Security

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The Born in the Cloud Security portfolio includes:

Firewalls

These should be your first line of defence and are used to protect the perimeter of your network and your data centres. A firewall provides control of which networks have access to which resources. They are  essential for preventing unauthorised access to your network from the Internet. It is important that your firewalls operate at an application level (not just a network level) so that applications can be accurately identified. Firewalls are available as physical, virtual and cloud options.

Threat Protection Subscription

This should be applied to all firewalls. Beyond simple control of networks and resources, Threat Prevention uses signatures (unique patterns) to identify known malware and prevent them from infiltrating your network.

Wildfire Subscription

Wildfire helps protect your business from Zero Day attacks.  Zero Day refers to new malware that has yet to be identified i.e. If it has not been seen before, Threat Prevention would not be able to identify it's signature. To protect your network from this kind of malware, unknown patterns are first quarantined and then sent to a secure malware testing centre, where they are safely executed. The pattern would then be classified as safe or as malware. Should the pattern be confirmed as safe, it would be delivered to your network. If the pattern is identified as malware, it would be blocked and you would be notified. The malware would then be added to the Threat Prevention database to ensure it is automatically blocked in the future. The verdict process only takes a few seconds, so it does not disrupt your productivity.

URL Filtering Subscription

URL Filtering is very popular and is used to control which website categories are permitted, advised against or blocked. For example, you may allow users to access business applications on the Internet but block access to adult content or known malware sites. There may also be categories such as social media websites that you do not wish to block but may advise against during business hours.

Another very powerful feature of URL Filtering is that it works in concert with the Threat Prevention and Wildfire subscriptions. For example, it is typical for an attacker to establish a connection from an infected computer to their own computer or to another website that installs further malware. The URL filtering engine is informed that the attacker is trying to 'dial home' and blocks the connection, stopping the attack in it's tracks.

Global Protect Subscription

Global Protect  allows computers and mobile devices to securely connect to a firewall over the Internet to form a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This means users can securely access the corporate network at any time and from any location. This feature has been very popular as it provides secure home, mobile and hybrid working. It also means that remote users benefit from the powerful security features and subscriptions that are deployed on the corporate firewall.

Global Protect is included as standard for Windows operating systems and only needs a subscription if you wish to wish to use it on mobile operating systems such as IOS and Android. Global Protect is licensed per firewall and not per user, so it can cost effectively be deployed at scale.

Multi-factor Authentication

I can also advise you on multi-factor authentication solutions. In a world where passwords alone are not deemed secure, a multi-factor authentication solution provides a second authentication method such as a seperate application, physical token or SMS message.

Endpoint (computer) Protection

Beyond securing the perimeter of your network, it is important to ensure that endpoints are protected. This is because endpoints are often soft targets for attackers as they can provide an unprotected entry point onto the network. Mobile devices like laptops and smart phones are not always connected to a secure corporate network and may be connected to an insecure home or public network. There is also the risk that an endpoint is not properly locked down from a security perspective. Once an endpoint is compromised, it can often bypass traditional security precautions as it appears to be a trusted device. At this point, an attacker can remotely activate malware that will allow the attack to propagate on the network. My endpoint security solutions include secure configuration of your endpoints and a support service to ensure they remain secure. The solution can also work in concert with a Network Access Control (NAC) solution, to ensure non-complaint endpoints can not join your network without being remediated.

Please contact me to find out more.