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BTOs Five Point Online Security Plan

Posted: 12th Sep, 2003 By: MarkJ

UK ISP BTOpenworld has issued what it's calling the "5 point plan", which looks at the measures firms should take to protect themselves against online virus attacks - especially within the SME arena:

So what are you going to do about it...?
Five point plan for instant virus protection

As corporates across the world reel in the wake of a prolific spate of IT security threats, there's a group of businesses out there who are going un-noticed by the media - namely, the SME. However, these businesses are equally as 'at-risk', and the potential fallout from any security breach could be far more catastrophic. Particularly when it is someone's livelihood, and not just a couple of hours of corporate downtime, that is at stake.

Owners or those responsible for IT within the SME - often the same person - won't risk putting their head above the parapet to ask the all important security questions. With nobody else to turn to for help, where should they start to protect their business? Ignorance, as well as apathy, can cost the company dear.

So where does the SME start? In this simple five-step guide, Nick Truman, head of security at BT Openworld, outlines where to start if getting an IT security policy in place is all just a blur to you...

1. Be aware - and make sure your team is

Ensure all staff are aware of security threats, covering:

a) P2P (peer-to-peer) use in the office, such as MP3 downloads. A significant amount of the downloadable data is likely to contain Trojan horses - malicious code that you download without knowing it, and that infects your computer (and possibly those of others) once it's installed.

b) Personal use of corporate email - it's not just wasting corporate time, it's exposing the business to unnecessary risk.

c) Using the internet for activities not suitable for an office environment. Some adult sites, for instance, use malicious code to alter the PC of the 'viewer' to force premium rate diallers, hijack default homepages and install Trojan horses which can compromise a corporate network and expose it and its contents to the world.

2. Enforce where necessary

Ensure that security compliance is contractually binding. This is especially relevant in environments where staff take laptops home, or use them for personal business. It sounds pedantic, but if it's not in their contract, you probably aren't protected.

3. Patch, patch and patch again

Make sure all your systems are patched to the latest level as recommended by operating system vendors, and don't rest until... well, ever. New exploits are discovered all the time, and if you know about them, there's every chance that a hundred hackers also do. If someone got a key cut that fitted the lock on your front door, you wouldn't wait till the following week to get it fixed, would you...? Act now!

4. Have guard dogs at the gate, and at the door

Ensure that all desktop and laptop computers are equipped with - at the very least - virus protection software. Ideally, install firewall software as well. And, as goes with all of these simple steps, make sure you keep them up to date. Viruses mutate like teenage fashions - what was 'safe' one week will most likely not be the next.

5. The golden rule

This is the message that lies behind all these tips - put simply, don't ever let up. New threats shoot up like daffodils in springtime, and each and every mutation can be a lot less pleasant. Stay alert - but don't just rely on the press to let you know when something big is on the horizon. It's far more likely they'll cover a security risk after it has felled a corporate giant - and by then, it could be too late for you.

Follow these simple steps, and at least you know you'll be heading in the right direction. Ignore them at your peril!