An increasing influx of Viruses, Malware, and Spam can unleash war on your organization if you aren’t doing something to counter the attack. For all you know, these malicious codes could be lurking within your systems and network waiting to bring your network to a crunching halt – an event you’d be more than happy to avoid.
The trouble with malware is that unlike the previous versions which you could erase and actually be sure about it, modern malware is sophisticated and ‘sticky’. While the IT network architecture, computer systems, software and applications are all growing complex with each passing day, so is the malware eco-system and with multiple access points to your network.
Malware is almost ubiquitous. A whopping 43% of about 800 U.S based IT security professionals surveyed by the Ponemon Institute in a 2011 ‘State of Endpoint Risk' study point to a dramatic increase in the incidence of malware in corporate IT networks. An incredible 98% of all organizations surveyed survived a malware attack while 35% of them experienced malware intrusions to an extent of 50 attempts within a month.This doesn't mean that you succumb to the ill effects of malware. Companies have a few ways to get rid of malware effectively. Here are some tips:
Stellar data Management and Governance
Hackers deploy malware to gain or seek sensitive information from corporate networks such as personal information, trade secrets, and findings accrued from research, financial details, Intellectual property, etc. To start with, your company has critical data too and understanding what your company’s critical data is, where you keep this data, how your data moves, and how your data is managed. Remember that not all data is equal.
Get help when you can
Sometimes your anti-virus or anti-malware software can only do so much. It would erase malware and you’d still not be sure you eliminated it for sure. Infected systems would allow malware to spread to the rest of your network. First, take these infected systems off the network grid. After that, you may deploy layered technologies like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, anti-virus or anti-malware with latest patches, use control gateways and even network monitoring.
Diversify
Just like it makes sense to diversify your financial assets while investing, try to diversify your IT network too. Avoid reliance on specific operating systems and browsers and experiment with others. Windows, for example, is widely targeted and attacked. Make incremental moves to Linux or Macintosh. For browsers, you have even more options starting from Google Chrome and all the way to Safari and Opera with Firefox and Internet Explorer in between.
The Malware is out there creeping into your network. What are you doing about it?