If you're running your business in the cloud, you're likely under attack already. Here are four simple things you should be doing:
Update. Update. Update. Make sure that you're running up to date software. Old software makes it easy for bad guys to compromise you by using widely available exploits.
Control access. Make sure you know who has access to your servers, and that only those people are accessing your servers.
Test apps. If you're running custom application code on your servers, make sure you've had it tested for the Top 10 security issues in web applications.
Be watchful. Keep a close eye on your server and the bill from your cloud provider. An unexpected spike in traffic will help alert you that your simple webserver has been turned into a costly spam zombie.
Big breaches have made cyber-security a top of mind issue for just about everybody these days. However, many business owners and consumers are unwitting accomplices to cybercrime.
Their unknowing participation can range from relaying spam, to performing distributed denial of service attacks and even relaying directed attacks against high value targets.
End users know that they are ultimately responsible for keeping themselves safe online, and they spend freely on anti-virus and anti-malware solutions for their desktops, laptops and even mobile devices.
David Campbell is co-founder of JumpCloud(Photo: James D. Brown)
At the same time, entrepreneurs and enterprises are moving their businesses into "the cloud" and have a false sense of securi! ty, thinking that their cloud provider is taking care of security for them, or that their business isn't an attractive target to cyber-criminals.
It's no secret that cyber-criminals like to go after banks and other holders of personally identifiable information. What isn't well known is that these same criminals like to cover their tracks by compromising poorly protected targets, and then using these victims as launch pads for attacks against more heavily defended targets.
Just because your company may not store customer credit card data or other tantalizing bits of information, doesn't mean it's not a target. Criminals will use your servers to attack others, while you get the bill and the blame. Taking the time to shore up your defenses now could save you considerable headaches down the road.
About the author: David Campbell is co-founder of JumpCloud, a cloud security solution for DevOps and IT pros. He is a widely recognized thought leader in the fields of mobile, cloud and application security.
No comments:
Post a Comment