Does your organisation have a false sense of security?

C5 Alliance is urging businesses to rethink how they secure their networks and encouraging boards to ask IT heads to demonstrate how they can determine that they have not been compromised, following the spotlight which has been shone on data security in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal.

The warning coming from the technology company, which has seen an increase in enquiries since the high profile leak, is that while businesses might believe they are managing their network security effectively, they could be at risk of a breach which can have serious implications for the organisation - most breaches remain unknown today.

Matt Ferbrache, head of technical solutions at C5 Alliance and the island’s only qualified CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert), said that many businesses are taking advice from uncertified consultants with limited technical experience.  This is leading to doors being left wide open, combined with a lack of visibility, data leakage could go undetected.

Mr Ferbrache said: “In this digital age, there is no room for complacency where security is concerned; yet repeatedly, during audits of local businesses we continually uncover possible compromises and network vulnerabilities – organisations need to completely move away from thinking that up to date anti-virus and a traditional firewall represent suitable protection.

“Never before has an organisation’s security been given so much profile and not surprisingly this has made many at board level sit up and take notice of an issue that has previously been assigned to middle management within the IT department and not give the priority attention it needs.

“Penetration tests are often undertaken by businesses to assess where weakness within a network could be, however as soon as these are completed they are out of date. Businesses must deploy systems to provide real-time visibility of data entering and leaving their network, utilising live threat intelligence to mitigate against zero day attacks.”

High profile cyberattacks have made everyone aware of the increasing number of new and emerging threats to businesses’ security, with hackers looking for any advantage they can get.  

Mr Ferbrache said “If the board gave a directive tomorrow requesting assurance about the organisation’s network security, could you provide this? Or in the case of a breach would you have the visibility to confirm to them what has been lost? We would strongly urge any business that isn’t certain of their network to consider a security audit.”