Basic Network Security vs. IronOrbit’s 4-D Unified Threat Management
Recent high-profile, politically-motivated hacking incidents have made people more aware of the vulnerability of corporate and government networks. Yet despite the recent trend of “hacktivism,” financial gain remains the primary motivation for network attacks. And more total SMBs still have their networks attacked than large enterprises or government institutions.
For SMBs to provide themselves with even the lowest level of network security, they need to implement the following protective measures:
Authentication: how the network identifies and provides access to authorized users. Usually takes the form of a login interface where users have to enter their names and passwords to access the network. Two-factor authentication combines a login interface with another method such as device-recognition, card swipes, and fingerprint or retina scans.
Firewall. Once the user has been authenticated, the firewall restricts the services that the user can access from within the network based on pre-set rules. It likewise restricts the access of external services and agents to the internal network.
Intrusion prevention system (IPS) and antivirus software. The IPS scans incoming data for malware. The antivirus software will find and remove any forms of malware that the IPS fails to detect.
Intrusion detection system (IDS). Instead of scanning for malware, the IDS watches for data transactions that are suspiciously large, strangely timed, or sent in an abnormal way or to a unknown destination.
IronOrbit goes beyond these measures with our patented Orbital Security System. With 4-D we ensure security in these main areas:
Physical and environmental security. While many companies do not think to protect and secure the actual hardware that hosts the network, IronOrbit’s data centers have on-site security teams, palm readers, around the clock closed circuit video and alarm monitoring, cooling and fire suppression systems, and backup power systems.
Operational security. IronOrbit relentlessly trains its technicians in security best practices, including password difficulty, encrypted data storage, and data handling procedures. We also restrict access to customer data to authorized personnel only. For oversight, our systems log all network-related access and actions by employees.
Backup and disaster recovery. By default IronOrbit preserves all of its customers’ data with daily backups and weekly server snapshots. In partnership with the security consulting and services company True Defense, IronOrbit can also provide complete off-site hosted backups of a company’s on-site IT infrastructure. Our business continuity planning and disaster recovery systems add further support.
Logical and system security. Including Cisco firewalls, interlinked IDS and IPS, regularized patch management, gateway antivirus, and content filtering.