst organizations to store important corporate data, collaborate, and support their distributed remote workforce. At phoenixNAP we’re here to help you elevate Veeam Backup for Office 365 and assist you in recovering against:

• Accidental deletion
• Overcome retention policy gaps
• Fight internal and external security threats
• Meet legal and compliance requirements

This further solidifies our reason why you should also opt for Veeam Backup for Office 365 and leverage phoenixNAP Object Storage to secure and maintain a solid DRaaS as part of your Data Protection Plan.

Object Storage

What is object storage?

Object Storage is another type of data storage architecture that is best used to store a significant amount of unstructured data. Whereas File Storage data is stored in a hierarchical way to retain the original structure but is complex to scale and expensive to maintain, Object Storage stores data as objects typically made up of the data itself, a variable amount of metadata and unique identifiers which makes it a smart and cost-effective way to store data.

Cache helps in cost reduction and is aimed at reducing cost expensive operations, this is especially the case when reading and writing data to/from object storage repositories. With the help of cache, Veeam Explorer is powerful enough to open backups in Object Storage and use metadata to obtain the structure of the backup data objects. Such a benefit allows the end-user to navigate through backup data without the need to download any of it from Object Storage. Large chunks of data are first compressed and then saved to Object Storage. This process is handled by the Backup Proxy server and allows for a smarter way to store data. When using object storage, metadata and cache both reside locally, backup data is transferred and located in Object Storage

In this article, we’ll be speaking on how Object Storage is used as a target for VBO Backups, but one must point out that as explained in the picture below, other Veeam products are also able to interface with Object Storage as a backup repository.

Why should we consider using it?

With the right infrastructure and continuous upkeep, Office 365 administrators and MSPs are able to design an on-premise Object Storage repository to directly store or offload O365 backup data as needed but to fully achieve and consume all its benefits, Object Storage on cloud is the ideal destination for Office 365 backups due to its simpler deployment, unlimited scalability, and lower costs;

• Simple Deployment
  As noted further down in this article one will have a clear picture of the steps required to set up an Object Storage repository on the cloud. With a few necessary pre-requires and proper planning, one can have this repository up and running in no time by following a simple wizard to create an Object Storage repository and present it as a backup repository.
• Easily Scalable
  While the ability to scale and design VBO server roles as needed is already a great benefit, the ability to leverage Object Storage to a cloud provider makes harnessing backup data growth easier to achieve and highly redundant.
• Lower Cost Capabilities
  An object-based architecture is the most effective way for organizations to store large amounts of data and since it utilizes a flat architecture it consumes disk space more efficiently thus benefiting from a relatively low cost without the overhead of traditional file architectures. Additionally, with the help of retention policies and storage limits, VBO provides great ways on how one can keep costs under control.

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 is licensed per user account and supports a variety of licensing options such as Subscription or Rental based licenses. In order to use Object Storage as a backup target, a storage account from a cloud service provider is required but other than that, feel free to start using it!

VBO Deployment Models

For the benefit of this article, we won’t be digging in too much detail on the various deployment models that exist for VBO, but we believe that you ought to know about the various models that exist when opting for VBO.

VBO can run on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud environments. O365 tenants have the flexibility to choose from different designs based on their current requirements and host VBO wherever they deem right. In any scenario, a local primary backup repository is required as this will be the direct storage repository for backups. Object Storage can then be leveraged to offload bulk backup data to a cheaper and safer storage solution provided by a cloud service provider like phoenixNAP to further achieve disaster recovery objectives and data protection.

In some instances, it might be required to run and store VBO in different infrastructures for full disaster recovery (DR) purposes. Both O365 tenants and MSPs are able to leverage the power of the cloud by collaborating with a VCSP like phoenixNAP to provide them the ability to host and store VBO into a completely different infrastructure while providing self-service restore capabilities to end-users. For MSPs, this is a great way to increase revenue by offering managed backup service plans for clients.

The prerequisites and how these components work for each environment are very similar, hence for the benefit of this article the following Object Storage configuration is generally the same for each type of deployment.

Click here to see the image in full size.

Configuring Object Storage in Veeam Backup for Office 365

As explained in the previous section, although there are different ways on how one can deploy VBO, the procedure to configure and set up Object Storage repository is quite similar in any case, hence no specific attention will be given to a particular deployment model during the following configuration walk-through.

This section of the document will assume that the initial configuration as highlighted with checkmarks below, has so far been accomplished and in a position to; set up Object Storage as a Repository, Configure the local Repository, Secure Object Storage and Restore Backup Data.

• Defined Policy-based settings and retention requirements according to Data Protection Plan and Service Costs
• Object Storage cloud account details and credentials in hand
• Office 365 prerequisite configurations to connect with VBO
• Hosted and Deployed VBO
• Installed and Licensed VBO
• Created an Organization in VBO
  Adding S3 Compatible Object Storage Repository*
  Adding Local Backup Repository
  Secure Object Storage
  Restore Backup Data

* When opting for Object Storage, it is a suggested best practice that S3 Object Storage configuration is set up in advance, this will come in handy when asked for Object Storage repository option when adding the Local Backup Repository.

Adding S3 Compatible Object Storage Repository

Step 1. Launch New Object Storage Repository Wizard

Right-click Object Storage Repositories, select Add object storage.

Step 2. Specify Object Storage Repository Name

Enter a Name for the Object Storage Repository and optionally a Description. Click Next.

Step 3. Select Object Storage Type

On the new Object storage type page, select S3 Compatible (phoenixNAP compatible). Click Next.

Step 4. Specify Object Storage Service Point and Account

Specify the Service Point and the Datacenter region. Click Add to specify the credentials to connect with your cloud account.

If you already have a credentials record that was configured beforehand, select the record from the drop-down list. Otherwise, click Add and provide your access and secret keys, as described in Adding S3-Compatible Access Key. You can also click Manage cloud accounts to manage existing credentials records.

Enter the Access key, the Secret key, and a Description. Click OK to confirm.

Step 5. Specify Object Storage Bucket

Finalize by selecting the Bucket to use and click Browse to specify the folder to store the backups. Click New folder to create a new folder and click OK to confirm

Clicking Advanced lets you specify the storage consumption soft limit to keep costs under control, this will be the global retention storage policy for Object Storage. As a best practice, this consumption value should be lower than the Object Storage repository amount you’re entitled to from the cloud provider in order to leave room for additional service data.

Click OK followed by Finish.

Adding Local Backup Repository

Step 1. Launch New Backup Repository Wizard

Open the Backup Infrastructure view.

In the inventory pane, select the Backup Repositories node.

On the Backup Repository tab, click Add Repository on the ribbon.

Alternatively, in the inventory pane, right-click the Backup Repositories node and select Add backup repository.

Step 2. Specify Backup Repository Name

Specify Backup Repository Name and Description then click Next.

Step 3. Specify Backup Proxy Server

When planning to extend a backup repository with object storage, this directory will only include a cache consisting of metadata. The actual data will be compressed and backed up directly to object storage that you specify in the next step.

Specify the Backup Proxy to use and the Path to the location to store the backups. Click Next.

Step 4. Specify Object Storage Repository

At this step of the wizard, you can optionally extend a backup repository with object storage to back up data directly to the cloud.

To extend a backup repository with object storage, do the following:

1. Select the Offload backup data to the object storage checkbox.
2. In the drop-down list, select an object storage repository to which you want to offload your data.
   Make sure that an object storage repository has been added to your environment in advance. Otherwise, click Add and follow the steps of the wizard, as described in Adding Object Storage Repositories.
3. To offload data encrypted, select Encrypt data uploaded to object storage and provide a password.

Step 5. Specify Retention Policy Settings

At this step of the wizard, specify retention policy settings.

Depending on how retention policies are configured, any obsolete restore points are automatically removed from Object Storage by VBO. A service task is used to calculate the age of offloaded restore points, when this exceeds the age of the specified retention period, it automatically purges obsolete restore points from Object Storage.

• In the Retention policy drop-down list, specify how long your data should be stored in a backup repository.
• Choose a retention type:
  • Item-level retention.
    Select this type if you want to keep an item until its creation time or last modification time is within the retention coverage.

• Snapshot-based retention.
  Select this type if you want to keep an item until its latest restore point is within the retention coverage.

• Click Advanced to specify when to apply a retention policy. You can select to apply it on a daily basis, or monthly. For more information, see Configuring Advanced Settings.

Configuring Advanced Settings

After you click Advanced, the Advanced Settings dialog appears in which you can select either of the following options:

• Daily at:
  Select this option if you want a retention policy to be applied on a daily basis and choose the time and day.

• Monthly at:
  Select this option if you want a retention policy to be applied on a monthly basis and choose the time and day, which can be the first, second, third, fourth or even the last one in the month.

Securing Object Storage

To ensure Backup Data is kept safe and secure from any possible vulnerabilities, one must make sure to secure the backup application itself, and its communication channels. Veeam has made this possible by continuously implementing key security measures to address and mitigate any possible threats while providing us with some great security functionalities to interface with Object Storage.

VBO v4 can provide the same level of protection for your data irrelevant to any deployment model used. Communications between VBO components are always encrypted and all communication between Microsoft Office 365 and VBO is encrypted by default. When using object storage, data can be protected with optional encryption at-rest.

VBO v4 also introduces a Cloud Credential Manager which lets us create and maintain a solid list of credentials provided by any of the Cloud Service Providers. These records allow us to connect with the Object Storage provider to store and offload backup data. Credentials will consist of access and secret keys and work with any S3-Compatible Object Storage.

Password Manager lets us manage encryption passwords with ease. One can create passwords to protect encryption keys that are used to encrypt data being transferred to object storage repositories. To encrypt data, VBO uses the AES-256 specification.

Watch one of our experts speak about the importance of Keeping a Tight Grip on Office 365 Security While Working Remotely.

Restoring from Object Storage

Restoring backup data from Object Storage is just as easy as if you’re restoring from any traditional storage repositories. As explained earlier in this article, Veeam Explorer is the tool used to open and navigate through backups without the need to download any of it.

Veeam Explorer uses metadata to obtain the structure of the backup data objects and once backup data has been identified for restore, you may choose to select any of the available restore options as required. When leverage Object Storage on the cloud, one is also able to host Veeam explorer locally and use it to restore Office 365 backup data from the cloud.

Where Does phoenixNAP Come into Play?

• Pricing per mailbox as low as $2 per mailbox 
• Hosting S3-Compatible Object Storage 
• Hosting Veeam Backup for Office 365 – Backup Proxy Server on our secure cloud platform 
• VCSP information 

For more information, please look at our product pages and use the form to request additional details or send an e-mail to sales@phoenixnap.com 

 

Abbreviations Table

DRaaS	Disaster Recovery as a Service
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation
MSP	Managed Service Provider
O365	Microsoft Office 365
VBO	Veeam Backup for Office 365
VCC	Veeam Cloud Connect
VCSP	Veeam Cloud & Service Provider

The adoption of cloud technologies has made setting up and managing large numbers of servers for business and application needs quite convenient. Organizations opt for high amounts of servers to satisfy load balancing needs and also to cater to situations like disaster recovery.

Given these trends, server monitoring tools have become extremely important. While there are many types of server management tools, they cater to different aspects of monitoring servers. We looked at 17 of the best software tools for monitoring servers in this article.

Best Monitoring Tools for Servers

1.  Nagios XI

A list of tools server monitoring software, would not be complete without Nagios. It’s a reliable tool to monitor server health. This Linux based monitoring system provides real-time monitoring of operating systems, applications, infrastructure performance monitoring, and systems metrics.

A variety of third-party plugins makes Nagios XI able to monitor all types of in-house applications. Nagios is equipped with a robust monitoring engine and an updated web interface to facilitate excellent monitoring capabilities through visualizations such as graphs.

Getting a central view of your server and network operations is the main benefit of Nagios. Nagios Core is available as a free monitoring system. Nagios XI comes recommended due to its advanced monitoring, reporting, and configuration options.

2.  WhatsUp Gold

WhatsUp Gold is a well-established monitoring tool for Windows servers. Due to its robust layer 2/3 discovery capabilities, WhatsUp Gold can create detailed interactive maps of the entire networked infrastructure. It can monitor web servers, applications, virtual machines, and traffic flow across Windows, Java, and LAMP environments.

It provides real-time alerts via email and SMS in addition to the monitoring and management capabilities offered in the integrated mobile application. The integrated REST API’s features include capabilities such as integrating monitoring data with other applications and automating many tasks.

WhatsUp Gold provides specific monitoring solutions for AWS, Azure, and SQL Server environments. These integrate with native interfaces and collect data regarding availability, cost, and many other environment-specific metrics.

3. Zabbix

Zabbix is a free and open-source Linux server monitoring tool. It is an enterprise-level monitoring solution and facilitates monitoring servers, networks, cloud services, applications, and services. One of its most significant advantages is the ability to configure directly from the web interface, rather than having to manage text files like on some other tools like Nagios.

Zabbix provides a multitude of metrics like CPU usage, free disk space, temperature, fan state, and network status in its network management software. Also, it provides ready-made templates for popular servers like HP, IBM, Lenovo, Dell, and operating systems such as Linux, Ubuntu, and Solaris.

The monitoring capabilities of Zabbix are enhanced even more through the possibility of setting complex triggers and dependencies for data collection and alerting.

4.  Datadog

Datadog is a consolidated monitoring platform for your servers, applications, and stacks. Named a leader in intelligent application and server monitoring in 2019 by Forrester Wave, Datadog boasts of a centralized dashboard that brings many metrics together.

Datadog’s monitoring features include those required for servers and into the realm of source control and bug tracking as well. It also facilitates many metrics, such as traffic by source and containers in cloud-native environments. Notifications are available by email, Slack, and many other channels.

Mapping dependencies and application architecture across teams has allowed users of Datadog to build a complete understanding of how applications and data flow work across large environments.

5.  SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

SolarWinds monitors your server infrastructure, applications, databases, and security. Its Systems Management Software provides monitoring solutions for servers, virtualization, disk space, server configurations, and backups.

The main advantage here is that SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor allows getting started within minutes thanks to their vast number of (1,200+) pre-defined templates for many types of servers and cloud services. These templates can quickly be customized to suit virtually any kind of setup.

SolarWinds application monitoring boasts a comprehensive system for virtual servers across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments to overcome VM Sprawl and having to switch to different tools. Tools are available for capacity planning, event monitoring, and data analysis with alerts and dashboards.

6. Paessler PRTG

Paessler Router Traffic Grapher is a server management software that uses SNMP, Packet Sniffing, and Netflow. PRTG caters to both Windows servers and Linux environments. A wide range of server monitoring software applications is available for services, network, cloud, databases, and applications.

The PTRG server monitoring solution caters to web servers, database servers, mail, and virtual servers. Cloud monitoring is the strong suit of PTRG, providing a centralized monitoring system for all types of IAAS / SAAS / PAAS solutions such as Amazon, Docker, and Azure.

PTRG monitors firewalls and IPs to ensure inbound and outbound traffic. It will provide regular updates regarding firewall status and automatic notifications through the integrated web and mobile applications continually monitoring your network security.

7. OpenNMS

OpenNMS is a fully open-source server monitoring solution published under the AGPLv3 license. It is built for scalability and can monitor millions of devices from a single instance.

It has a flexible and extensible architecture that supports extending service polling and performance data collection frameworks. OpenNMS is supported both by a large community and commercially by the OpenNMS group.

OpenNMS brings together the monitoring of many types of servers and environments by normalizing specific messages and disseminating them through a powerful REST API. Notifications are available via email, Slack, Jabber, Tweets, and the Java native notification strategy API. OpenNMS also provides ticketing integrations to RT, JIRA, OTRS, and many others.

8. Retrace

Retrace includes robust monitoring capabilities and is highly scalable. It is recommended for new teams without much experience as it provides smart defaults based on your environment. This program gives you a headstart in monitoring servers and applications.

It monitors application performance, error tracking, log management, and application metrics. Retrace notifies relevant users via SMS, email, and Slack alerts based on multiple monitoring thresholds and notifications groups.

Custom dashboards allow Retrace to provide both holistic and granular data regarding server health. These dashboard widgets collect data on CPU usage, disk space, network utilization, and uptime. Retrace supports both Windows servers as well as Linux.

9. Spiceworks Network Monitor

Spiceworks is a simplified free server monitoring software for server and network monitoring. The connectivity dashboard can be set up on any server in minutes, and after application URL configuration, monitoring can begin immediately.

You will be able to receive real-time insights regarding slow network connections and overloaded applications, both on-premise as well as on the cloud. You will be able to fix issues before they become problematic. One disadvantage is that there is no proper mechanism for notifications. Spiceworks has promised a solution to this soon through email alerts for server and application events.

The monitoring solution is fully integrated with the Spiceworks IT management cloud tools suite and also provides free support through online chat and phone.

10. vRealize Hyperic

An open-source tool for server and network monitoring from VMware, vRealize Hyperic provides monitoring solutions for a wide range of operating systems. Including middleware and applications in both physical and virtual environments.

Infrastructure and OS application monitoring tools allow users to understand availability, utilization, events, and changes across every layer of your virtualization stack, from the vSphere hypervisor to guest OSs.

Middleware monitors collect data of thousands of metrics useful for application performance monitoring. The vRealize Operations Manager application provides centralized monitoring for infrastructure, middleware, and applications.

11. Icinga

Icinga has a simple set of goals, monitor availability, provide access to relevant data, and raise alerts to keep users informed promptly. The integrated monitoring engine is capable of monitoring large environments, including data centers.

The fast web interface gives you access to all relevant data. Users will be able to build custom views by grouping and filtering individual elements and combining them in custom dashboards. This setup allows you to take quick action to resolve any issues it’s identified.

Notifications arrive via email, SMS, and integrated web and mobile applications. Icinga is fully integrated with VMware environments and fetches data about hosts, virtual servers, databases, and many other metrics and displays them on a clean dashboard.

12. Instrumental

Instrumental is a clean and intuitive application that monitors your server and applications. It provides monitoring capabilities across many platforms such as AWS and Docker, many database types, and applications stacks such as .Net, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, and Ruby.

In addition to the native methods available to collect data, Instrumental also integrates with many other platforms like Statiste, telegraf, and StatsD. The built-in query language allows you to transform, aggregate, and time-shift data to suit any visualization you require.

A purposefully designed dashboard interface allows viewing holistic data as well as digging deep into each server and application. Instrumental provides configurable alerts via email, SMS, and HTTP notification based on changes to metrics.

13. Tornimo

Tornimo brings real-time monitoring with unlimited scaling. It is a Graphite compatible application monitoring platform with a front end build on Grafana dashboards. It also provides support for switching from a custom Graphite deployment or many other compatible SaaS platforms in minutes.

Tornimo uses a proprietary database system that allows it to handle up to a million metrics as your environment grows. Clients trust Tornimo to monitor mission-critical systems irrespective of the amount of data they need to monitor as it offers consistent response times.

A significant advantage of Tornimo over many other monitoring tools is that it does not average older data to save on storage. It allows users to leverage older data to identify anomalies with ease.

14. ManageEngine OpManager

OpManager from ManageEngine is a trusted server monitoring software that has robust monitoring capabilities for all types of network nodes such as routers and switches, servers, VMs, and almost anything that has an IP.

With over 2,000 built-in server performance monitoring tools, OpManager’s monitoring tools for servers cater to both physical and virtual servers with multi-level thresholds and instant alerts. It provides customizable dashboards to monitor your network at a glance.

As a server monitoring solution for Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Unix, OpManager supports system health monitoring and process monitoring through SNMP and WMI for many platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer.

15. Sciencelogic SL1

The server management tools from Sciencelogic allow you to monitor all your server and network resources based on their configurations, performance, utilization, and capacity spanning across a multitude of vendors and server technologies.

Supported platforms include cloud services such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and OpenStack. Sciencelogic also supports Hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V, Xen, and KVM as well as containers like Docker. In terms of operating systems, it supports Windows, Unix, and Linux.

Sciencelogic’s custom dashboards allow monitoring through ready-made or custom monitoring policies, using health checks and ticket queues associated with pre-defined events. It uses advanced API connectivity to merge with cloud services and provide accurate data for monitoring.

16. Panopta

Panopta facilitates server and network monitoring for on-premise, cloud, and hybrid servers. Panopta provides a unified view across all your server environments through server agents and native cloud platform integrations.

A comprehensive library of out-of-the-box metrics makes setting up Panopta quick and convenient. You can configure these via reporting features and customizable dashboards for a clear, holistic view. It avoids alert fatigue and false positives by filtering through accurate and actionable information.

CounterMeasures is a tool offered by Panopta to configure pre-defined remedial actions to resolve recurring issues as they are detected. Panopta’s SaaS-delivered monitoring platform allows organizations to have a single point for monitoring all its infrastructure without any additional equipment or worrying about which OS they use and licenses.

17. Monitis

Monitis is a simplified monitoring tool for servers, applications, and more with a simple sign-up process and no software to be set up. A unified dashboard provides data on uptime and response time, server health, and many other custom metrics.

Instant alerts are supported via email, SMS, Twitter, and phone when any of the pre-defined triggers are activated. Monitis supports alerts even when your network is down. It also provides an API for additional monitoring needs so that users can import metrics and data to external applications.

Monitis provides monitoring capabilities along with reporting that users can share. Users can access these features through both the web interface as well as the integrated mobile applications.

Choosing Server Monitoring Software

The top server monitoring tools we listed have one goal in common – to monitor the uptime and health of your servers and applications. Most of these tools offer free trials or free versions with limited functionality, so make sure to try them out before selecting the best server monitoring tool for your servers.

Looking for application performance monitoring tools, then read our guide on the 7 Best Website Speed and Performance Testing Tools.

If you would like to learn more, bookmark our blog and follow the latest developments on servers, container technology, and many other cloud-related topics.

Vulnerability scanning or vulnerability assessment is a systematic process of finding security loopholes in any system addressing the potential vulnerabilities.

The purpose of vulnerability assessments is to prevent the possibility of unauthorized access to systems. Vulnerability testing preserves the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system. The system refers to any computers, networks, network devices, software, web application, cloud computing, etc.

Types of Vulnerability Scanners

Vulnerability scanners have their ways of doing jobs. We can classify the vulnerability scanners into four types based on how they operate.

Cloud-Based Vulnerability Scanners

Used to find vulnerabilities within cloud-based systems such as web applications, WordPress, and Joomla.

Host-Based Vulnerability Scanners

Used to find vulnerabilities on a single host or system such as an individual computer or a network device like a switch or core-router.

Network-Based Vulnerability Scanners

Used to find vulnerabilities in an internal network by scanning for open ports. Services running on open ports determined whether vulnerabilities exist or not with the help of the tool.

Database-Based Vulnerability Scanners

Used to find vulnerabilities in database management systems. Databases are the backbone of any system storing sensitive information. Vulnerability scanning is performed on database systems to prevent attacks like SQL Injection.

Vulnerability Scanning Tools

Vulnerability scanning tools allow for the detection of vulnerabilities in applications using many ways. Code analysis vulnerability tools analyze coding bugs. Audit vulnerability tools can find well-known rootkits, backdoor, and trojans.

There are many vulnerability scanners available in the market. They can be free, paid, or open-source. Most of the free and open-source tools are available on GitHub. Deciding which tool to use depends on a few factors such as vulnerability type, budget, frequency of how often the tool is updated, etc.

1. Nikto2

Nikto2 is an open-source vulnerability scanning software that focuses on web application security. Nikto2 can find around 6700 dangerous files causing issues to web servers and report outdated servers based versions. On top of that, Nikto2 can alert on server configuration issues and perform web server scans within a minimal time.
Nikto2 doesn’t offer any countermeasures for vulnerabilities found nor provide risk assessment features. However, Nikto2 is a frequently updated tool that enables a broader coverage of vulnerabilities.

2. Netsparker

Netsparker is another web application vulnerability tool with an automation feature available to find vulnerabilities. This tool is also capable of finding vulnerabilities in thousands of web applications within a few hours.
Although it is a paid enterprise-level vulnerability tool, it has many advanced features.  It has crawling technology that finds vulnerabilities by crawling into the application. Netsparker can describe and suggest mitigation techniques for vulnerabilities found. Also, security solutions for advanced vulnerability assessment are available.

3. OpenVAS

OpenVAS is a powerful vulnerability scanning tool that supports large-scale scans which are suitable for organizations. You can use this tool for finding vulnerabilities not only in the web application or web servers but also in databases, operating systems, networks, and virtual machines.
OpenVAS receives updates daily, which broadens the vulnerability detection coverage. It also helps in risk assessment and suggests countermeasures for the vulnerabilities detected.

4. W3AF

W3AF is a  free and open-source tool known as Web Application Attack and Framework. This tool is an open-source vulnerability scanning tool for web applications. It creates a framework which helps to secure the web application by finding and exploiting the vulnerabilities. This tool is known for user-friendliness. Along with vulnerability scanning options, W3AF has exploitation facilities used for penetration testing work as well.
Moreover, W3AF covers a high-broaden collection of vulnerabilities. Domains that are attacked frequently, especially with newly identified vulnerabilities, can select this tool.

5. Arachni

Arachni is also a dedicated vulnerability tool for web applications. This tool covers a variety of vulnerabilities and is updated regularly. Arachni provides facilities for risk assessment as well as suggests tips and countermeasures for vulnerabilities found.
Arachni is a free and open-source vulnerability tool that supports Linux, Windows, and macOS. Arachni also assists in penetration testing by its ability to cope up with newly identified vulnerabilities.

6. Acunetix

Acunetix is a paid web application security scanner (open-source version also available) with many functionalities provided. Around 6500 vulnerabilities scanning range is available with this tool. In addition to web applications, it can also find vulnerabilities in the network as well.
Acunetix provides the ability to automate your scan. Suitable for large scale organizations as it can handle many devices. HSBC, NASA, USA Air force are few industrial giants who use Arachni for vulnerability tests.

7. Nmap

Nmap is one of the well-known free and open-source network scanning tools among many security professionals. Nmap uses the probing technique to discover hosts in the network and for operating system discovery.
This feature helps in detecting vulnerabilities in single or multiple networks. If you are new or learning with vulnerabilities scanning, then Nmap is a good start.

8. OpenSCAP

OpenSCAP is a framework of tools that assist in vulnerability scanning, vulnerability assessment, vulnerability measurement, creating security measures. OpenSCAP is a free and open-source tool developed by communities. OpenSCAP only supports Linux platforms.
OpenSCAP framework supports vulnerability scanning on web applications, web servers, databases, operating systems, networks, and virtual machines. Moreover, they provide a facility for risk assessment and support to counteract threats.

9. GoLismero

GoLismero is a free and open-source tool used for vulnerability scanning. GoLismero focuses on finding vulnerabilities on web applications but also can scan for vulnerabilities in the network as well. GoLismero is a convenient tool that works with results provided by other vulnerability tools such as OpenVAS, then combines the results and provides feedback.
GoLismero covers a wide range of vulnerabilities, including database and network vulnerabilities. Also, GoLismero facilitates countermeasures for vulnerabilities found.

10. Intruder

Intruder is a paid vulnerability scanner specifically designed to scan cloud-based storage. Intruder software starts to scan immediately after a vulnerability is released. The scanning mechanism in Intruder is automated and constantly monitors for vulnerabilities.
Intruder is suitable for enterprise-level vulnerability scanning as it can manage many devices. In addition to monitoring cloud-storage, Intruder can help identify network vulnerabilities as well as provide quality reporting and suggestions.

11. Comodo HackerProof

With Comodo Hackerproof you will be able to reduce cart abandonment, perform daily vulnerability scanning, and use the included PCI scanning tools. You can also utilize the drive-by attack prevention feature and build valuable trust with your visitors. Thanks to the benefit of Comodo Hackerproof, many businesses can convert more visitors into buyers.

Buyers tend to feel safer when making a transaction with your business, and you should find that this drives your revenue up. With the patent-pending scanning technology, SiteInspector, you will enjoy a new level of security.

12. Aircrack

Aircrack also is known as Aircrack-NG, is a set of tools used for assessing the WiFi network security. These tools can also be utilized in network auditing, and support multiple OS’s such as Linux, OS X, Solaris, NetBSD, Windows, and more.

The tool will focus on different areas of WiFi security, such as monitoring the packets and data, testing drivers and cards, cracking, replying to attacks, etc. This tool allows you to retrieve the lost keys by capturing the data packets.

13. Retina CS Community

Retina CS Community is an open-source web-based console that will enable you to make a more centralized and straightforward vulnerability management system. Retina CS Community has features like compliance reporting, patching, and configuration compliance, and because of this, you can perform an assessment of cross-platform vulnerability.

The tool is excellent for saving time, cost, and effort when it comes to managing your network security. It features an automated vulnerability assessment for DBs, web applications, workstations, and servers. Businesses and organizations will get complete support for virtual environments with things like virtual app scanning and vCenter integration.

14. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA)

An entirely free vulnerability scanner created by Microsoft, it’s used for testing your Windows server or windows computer for vulnerabilities. The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer has several vital features, including scanning your network service packets, checking for security updates or other windows updates, and more. It is the ideal tool for Windows users.

It’s excellent for helping you to identify missing updates or security patches. Use the tool to install new security updates on your computer. Small to medium-sized businesses find the tool most useful, and it helps save the security department money with its features. You won’t need to consult a security expert to resolve the vulnerabilities that the tool finds.

15. Nexpose

Nexpose is an open-source tool that you can use for no cost. Security experts regularly use this tool for vulnerability scanning. All the new vulnerabilities are included in the Nexpose database thanks to the Github community. You can use this tool with the Metasploit Framework, and you can rely on it to provide a detailed scanning of your web application. Before generating the report, it will take various elements into account.

Vulnerabilities are categorized by the tool according to their risk level and ranked from low to high. It’s capable of scanning new devices, so your network remains secure. Nexpose is updated each week, so you know it will find the latest hazards.

16. Nessus Professional

Nessus is a branded and patented vulnerability scanner created by Tenable Network Security. Nessus will prevent the networks from attempts made by hackers, and it can scan the vulnerabilities that permit remote hacking of sensitive data.

The tool offers an extensive range of OS, Dbs, applications, and several other devices among cloud infrastructure, virtual and physical networks. Millions of users trust Nessus for their vulnerability assessment and configuration issues.

17. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager has consistently received high praise from users. The vulnerability assessment tool features that it includes addresses a specific type of vulnerability that many other options do not, such as misconfigured networking equipment. This feature sets it apart from the rest. The primary utility as a vulnerability scanning tool is in the validation of network equipment configurations for errors and omissions. It can also be used to check device configurations for changes periodically.

It integrates with the National Vulnerability Database and has access to the most current CVE’s to identify vulnerabilities in your Cisco devices. It will work with any Cisco device running ASA, IOS, or Nexus OS.

Vulnerability Assessment Secures Your Network

If an attack starts by modifying device networking configuration, the tools will be able to identify and put a stop to it. They assist you with regulatory compliance with their ability to detect out-of-process changes, audit configurations, and even correct violations.

To implement a vulnerability assessment, you should follow a systematic process as the one outlined below.

Step 1 – Begin the process by documenting, deciding what tool/tools to use, obtain the necessary permission from stakeholders.

Step 2 – Perform vulnerability scanning using the relevant tools. Make sure to save all the outputs from those vulnerability tools.

Step 3 – Analyse the output and decide which vulnerabilities identified could be a possible threat. You can also prioritize the threats and find a strategy to mitigate them.

Step 4 – Make sure you document all the outcomes and prepare reports for stakeholders.

Step 5 – Fix the vulnerabilities identified.

Advantages of Scanning for Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability scanning keeps systems secure from external threats. Other benefits include:

• Affordable – Many vulnerability scanners are available free of charge.
• Quick – Assessment takes a few hours to complete.
• Automate – can use automated functions available in the vulnerability tools to perform scans regularly without manual involvement.
• Performance – vulnerability scanners perform almost all the well-known vulnerability scan.
• Cost/Benefit – reduce cost and increase benefits by optimizing security threats.

Vulnerability Testing Decreases Risk

Whichever vulnerability tool you decide to use, choosing the ideal one will depend on security requirements and the ability to analyze your systems. Identify and deal with security vulnerabilities before it’s too late.

Take this opportunity now to look into the features provided by each of the tools mentioned, and select one that’s suitable for you. If you need help, reach out to one of our experts today for a consultation.

Learn about more of the best networking tools to improve your overall security.

Cybersecurity is high on the list of concerns for rapidly evolving businesses online. As more small businesses move services or store data online, they are putting themselves at risk for cyberattacks.

At the forefront of this battle against cybercrime and hackers, companies must consolidate a solid defense by implementing cybersecurity best practices. This article will cover key strategies every company should adopt to avoid attacks and become less exposed.

Cyberattacks aim to compromise systems and access relevant data that they can monetize, ranging from stolen credit card information or credentials for identity theft.

Strong cybersecurity policies and procedures can save millions of dollars for organizations. It does require an initial investment to set up a stable network and protect against intrusions. But the severity and scale of cyberattacks are increasing daily, and the threat is imminent. Thus, the need for safeguarding against such dangers is critical.

Recommended Cybersecurity Best Practices

Adopt the cybersecurity best practices below to prepare your organization against cyber threats and ensure the continuity of your business.

1. Create a Dedicated Insider Threat Role

An insider threat program is considered a core part of a modern cybersecurity strategy. Having employees who have access to data is risky since they can leak information or damage equipment. Creating an insider threat program is essential for companies that have sensitive data, and could have their reputations ruined due to exposure via an insider attack. It does come with a cost and can be considered a low priority task, businesses should not delay, and instead, gain the support of top management to develop policy across all departments.

2. Conduct Phishing Simulations

As of 2020, phishing attacks are one of the most prevalent forms of cyber threats experienced by companies on a global level. Phishing simulations should train employees on how to avoid clicking on malicious links or downloading unknown files. Raising cybersecurity awareness, such as simulated phishing attacks, helps employees understand the far-reaching effects of a phishing attack. The simulation creates a safe space where employees’ knowledge is tested, to ask questions, and find out what the latest tricks are.

3. Secure Remotely Working and Travelling Employees

Many corporate employees have the dangerous habit of accessing corporate networks through unsecured public Wi-Fi networks while traveling on work trips. Sacrificing security for convenience is unacceptable in the corporate world, and employees should be aware of the huge risks they are taking. Training and education on the precautions one can take to avoid risks is essential. Options, such as using VPNs while surfing the web when traveling installing anti-malware programs, will tighten the security gaps in your workforce outside the office. Read our article on remote access security.

4. Prioritize Employee Privacy

Data privacy awareness and digital data sensitivity concerns are at an all-time high, with new legislation coming out to better regulate it. Employee privacy can be prioritized by “anonymizing” their data and taking steps to protect them from threats in a prevention capacity. Educate employees using workshops and presentations about different cybersecurity policies and local laws, emphasizing the impact on their privacy.

5. Create a Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program

Company surveys have found that two out of three insider threat incidents are initiated by an employee or contractor, which can be prevented (ObserveIT). Employees are the first line of defense against cybercrime. Their education is vital in developing all the skills and knowledge needed to protect an organization. A comprehensive cybersecurity awareness program will create a critical “security-first culture.” It would address aspects such as identifying risks, changing employee behaviors, and tracking metrics of improvement.

6. Inform Third-Party Contractors of Cybersecurity Policy

Due to globalization and interconnectivity, many businesses take advantage of allocating specialized workloads to third-party partners or outsourced entities. However, these third-party contractors have to be made aware of the cybersecurity policies you are using. Both in-house staff, as well as third-party contractors, have to be made aware or trained to follow the cybersecurity policies put in place.

7. Implement IS Governance Approach

Every company should establish and maintain an information security (IS) framework that aligns with the business’s existing assurance strategies. When selecting one of these methods, it should ensure that the program selected provides all levels of management with the ability to employ a risk-based approach. This strategy enables staff to detect incidents, investigate, and respond to them faster.

8. Monitor User and File Activity

Malicious insider threats tend to take advantage of multiple channels to exfiltrate data. Developing a good user and file activity monitoring system is one of the best solutions available to this problem. Existing solutions such as Data loss prevention, which focus on only on data and not on user activity, fall short of preventing all malicious insider threats inside the system. If you monitor users closely and know what files they access, it’s easier to react to an incident or prevent one.

9. Be Aware of State-Sponsored Threats

It is well-documented that employees belonging to high-value industries such as healthcare, technology, and banking may be susceptible to monetary incentives to sell data to foreign governments and entities. Understanding the motivation of such entities and potential insider targets is of the utmost priority so that you can spot patterns of suspicious and underhanded behavior.

10. Enforce the Use of Password Managers, SSOs, and MFAs

The use of repetitive or weak passwords is still a very common practice among employees of multinationals today. Implementing a enterprise password manager is the most viable option available to combat potential security soft spots in your company.

11. Audit Privileged Access

For the company’s head management, it’s advisable to review the number of users who have privileged access to sensitive areas of the business or data. Granting privileged access is a necessary risk, especially when there is a changeover in staff or changing roles, etc. Businesses should regularly look at permissions, adopt a system of temporary or rotating credentials, or develop a system of auditing privileged accesses.

Essential Network Security Practices

Security teams are held accountable for addressing the risk of insider breaches. To develop a strong plan against insider risk, take a systematic approach when organizing security measures. Here are some essential network security practices:

12. Stop Data Loss

Enterprises regularly experience the problems caused by leaked and stolen data. One of the top security concerns for modern companies is the act of data exfiltration from an endpoint. Companies should always control access, monitor contractors and vendors, as well as employees, to get a clear picture of how all parties access and handle data.

13. Detect Insider Threat

While well-trained users are a company’s first line in security and defense, technology remains the main tool. Companies can detect unauthorized behavior by regularly monitoring user activity. This strategy helps companies verify user actions that do not violate security policies while flagging the ones that do.

14. Back-Up Data

Backing up data regularly should be mandatory practice, especially when you consider the malicious ransomware out there like “Wannacry” and “Petya.” Data back-ups are good practice to include in one’s basic security hygiene, as well as to combat emerging cyber threats.

Beware of Social Engineering

Social engineering tactics are considered a threat and have been used for decades to gain login credentials and access to files that are encrypted. Such attempts may come from phone devices, emails, social media profiles, etc. In such circumstances, the best defense is to do the following:

15. Outline Clear Use Policies for New Hires and Third Parties

Requirements and expectations that the company has, regarding IT security, should be clearly stated in the employment contracts and the various SLAs and SOPs that a company might have.

16. Update Software and Systems

Cyber threats and crimes are ever-increasing, and an optimized security network might eventually fall prey to it. Thus, a company’s network should always be protected. Plan regular software updates and schedule maintenance on hardware security.

17. Create an Incident Response Playbook

No matter how many security measures a company takes against rising cybercrimes, vulnerability to unseen threats remain. Thus, companies should have a security incident esponse plan in case they get attacked. This planning will allow management to limit the damage of a security breach, allowing them to remediate the situation effectively.

18. Educate and Train Users

Employees should be trained on how to create and maintain strong passwords, recognize phishing emails, avoid dangerous applications, etc. ensuring that valuable information doesn’t flow out of the company in the case of an external attack.

19. Maintain Compliance

No matter what level of cybersecurity a company implements or already has, it should always comply with regulatory bodies such as; HIPAA, PCI, ISO, and DSS and keep up with their latest guidelines.

Preparation is Prevention

There are numerous cybersecurity best practices that a business can consider implementing when creating a security management strategy. We have highlighted ten of those practices as a jumping-off point to begin the journey of securing their business and assets in-house and online. A comprehensive cybersecurity program will protect companies from lasting financial consequences, as well as prevent reputational damage. It’s essential to prepare to prevent incidents and attacks, and the key to modern-day businesses’ survival. Contact our experts today and find out how you can become compliant and better secure data online.

Ecommerce security isn’t something to be taken lightly. Major data leaks have fundamentally damaged trust in digital security. Consumers are comfortable making payments through familiar systems (PayPal, Amazon, Google, Apple, etc.) but take a bit more convincing to risk their credit card details with unknown companies. After all, they know what’s at stake.

Failing to secure an online retail business can directly impact sales or worse, ruin your reputation. Once it’s known that a business cannot be relied upon to keep data secure, no one will want to buy from them again.

Get serious about protecting your online business. Learn the basics of what you need to know about eCommerce security threats and solutions.

Major Threat: Transaction fraud

Vast amounts of money change hands online with each passing second, and as much as we’d like to think that technology has moved past transactions being dangerous to consumers, it hasn’t. There are two primary forms of payment fraud. The first is stolen credit cards, whose details are used to make unauthorized payments (with the purchased products kept or sold on, even if the payments get canceled). The second is transactions on insecure systems that are interrupted or get redirected.

Online buyers now have access to systems offering unprecedented financial convenience. Bank support is available through live chat, and you can even cancel payments through apps. But this doesn’t fully protect from this type of fraud. The reason is simple: even the most diligent among us will forget to check our bank records on occasion, and it only takes one lapse in attention for a cybercriminal to make numerous payments.

Online shoppers are now aware of the importance of website security markers, such as the HTTPS indicator. Still, such indicators can often be spoofed in a manner that’s sufficiently convincing for most people. This type of forgery can make it quite tricky to tell when a website is providing a secure service. Consumers need to be educated and get better at being vigilant online.

Solution: PCI DSS compliance

The PCI DSS standard was set up to raise levels of online payment security dramatically. Any eCommerce business that wants to protect its transactions (and bolster its credibility in the process) should take action to meet it. Compliance is still nowhere near as common as it should be. It’s frustrating, as it shouldn’t be an issue for the individual retailer since essentially, it’s a benefit. Compliant sellers stand out more through ridding their sales funnels of damaging dead ends (a key conversion optimization tactic) and showing their investment in buyer safety.

Major Threat: Direct site attacks

While phishing is a passive approach, eCommerce sites can sometimes be subjected to direct attacks in the form of DDoS (dedicated denial of service) campaigns. Here’s how it works: those who want to put a store under siege will program many internet-capable devices to near-constantly attempt to use the store site.

This orchestrated attack will overwhelm the store’s hosting and prevent the site from loading for most (if not all) regular visitors. It’s mainly about keeping it so busy that it can’t focus on the visits that actually matter. This attack type can also burn through hosting data allowances, causing other costly issues for businesses. These campaigns are relatively rare, but not so much so that they’re not a threat.

What’s the end goal of a DDoS attack? It depends on the situation. Sometimes it will be to inconvenience the store and damage its reputation, as a matter of corporate sabotage. More often, a DDoS attack will be coupled with a blackmail demand: pay a certain sum, and the attack will be disabled.

Solution: Active protection

An eStore can be attacked at any time, regardless of its fundamental level of security, this threat requires more vigorous measures, so make use of a DoS protection service. The concept is simple enough – incoming traffic is monitored and parsed, and when visit requests are considered to be fraudulent in nature, they are entirely blocked. This defense prevents the DDoS attack from slowing the site down to a crawl, or significantly affecting its performance.

Major Threat: Password assault

Password strategy has been frustrating security consultants since the very beginnings of the internet, all due to the irritating balance needed between protection and convenience. If you choose long and complex passwords, you can end up forgetting them and losing all access. Creating easy-to-remember passwords leaves systems highly vulnerable and open to attack.

There are two main methods for this type of attack to occur. The first is brute forcing, using a program to run through thousands upon thousands of passwords in the hope of eventually getting it right. And second, what can reasonably be called informed guessing: using pieces of information from a user’s life, gleaned off social media to identify the words most likely to appear in their passwords.

And if a key admin password is discovered, the resulting access can prove massively damaging because it might not be noticed for some time. Significant alterations can be made, systems can be taken offline, data can be stolen, and money can be transferred, all with minimal risk to the person with access. It’s like breaking into someone’s house by picking the lock – there’s no apparent damage, but it happens when you’re supposed to be home.

Solution: Stronger passwords and multi-factor authentication

How do eCommerce sellers address the threat of discovered passwords, both for their internal systems and their customers?

There are two strategies they can implement. Firstly, they should use and require that more complex passwords are used internally. They don’t need to be comically long or awkward, but they mustn’t be as simple as “1234” or “password”.

Secondly, they should start using multi-factor authentication for their admin accesses (or for major changes to customer accounts). This setup requires the logged-in user to couple their password access with another form of authentication, such as an authentication code sent via text message. It’s also worth creating regular site backups: that way, in the unlikely event, that someone does gain unauthorized access and makes sweeping changes, they can quickly revert to prior backups.

Major Threat: Social engineering

Social engineering is a broad method for gaining access to systems, money, or assets through deception at a social level instead of directly through technology. One of the most common forms of social engineering is phishing, which involves pretending to be someone trustworthy when contacting someone and exploiting that trust to get something from them.

In the recent past, phishing most commonly occurred through phone calls, letters, and even house visits. An example of a phishing attack is calling someone and claiming to be from their bank saying they need to confirm credit card details. When online shopping and eCommerce developed and became more popular, it grew more sophisticated.

At this point, phishers can learn about which retailers a shopper uses, and spoof emails from them. Emails that are loaded with risks such as fraudulent forms to keylogger installers. They can also pose as retailers through social media or set up stores that appear very similar to legitimate sites by using slightly-different URLs and steal data. These cybercriminals often use misspellings and build a store that copies the design of a trusted retailer, i.e., copying Amazon’s design and making it live at www.amazom.com.

Solution: Wider education

Phishing is difficult to prevent because it’s such a broad category, and it involves no force. It comes down to the criminals laying down the bait and hoping that people will take it. The best way to proceed is for retailers to educate their customers about how they operate. They should add tips to their site content and use their general marketing materials. Customers should know that when they receive emails, they know how to identify them as legit. Clients need to know what they might be asked for and what will never be asked of them. Retailers need to encourage their customers to reach out for confirmation if they ever receive questionable emails.

Other eCommerce Threats You Should Know

For eCommerce businesses dealing in daily monetary transactions, security must become the number one concern. Intensive security measures need to be implemented to obstruct threats effectively and keep transactions protected. Here are other common threats eCommerce sites face:

Brute Force Attacks

Brute force attacks target an online store’s admin panel. Why? They want to figure out the password and gain access, the directness of the attack makes it brute-force. After using software to connect to a site, it using code-crunching programs to crack passwords by using every possible combination imaginable. The solution is easy, protect your system by creating strong and complex passwords, changing them regularly.

Bots

Bots can be both good and bad. The good ones are those that crawl the Internet and determine how to rank your site in search engines. Bots can also scrape websites too for inventory information and pricing and alter prices on a site, freeze popular items in shopping carts, and thereby damage site sales and revenues.

The solution is to protect exposed APIs and mobile apps, and examine traffic sources regularly looking for spikes, and then blocking those hosting providers and proxy services.

Malware

There are different types of malware that want to penetrate the backend to steal sensitive site data and customer information.

Malware are those that use malvertising, ransomware, cross-site scripting, SQL injections, targeting credit card info and personal data. Malicious JavaScript coding is the most common. WordPress sites using WooCommerce and Shopify regularly get targeted by malware injections via widgets and plugin upgrades. The solution is to use professional antivirus and anti-malware software, switch to HTTPS, secure servers and admin panels and use SSL certificates while using employing multi-layer security.

Phishing

Receiving fake “you must take action” emails, either to your company or customers is a widely-used ploy and form of trickery used by hackers. It does require follow-through and unintentionally offering up login information or personal identification information. The solution here is employee training and educating consumers.

Spam

Contact forms and text boxes for blog comments are wide open to spammers. They can leave infected links that others can click on, ruining your reputation and site security. Also known as SQL injections, these cyber-attacks want to access databases via query forms. These links quietly wait for employees in inboxes and can affect site speed also. The solution is employee training and downloading spam filtering tools and anti-virus software, updating it regularly.

eCommerce Security Best Practices

Now that you’re familiar with eCommerce security concerns, and how costly they can be to the bottom line and reputation. Let’s look at solutions to help put a threat protection strategy into action.

PCI Compliance

PCI Security Standards Council releases a strict set of guidelines on how to secure an eCommerce website. It outlines which type of web hosting should be used, the level of security needed at the payment processing level, etc., Adopt their guidelines to ensure your site stays safe.

CDN

Content delivery networks (CDN) are another layer of hosting for an eCommerce website. They improve processes by storing content on servers situated across the country in data centers knows as ‘points of presence.’ These data centers have their own security, meaning it adds another layer of security.

Security Plugins

Security plugins are important for maintaining WordPress sites, ensuring the safe installation of plugins, and keeps the front-end of a site safe. They defend sites DDoS attacks, malware, and hacking, keeping you informed when threats are detected in real-time.

Backup Data

Always back up data and do this regularly. A backup and restore plugin will help. Despite investing in many levels of security, no eCommerce site is impenetrable. Hackers have the patience and time to find new ways of cracking through a site. It’s critical to back up data so a business can recover quickly if an attack happens.

Server Security

Be sure to use a well-established ecommerce web hosting company you can trust and has top-level security features. That should include a server-side firewall, CDN, or SSL certificates and dedicated hosting plans where share server environments are not shared with other sites. Make sure they follow server security best practices.

Payment Gateway Security

Just as critical as web hosting, it’s also key to make sure that the payment gateway provider takes security very seriously and ensure all third-party websites connected to yours, prioritizes security.

Antivirus and Anti-malware Software

Always upkeep and update the network’s servers and equipment with antivirus and anti-malware software.

Firewall

The web host should have a firewall for servers, but it’s also good to have one specifically for your website and computer too. There are many security plugins that come with built-in firewalls.

SSL Certificate

ECommerce sites must have an SSL certificate as it’s the Google standard. But it’s free, and quite a simple way to add more layers of encryption and security to onsite transactions.

Update Software Regularly

Software only works so well as its latest version, so if it’s not updated when suggested by the provider, your eCommerce site and business is put at risk. Schedule updates and keep all programs, software, and plugins updated regularly.

Ecommerce Security: Plan Ahead to Stay Safe

The major threats to eCommerce security that we’ve looked at are potentially devastating not only for retailers but customers as well. For this reason, the appropriate measures must be taken, and strategies put into place to address them. You simply can’t afford to be casual about the protection of websites or customer data.

The goal should be to provide a safe place for consumers online. By protecting them, you protect the bottom line as well. Outside of the eCommerce security threats and solutions we have outlined here, do regular site security audits to stay ahead of the dangers.

Get into the habit of offering sensible security advice to your visitors. Invest in meeting the PCI DSS standard to safeguard transactions. Set up high-quality active site protection to ward off DDoS campaigns. And lastly, get into the habit of using high-quality passwords, and configure multi-factor authentication to prevent the entire site from being compromised as the result of a critical password being left on an office post-it note.

Put a security plan into effect! Find out how to secure an eCommerce business by speaking with one of our experts today.

Living in the modern world means integrating technology into almost every aspect of our daily lives. This symbiotic relationship with technology opens us up to becoming highly susceptible to hacking. This vulnerability extends from our smartphones, personal and work computers, transport, bank, and credit card purchases to every small smart device you have installed in the home or workplace.

Why are Data breaches and Cybersecurity breaches a growing concern?

Internet users and consumers might not be concerned enough about the threat of hacking, the real scenario is far from being safe. It is estimated that the world over a typical “hacking activity” attack occurs every 39 seconds.

Large companies and Federal Departments including The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Anthem Blue Cross, Yahoo, Uber, Quora, Facebook, Cathay Pacific, Marriott International, Equifax, LinkedIn, etc., have all experienced cyber threats in the past few years. No one is immune.

Recently it’s become apparent that the complexity, frequency, and expense of data breaches are ever-increasing. Many major cyber-attacks have targeted high profile companies in the United States, Europe, and Australia. To counter this, new legislation has been introduced in affected countries, aimed at changing the rules related to threat timeframes and user notification.

We aim to present a comprehensive picture of an alarming threat of cybercrimes and data breaches, something which affects customers, social network users, and even companies. Information is presented in a series of points, covering the most critical cybersecurity statistics for 2019-20.

Costs of a Data Breach

A single instance of a data breach can have immense implications on a business. A smaller sized-company could be put out of business due to a large breach. Below are some statistics related to how costly data breaches are, as of 2019/20.

• Experts agree that by the year 2020, the average cost of a data security breach for a major business would be over $150 million. This estimate is due to the higher level of digitalization and connectivity that the world has experienced over the last few years. [BigCommerce]
• The average total cost per data breach worldwide in 2019 amounted to a total of $3.92 million and $3.5 million in 2014. [IMB]
• The average price for a Business Email Compromise hack is $24,439 per case, according to a 2019 report by Verizon. [Verizon]
• Organizations reporting phishing and social engineering attacks are increasing by 16% year over year. [Accenture]

Data Breach Numbers and Risks

The 2019 Thales Data Threat Report – Global Edition issued by Zurich Insurance, found that rapid digitalization and the internet of things has expanded the connectivity of the developed world and its infrastructure.

To keep up with rapidly expanding and sophisticated technologies, many companies are investing in their service usability. Chasing greater competitiveness, they are migrating to cloud or multi-cloud environments very quickly. This is when the data storage is maintained by a company itself or in tandem with a third party. This hybrid structure can make data very difficult to secure, states the Threat Report.

Most organizations are finding it challenging to control internet security breaches and implement strong safety measures. It’s even harder for smaller and mid-sized companies who due to budget constraints or lack of staff make them vulnerable to attack. The risk of a data breach can be due to a combination of reasons, with some companies being more susceptible than others. The top risk factors are explained below using the relevant statistics.

• A typical user has a 27.9% chance of experiencing a data breach that could affect a minimum of 10000 records. With a total of 6,466,440 (estimated) records succumbing to data breaches worldwide daily. [Security Intelligence]
• The financial sector accounts for 14% of all data breaches. In 47% of all financial data breaches, the victim is a bank. [Fortunly]
• Increasingly more malware attacks, 25.7%, are targeting global financial services and banks. [Intsights Cyber Intelligence]
• Year-over-year increases for compromised credit cards is 212%, credential leaks are 129%, and malicious apps is 102%. [Intsights Cyber Intelligence]
• The United States is in the number one position when it comes to the risk of data breaches. [Statista]
• Reports from 2018 indicate that phishing attacks targeted 76 % of businesses. [Wombat]
• Almost 41% of US-based companies allow employees unrestricted access to sensitive data. [Varonis]
• Experts have calculated that almost 25% of enterprises would succumb to data breaches through IoT devices by the year 2020. The figure poses a problem, as a mere 10% of IT security budgets allocated by companies are directed towards smart device security. [Gartner]
• An estimated 10 million records have been compromised worldwide due to data breaches, as calculated by the Breach Level Index since 2013. The average cost of the data breaches is somewhere around $3.86 million. [Thales Security]
• 88% of businesses have over 1 million folders, do not limit employee access to company files. [Varonis]
• Over 4.5 billion data records were affected by data breaches in the first half of 2018, which equates to over 1 million data breaches per hour. [Gemalto]
• Data breach instances were reported in 2019, with the first half of 2019, experiencing an 11% increase compared to the previous year. [Accenture]
• According to the Imperva 2019 Cyberthreat Defense Report, It’s expected that 57.6% of Government organizations, 73.5% of educational organizations, and 74.5% of retail organizations are at direct risk of suffering data breaches or compromises.
• The 2019 Thales Global Threat Report study revealed that there are some areas where encryption rates are higher, thereby preventing attacks. They are the IoT (42%), containers (47%), and big data (45%). Data encryption makes information unreadable and therefore useless to hackers and allows companies to guard their sensitive data and corporate secrets.

Business Continuity Plan

Having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is critical in the face of a data breach. A plan would outline the type of data being stored, where it’s stored, and what the potential liabilities are when implementing data security and recovery actions. AON’s 2019 Cyber Security Risk Report outlined that most organizations are missing a BCP.

When you investigate what’s causing data breaches, many times, it’s criminal activity or human error, or a mix of both. But the most common cause is the failure of organizations to prepare and do assessments in advance to identify their weaknesses. And failing to come up with answers to remedy and recover from their disadvantages. Taking care of weak passwords, improper configuration, untrained staff, or an outdated OS are all things companies can do beforehand to prevent attacks.

Incident Response

A BCP will also entail an effective cyber incident response plan. This refers to an organized approach that is aimed at addressing, managing, and rectifying the damages, in the aftermath of a cyber-attack or data breach incident.

• Organizations take up to 197 days on an average to detect data breaches. [IBM’s Ponemon Institute]
• Companies that contain a data breach in less than 30 days are expected to save over $1 million in finances.[IBM’s Ponemon Institute]
• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), reports that the number of cybercrimes reported account for only 10-12% of the actual number occurring. [FBI IC3]

Largest Data Breaches in History

The number of instances related to data breaches has been steadily increasing since 2013, with an estimated 14,717,618,286 cases where data has been either stolen or lost. Below are some of the most prominent instances of data breaches ever recorded in recent years.

• Target in 2013: The data breach was carried out via malicious software installed on machines used by customers to pay with their cards. A total of 110 million Target accounts were compromised. [Forbes]
• E-Bay in 2014:The data breach was carried out using stolen login credentials from a small number of employees. A total of 145 million eBay accounts were compromised. [Business Insider]
• Anthem Inc. in 2015: The data breach was carried out by hackers after they infiltrated the company server. A total of 37.5 million personally identifiable records of customers were stolen. [Threatpost]
• Yahoo! in 2013/2014: One of the most significant data breaches occurred in 2013-2014, where Yahoo’s 3 billion accounts got compromised. It was a coordinated attack by an organized, unidentified cyber-criminal organization. [REUTERS]
• AOL in 2003: An estimated 92 million customer accounts were compromised after Jason Smathers, a 24-year-old AOL software engineer, caused the security breach. [WIRED]
• Quora in 2018: The data breach was caused due to unauthorized access by a malicious third party. One hundred million user accounts were compromised. [Quora]
• Facebook in 2018: This data breach was caused after hackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s “View As” code. They were left with 50 Million compromised accounts. [The Guardian]
• Marriott International in 2014/2018: The breach occurred due to unauthorized access to the guest’s information database. As a result, over 500 million user accounts were compromised. [Forbes]
• Uber in 2016: Attackers, in this case, obtained credentials and accessed Uber’s cloud servers. They then got access to sensitive user information. As a result, more than 57 million users and driver accounts were compromised. [TechCrunch]
•  Equifax in 2017: The data breach occurred as a result of a vulnerability in the open-source software used to access its servers. As a result, the personal information of 143 million consumers was exposed. [Forbes]
• Aadhar Data breach in 2018: The Indian Government’s national ID database, which stores “Aadhar” information, succumbed to a cyber-attack in March 2018. The personal data of over 1.5 billion Indian citizens, including phone numbers, addresses, ID numbers, etc., were left exposed on the web. Experts have labeled this as one of the worst data breaches of all time. [TechCrunch]
  

Click here to see the full infographic!

Data Hacking Trends

With the exponential growth of the cloud and IoT applications, such as connected health devices, house or child monitoring equipment, and smart cars. The demand for data-centers keeps increasing. This is also increasing new forms of cybercrime since all these devices are now hackable, susceptible to IoT attacks. It’s not surprising since connected devices are becoming more and more entangled and integrated into everyday lives.

In only 2 years, the total data stored in the cloud – which includes everything from public clouds operated by third-party vendors, government-owned clouds, social media companies, and private clouds run by mid-to-large-sized companies – will be a hundred times greater than today.

Modern hacking trends include a myriad of cybercrime techniques aimed at compromising data. Some of the most dangerous and common types of security threats include:

• Attacks related to ransom malware have caused damages worth almost $1 billion. US users have paid $ 25 million worth of ransom. [Whitehouse Council of Economic Advisors]
• Hacking crimes due to Social engineering account for 97% of the total hacking cases in the world. It also accounts for 93% of data breaches. [PwC Report 2018]
• An estimated 4000,000 DDos attacks were reported monthly in the last few years. [Caliptix Security]
• Service Denial attacks have numbered close to 800000 cases in the first couple of months in 2018 alone.
• [PwC Report 2018]
• 2018 has also seen almost 61% of organizations succumbing to IoT device hacks. That number has risen to 64% in 2019. At the end of 2018, more than 23 billion IoT devices were installed worldwide. [Newsweek]
• Attacks related to phishing and pretexting comprise of nearly 98% of the total incidents involving social channels in 2019. Verizon’s 2017 DBIR revealed that it was still a significant factor in data breaches. [Verizon]
• In a report from Forrester, their research revealed that only 12% of breaches were targeting public cloud environments. 37% of decision-makers believed that heightened security made the migration to the public cloud vital to future success. [Forrester]

The motivation behind cybercrime remains financial gain and has remained the dominant motivator behind cyberattacks, at a rate of 88.1%. Cyberattacks as a form of technology warfare have been rising recently, up to 4% as of January 2019, when only a month earlier, in December 2018, the rate was 2% according to Privacy Affairs. Governments and non-government organizations have taken part in cyber warfare, and that rate should continue to grow as technologies become more integrated into the public’s lives.

C-suite and Cybersecurity

• According to a recent survey carried out on C-suite users, a total of 53% of respondents indicated “cybercrime and data breaches” as the number one concern when it comes to cybersecurity. [IBM Study]

Increased attacks on Service Providers

Attacks on service providers such as Yahoo, AML, etc. have seen a stark rise in the last 6 or 7 years.

• Yahoo faced the worst service provider attack with instances affecting 3 million, 500 million, and 200 million user accounts in 2013, 2014, and 2016 respectively. [NYTimes]

Organizational vulnerabilities

• Both medium and small-scale organizations are losing an estimated $120,000 on average due to service denial attacks. Another figure indicated that enterprises could lose more than $2 million in total, due to denial of service attacks. [Security Intelligence]
• An estimated 61% of organizations worldwide have succumbed to IoT system hacking in 2018 alone. [CSO Online]
• In 2019, 64% of companies that allocate more than 10% of their budget towards cybersecurity experienced at least one breach. 34% of the companies indicated that they experienced a data breach last year. [Helpnet Security]

Third-party/Supply-chain risk

• Most data breaches are caused by malicious activities outside the entity, as a study found that it accounts for 56% of total data breaches in 2018. Malicious insiders account for only 7% of the violations. [Statista]
• Intrusions caused by Phishing attacks have affected 82% of manufacturers in the U.S, which also covers the industrial supply chains present in the manufacturing sectors. [phishing box]
• Almost 59% of UK and US-based companies who have used a third-party service have experienced data breaches. Of them, a measly 16% of them think that the third party’s risk management system is effective enough in 2019. [Business Wire]

Skills Shortage in CyberSecurity

The overall level of skills when it comes to Cybersecurity measures has not matched up to the required standards.

• 38% of global organizations claim that they can handle a sophisticated cyber-attack. [IBM]
• This is a worrying statistic, as over 54% of the world’s organizations have experienced some sort of significant cyber-attack in the past year. [IBM]
• In 2018-2019, almost 53 percent of organizations reported a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills. [Security Intelligence]
• Cybersecurity engineers will soon be the highest-paid among all IT professionals in 2020, more than software engineers, systems administrators, IT auditors, and software architects. With salaries exceeding $225,000 annually. [InfoSec]

Trends in HIPAA Data Breaches

• In America, the total number of medical records that have been exposed throughout 2019 amounts to a total of 38 Million. [HIPAA JOURNAL]
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services experienced 52 data breaches in October 2019 alone. [HIPAA JOURNAL]
• 2015 is still the worst year for data breaches in this sector, with two instances exposing 78.8 million and 11 million customers, respectively. [appknox]

Cybersecurity Spending

As the threat of cybersecurity intensifies, the overall amount spent on cybersecurity has been increasing since 2015.

• The U.S. President’s Budget allocated towards cybersecurity rose to $15 Billion for 2019. [Whitehouse Cybersecurity Funding]
• This is a stark increase of $583.4 Million of almost 4.1% from the budget allocated for 2018. [Whitehouse Cybersecurity Funding]
• The largest contributor to the budget was the Department of Defense, which allocated $8.5 Billion, an increase of $340 million compared to the previous year (2018). [Whitehouse Cybersecurity Funding]
• How much are companies spending on cybersecurity? In 2018, in excess of $114 billion was spent globally on information-security products and services. It’s expected to grow to $170.40 billion by 2022. What’s driving this spending are business needs, security risks, and industry changes. Privacy has also become an important factor according to 2019 cybersecurity statistics. [Gartner]
• In 2020, almost fifty-two percent of companies believe that cloud computing is a priority for cybersecurity investment.  [Safe At Last]
• Cloud computing providers will spend more on security spending by 57%. The other areas that will see more development are IoT, mobile computing, cybersecurity analytics, and robotic process automation. [Forrester]
• by 2023, businesses are expected to spend $12.6 billion on cloud security tools, that’s more than double from the $5.6 billion spent in 2018. [Forrester]

Prevention and the Future

The modern, inter-connected world is increasingly falling under threat from growing instances of cybercrimes. Many large companies have fallen prey to such elaborate cybercrime schemes and have lost millions on lawsuits to recover the situation.

In 2018 alone, data breaches affected 45.9% of businesses, 29.2% of medical and healthcare institutions, 10.9% of banking, credit or financial institutions, and 8% of government or military associated companies and departments. [Digital Information World]

The number of data breaches per year in the United States has gradually increased since 2014: [Statista]

• 783 cases in 2014
• 781 cases in 2015
• 1093 cases in 2016
• 1579 cases in 2017
• 1244 cases in 2018

When it comes to 2019, however, the numbers have skyrocketed.

• There were more than 3800 reported cases of breaches in 2019. [Forbes]
• Compared to the first six months of 2018, there has been a 54% increase in the number of reported breaches. [TechRepublic]
• These breaches exposed records which were 52% more than that of 2018. [Risk Based Security]

The largest data breaches in 2019:

• A total of 620 million accounts suffered a data breach in 2019, from a total of 16 websites. [Forbes]
• Websites such as Dubsmash, Armor Games, ShareThis, Whitepages and 500px were among those affected. [IT Governance UK]

Prevention is always better than cure and is most applicable when dealing with cybercrimes. With different forms of cybersecurity, ranging from malware, phishing, denial of service, SQL injection, Zero-day exploits, DNS tunneling, and others, the need for effective cybersecurity measures is of utmost priority.

Cybersecurity measures range from simple to complex. Necessary preventive measures such as password protection and authentication, are not enough to prevent more elaborate and complex cyber threats that are faced by companies today.

From a business perspective, data breaches can never be ignored, and appropriate measures must be taken by the companies, something which is lacking as of now. As hackers find more elaborate ways to breach security, countermeasures need to be in place. The only way to tackle such threats is to develop sophisticated security techniques, as well as to educate users and employees about the dangers of the different forms of cybersecurity threats prevalent currently.

If left untreated, cybercrimes and data breaches can hamper the reputation of a company, assets, finances, and even their existence, which means there will be no future if you don’t start prevention now. Find out more on how to secure your data in the cloud, by connecting with one of our experts.

Data breaches are occurring at an unprecedented rate, and there are no signs that they will slow down any time soon. If you’re one of the many organizations that store sensitive information online, then you’re at risk. Now is the time to learn more about the impending dangers businesses face and how to implement vital data protection practices.

In any instance, when information is accessed without authorization, it’s a data breach. The types of violations can vary and evolve as technology diversifies, but to put it simply, the information in the wrong hands constitutes a data breach. Information can become compromised in many ways now; a cyber-attack is only one. As the name implies, it’s a confirmed incident when an unauthorized entity has accessed confidential, sensitive, or protected information. Big data is now the norm, as more devices become connected. Those valuable connections also become points of weaknesses. Data breaches can wreak havoc on the reputations of businesses and induce a ripple of after-effects that can leave lasting repercussions.

For instance, a business may have to pay hefty fines due to a breach. Outside of regulatory penalties, they may have to compensate the victims whose data was compromised. Even a minor data breach could put an SMB out of business due to the financial constraints of fines, lawsuits, and loss of public trust. When someone steals secure data and publishes it on the web, it’s out there for the world to see. As more data becomes digitized, and we generate more original digital data, it’s logical that more data breaches will occur.

Recent History of Data Breaches

For the first time since 2013, this past year ransomware declined down 20 percent overall, but up 12 percent for enterprises according to Symantec. The most successful campaigns in 2019 involved ransomware that relies on open Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) servers as the initial access point. Attackers more commonly use targeted, manual attacks instead of the one-two punch of malvertising exploits. The first quarter of 2019 saw the detection of several new ransomware families using innovative techniques to target businesses.

One of the most recent and significant data breaches occurred in September 2017 with the Equifax data breach, which exposed the personal data of 147 million people.

A few other prominent data breach examples include:

• Yahoo: Between 2013 and 2014, over three million user accounts affected.
• Marriott International: From 2014 to 2018, over 500 million of their user accounts were breached.
• Target Stores: In December of 2014, approximately 110 million of their user accounts got hacked.
• JP Morgan Chase: In July of 2014, around 76 million residential and seven million small business Chase customers had their financial records breached.
• A May 2019 ransomware attack on the City of Baltimore is expected to cost in excess of $18 Million to recover from.

The average cost per ransomware attack to businesses last year was $133,000. Attacks on Brittan’s National Health Service in 2017 cost nearly $100 Million in IT recovery services alone. Yet, the cost of customer confidence and company reputation can be unmeasurable.

Human error	Errors cannot be avoided, people make mistakes, and information may get distributed without mal intent. Proprietary data can get sent accidentally to the wrong person, and uploads to public folders or misconfigured servers can bleed sensitive information.
Theft or loss of devices	We all have devices. From smartphones to laptops, hard drives, USBs, and other data storage devices can easily get stolen, misplaced, lost, or disposed of incorrectly. Sensitive or protected information saved on those devices can end up in the wrong hands and lead to a more significant data breach.
Employee data leak or theft	When a company terminates an employee or ends a contract with notice, that person may deliberately access protected information without permission and copy it. They may use or distribute it with malicious intent.
Cyberattacks	Hacking is the most apparent form of a data breach. Hackers use malware, phishing, social engineering, skimming, and scams to get access to sensitive and encrypted information.

Now that we know how data breaches and hacks can occur, we can look at why criminals are looking for a way to penetrate your firewalls. One major ploy cybercriminals use is Ransomware which is a form of extortion. It’s is a malware that infects, overtakes, and locks your data making it inaccessible unless a ransom is paid. The threat could be to publish a company’s data, erase it or perpetually block access to it, which can cripple a business.

The FBI warns not to pay a ransom, but many companies will be at a loss if they can’t access their sensitive data. Since ransomware is so profitable for hackers, attacks have skyrocketed. According to a Quickbridge study, over 4,000 separate ransomware attacks have occurred since 2016. Furthermore, they estimate the damages will reach around $11.9 billion globally.

It’s essential to know which types of information are the most valuable to cybercriminals. Cybercriminals may use programs that mine and lock your data, later using it for ransom. This attack is known as ransomware. Hackers can hold businesses hostage if vital information is leaked and user information exposed. Such an occurrence was the Ashley Madison hack of July 2015.

There are three main reasons a hacker wants your data:

• To sell it on the black market
• Identity theft
• Simply because they can

There’s no such thing as being ‘too safe’ in this digital era. One hundred percent secure may not exist as of yet, but you can take practical steps to mitigate the potential for massive data loss.

Here are some ransomware response strategies:

What you should do:	Trace the attack to be sure it has affected your critical files Shut down your system Block network access Notify the authorities
What you shouldn’t do:	Pay the ransom (it’s not a guarantee you’ll get your data back and might lead to future attacks)

If you run a business, then it is likely you store personal information about your employees, customers, and others digitally or online. Since data breaches are on the rise, all organizations must start taking more detailed steps to prevent a data breach. By implementing protection best practices you will stay ahead of potential attacks and ensure the safety of your business.

Ransomware protection and response best practices were in focus of our recent webinar with Veeam. With October being National Cybersecurity Month, we thought it is the right time to revisit it.

Take a look at the recording below and get insights from William Bell, EVP of Products from phoenixNAP, and Brandon McCoy, Cloud Sales Engineer from Veeam.

Here is a detailed checklist we recommend you go through to start consolidating your online security:

Don’t click on email attachments

Spammers and hackers are becoming more ingenious in their attempts to trick people into open email attachments. It’s no longer the Nigerian prince asking you to wire donations to his kingdom. Now you get emails from the IRS, Social Security Administration, and sometimes even someone that looks like one of your relatives. Spammers find relatives by searching your name from any number of person search sites, or social media which display the names of your relatives.

Before clicking on any email attachment, stop and ask yourself if you know the person or organization, and were you notified of an incoming attachment? If you answer no to any of those two questions, don’t open the attachment. In essence, you should delete the email immediately.

When in doubt, you can do a little investigative work to check if an email is legit. For example, check to see if info@paypal.com does originate from the official site. How? In your email client, display the email header information. There, it will be evident if the email did not come from paypal.com. If there are links in the email, hover over one of them, but don’t click it! You should see a popup or hint that displays the full URL. If it doesn’t start with a paypal.com domain, it’s a fake.

Implement and use 2FA

2FA or Two Factor Authentication is a security method that verifies you. You’re already familiar with website logins. 2FA takes logins a step further. It does this by checking if it’s genuinely you that is logging in with your credentials. 2FA does this by asking for additional information. After you enter your login info, the 2FA scheme will send a text code to your verified phone number. Which in turn, you must enter into the login screen to gain access.

There isn’t a field on the login screen to enter your device’s phone number. That would defeat the purpose of 2FA since a spammer would be able to enter their mobile number and hijack the auth code. Instead, the mobile number you saved in your account is used. By involving another device that only you have access to, 2FA provides more confidence that the person logging in is you.

A 2018 study by Carnegie Mellon University found that over 75 percent of study participants thought 2FA made their accounts more secure, but 50 percent thought the process was annoying. 2FA also helped to stop dangerous security practices, such as credential sharing.

Never share your social security number

Most job applications will ask for your social security number to perform a background check. Outside of job applications and government organizations, there is no need to provide your social security number. Some companies may ask for it to set up an account for you. You can decline, and ask that the company uses another identifying number. After all, you have no idea what sort of security practices go on at any company.

Lockdown physical assets

Keep physical locks on any devices which contain sensitive data and are vulnerable to hacking.

Restrict access

Limit access to sensitive data, to employees on a straightforward need-to-know basis.

Update all your operating systems

Through cloud computing, these should be updated consistently and automatically. It’s always safer to ensure you have the latest versions with the most recent security fixes and patches installed.

Schedule regular updates for applications

Some apps will have to be updated manually, where others will be updated automatically. This rule is critical since earlier versions will have loopholes that hackers can exploit.

Use SSL in your email client

When using a desktop email client, the client connects to your email provider’s servers to receive and send emails. With some providers, you have the option to use a non-SSL connection. This can prove risky.

A non-SSL connection will send your non-encrypted email login credentials over the Internet. When you connect to a public or unsecured WiFi network (i.e., coffee shop or hotel), your email credentials will be vulnerable. Always use SSL when connecting to your email provider.

Use machine-generated passwords

With the advent of keyword loggers and even cameras spying on networks and devices, it’s imperative to use a machine-generated password.

Furthermore, hackers often play the guessing game too. One of the most popular passwords are names of personal pets. Using social media, it’s not hard to discover your pet’s name. For example, a simple Facebook search can give any hacker that type of personal information.

Play it safe by using something generated for you, and it is also completely random. If storage and memory pose an issue, then use a password manager.

Use Strong Complex Passwords

Don’t use the same password across multiple logins, even if you have used a password generator. Each login should be different. If one login is compromised, at least your other logins are safe – for now. By diversifying with strong secure passwords, you are essentially creating a firewall between each login.

Use a Credit monitoring service

Credit monitoring services can alert you to suspicious activity within your financial accounts. Credit monitoring services are convenient because you can monitor activity within all of your financial accounts, and through all three credit bureaus.

If you don’t want to pay for a monitoring service, most credit cards and bank accounts have alerts that inform you of suspicious activity. It’s triggered when a transaction exceeds a specific dollar amount, or a questionable purchase has been made on the card.

Contact your financial institution immediately

If you see suspicious activity on one of your business accounts, contact your financial institution right away. Your institution has protocols in place for events like these.

Train and educate your employees

The Office of the Future survey, Canon USA reported that more than one-third of respondents consider malware and ransomware a priority threat. Yet, 25% of respondents say that employees have limited to no security awareness, nor do they understand their role in prevention.

For better overall security, it’s essential to train your employees on your most recent security protocols. Create written privacy and data security policies. Educate your employees on those policies, and make them aware of their responsibilities for keeping company data secure. Offer this type of training at least two or three times per year.

If you’re self-employed, use an EIN instead of your social security number

If you are self-employed and have to fill out W-9s and 1099s, use a federal EIN. Using the Employer Identification Number means you do not need to use your social security number. And this protects you from becoming a victim of identity theft.

Data breaches are an unfortunate part of doing business online and participating in digital activities. In this article, you can learn to arm yourself and your business with protective knowledge and strategies and best practices to avoid data breaches. You can drastically reduce the possibility of your private data ending up online, or in hands, you don’t want it to be.

If you are still unsure about how to secure your business online, contact phoenixNAP today to get more information on how to develop your own strategy.