Happy Halloween; if only I could enjoy the mounds of candy like I use to...

Well, another month has come and gone believe it or not. This weekend as I was out rummaging through bags of candy trying desperately to decide what to buy (I may be aging myself, but honestly whatever happened to the good 'ol Bun candy bar!?) I heard a young child exclaim to her mother how, "spiders, snakes and worms are the most ickiest and scariest things."

After my shared chuckle with the mother and given the spirit of the holiday, I began to think about how fears can change so drastically with age and responsibility. Oh to be young again. It seems the older we get, the more we have to lose.   Our businesses really face that same concept; the only difference is that fear isn't going to keep the malicious virus from intrusion and unfortunately, scare tactics from your IT provider aren't going to do it either. Darn. It's not a secret that we need security. The secret is that there is MUCH more to a secure infrastructure than virus prevention.

Off the top of my head I can rattle off a handful of anti-virus software developed to combat the most common viruses and infections which most of you most likely are already utilizing. Businesses small to large (more common in our trusting small-to-medium space) understand the common virus and spam but overlook the consequences of intrusion if their data isn't protected.

The truth is at the end of the day, securing your environment provides more than just protection - it provides prevention and remediation. It's really more about a multi-layered approach. For example, behind the common PC user, there are firewalls to control network access, tools that filter Web content and e-mail, encryption protocols and intrusion prevention and detection.

Think about it as a common user. Our computers today are the main tools that support and run our business. Where you access your personal e-mail account is the same place you access your organization's critically important data- your customer data, employee records, financial, legal, trade secrets and other highly confidential information. It is this data that is stored and transacted upon within computerized systems that needs protection.

If I haven't feared you into updating your security standards yet, I hope I've at least stressed the importance of doing so.  In the meantime here's a link that provides some additional statistics that provide some value (and support my case) SECURITY .

It really seems like each time of year is busier than the last, and we find ourselves with another opportunity to overlook what seems like insignificant business protocols which can be detrimental by a simple click of a mouse. Truthfully, if the time isn't there, we are. Protecting your business is just as if not more important than protecting our own; let's leave the fear for the porch scares and Halloween folk tales.

Cheers,

Mike Brogan, President