Almost every day there is a new headline about the latest cybersecurity attack—just like the Pink Panther, the mischievous cat in the French detective series. Wouldn’t it be great to stay ahead of the Pink Panther and identify security holes before they are exploited? While today’s IT infrastructure is simply too complex to be completely safe, there are steps that a business can take to help protect themselves. One of these steps is to proactively scan for vulnerabilities, both internally and externally.
In The Pink Panther series, Inspector Jacques Clouseau always solves his cases and finds the correct culprits entirely by accident. But in the business world, you don’t want to rely on accident to find security holes. Vulnerability scans can review your systems on a regular basis, cross-checking against a massive list of vulnerabilities and pointing out areas where security needs to be improved. It is extremely rare that an entire network has every service configured correctly, properly password protected, and fully patched. However, you need to know where to start.
All your technology—software, network devices, email and more—has the potential for security holes that you must consider in order to stay safe and compliant. You need to develop a security plan now!
Don’t be Inspector Clouseau and go it alone; let IT Radix help you get started by performing a basic external vulnerability scan as part of our Shieldstone security service. The testing is designed to assess your initial external security before an attacker does.
Why does this matter? The statistics are scary; in the first quarter of 2017, over 4800 new vulnerabilities were reported. This was a 29% increase from the same time period the previous year. These numbers have only grown in 2018. Additionally, with the Microsoft announcement of the end-of-life of both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 in January of 2020, any remaining vulnerabilities in these operating systems will not even be addressed. Don’t forget about your software, network devices, email, and more. All your technology has the potential for security holes that you must consider in order to stay safe and be compliant. You need to develop a security plan now.
To protect against attack, organizations need to scan on a continuing basis—staying abreast of the new vulnerabilities found every week. As a result, we recommend going beyond our basic external vulnerability scan to include your internal network. By doing so, you can identify the areas of highest risk and effectively plan your security budget and projects.
In The Pink Panther series, Clouseaus’ absent-minded antics garner many a laugh; but in real life, cybersecurity is no laughing matter. Contact IT Radix today about adding Shieldstone to your Managed Services today.
Need advice on how to take a proactive approach to protecting your IT security? Click here and take your first step towards fighting cybercrime by scheduling a free consultation.
First published in our February 2019 IT Radix Resource newsletter
