The Importance of Security
Anything of value requires security. The greater the value and the greater the risk of loss, the greater the need. How we secure an asset depends on a great many things besides its value. We must do a risk assessment. It may be a thorough and formal one, or it may be an off-the-cuff, ballpark one. But our decision on how to protect something depends on our estimation of its value and our estimation of the types and severity of the risks. To know that something is highly valuable and genuinely at risk, and then to do nothing to protect it, is both irrational and irresponsible. Our computers, our networks, and our data are of tremendous value to us, personally and professionally. Many businesses have failed because they lost the use of their computers, or their data, or because an unauthorized party was able to gain illicite access to them.
Part of computer security deals with preservation of data and of system functionality. Protection against hardware failure or natural disasters, for example. However, when people think of computer security, they generally think of "black hat" hackers trying to take over their systems and steal their data. Identity theft is also becoming a major problem. Any computer connected to the Internet is at severe risk, at all times. A completely unprotected computer with access to the Internet will certainly be compromised, often within minutes!
The topic of computer security is vast indeed. Below you will find links to a few sites that can help you become an informed consumer. Remember, if your computer is compromised, it can be used in an attack on other computers. We all have a social responsibility to protect our systems, much as we have a responsibility to lock up our guns, or to be sure our cars are mechanically sound. If you need help securing your computer network, please call 517-339-0308 or send off an email.
“If you are connected to the Internet, your computer lives in a bad part of town!”
On-Line Resources
- Free Security Resources
- Top Cyber Security Risks
- Security Trends
- Security News
- 20 Critical Security Controls
Incident Detection and Response
- www.intrusions.org
- How to Design a Useful Incident Response Policy
- Keys to Successful Incident Response Teams
- Critical Control 18: Incident Response Capability