The importance of keeping your software up to date
Being outdated is an unpleasant feeling. In technology, software updates are much more critical and can cause real harm when not given proper attention.
By not being up to date, you are allowing yourself to be vulnerable to hacking, having your data are taken, and other mischievous and malicious acts. That’s right! When it comes to antivirus software (or hardware), the functionality is the same. What differs one from the other is their signature database. Every application all around the world has signatures, and these signatures grant the antivirus the ability to have control over it (allow, block, monitor, etc.).
This is one of the reasons why Fortinet still sits at the top. It is due to their capacity to keep your firewall’s database up to date – automatically. As they promote the 365 x 24 x 7 updates, they do deliver.
Emerging threats and how to deal with them
Ever heard about WannaCry Ransomware or simply WCry? Ransomware is the most lethally dangerous threat in your network to date. Once it enters your network, any type of data that you have, client database, computer files, your RPG saved game, even your high school pictures. It can encrypt these and have them unreadable. You’ll be asked to pay for decryption afterward. And the biggest catch, if you do not comply within 24 or 48 hours, your files will be permanently deleted. Again, one of its attributes as Ransomware is that its signature is not registered. To counter this, we make use of the technology we call, FortiSandbox, or simple Sandboxing. It filters this unregistered application and identifies it thus, creating a signature and making it blockable. You may deal with it by having an AntiVirus that is connected to a Sandbox, FortiClient, it’s free by the way.
Why humans/users are the the biggest vulnerability to a network + tips
Passwords. Social Engineering. Phishing.
We are now in the age of having every answer to our questions, ideas for new projects, strategies for business because they are one .. click .. away. As people continue to explore the internet, there are a certain few who takes advantage of this, getting their details, bank accounts, social media accounts, we call it identity theft, and their method, falls under Social Engineering, by exploiting humans’ curiosity, because why not?
Aside from protecting your network from the outside, you still have to protect your network from the inside whether the people (intentionally or unintentionally) do it. To prevent this from happening, Companies set strict firewall policies, sometimes, totally blocks access to non-business-related websites as a result you will have a more secured environment and more focused and productive employees. This is very similar to what Fortinet is trying to create with its Security Fabric. An ecosystem that can provide you total visibility of your network from inside and out.
#ICTipsByMEC #ICTMonth2017
— Paolo Reucaza, Technical Consultant for Network Security
ICT Month is celebrated every month of June, a celebration commenced in 2008. This is in accordance with Proclamation No. 1521 (series of 2008), which declares that “THE MONTH OF JUNE 2008 AND EVERY YEAR THEREAFTER AS “NATIONAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT)” MONTH”. The conduct of this event is to recognize the contributions of the ICT as one of the major sectors for economic growth and, as such, has resolved to fully implement a national ICT program that shall optimize the utilization of ICT.
