Preventive tools to keep your corporate data secure

Although many companies don’t feel directly threatened by cybercrime, IT threats are now one of the major risks for incidents that can affect a company. Shielding your corporate data from prying eyes and protecting your data against intrusions should be your priority in preventing data loss and improving your company’s IT security.

Next-generation firewall (NGFW) to prevent intrusions

These firewalls protect your computer systems against the latest sophisticated intrusions. A NGFW is a network security system that detects and blocks cyber attacks on two levels: applications (by detecting malicious software) and hardware (by applying security rules to the port or communication protocol you are using).

 Proxy to shield your data from prying eyes

A proxy server acts as an intermediary between your web browser and the internet, securing access to your data by hiding certain information (IP address, operating system, web pages you have viewed, etc.) in the case of anonymous proxies. Like a firewall, it reinforces security by detecting malicious software and preventing external computers from connecting to yours, and it also allows you to set up filters to reflect the IT security policy of your company (blocking blacklisted sites, sites that are deemed malicious, etc.). An authentication system to limit access to the external network can also be set up, with options to keep logs (of sites visited, pages viewed, users, etc.).

Anti-virus to fight malware

While adopting responsible browsing habits and physically protecting your hardware against theft (via a password on each workstation, for example) are the first steps toward computer security, anti-virus protection is essential in protecting your data against viruses, Trojans, and worms. This type of software can identify malware and contain the damage by deleting or quarantining it.

Computer backup systems to protect your data

Theft, accident, failure, computer virus: there are many different causes of data loss, and a good computer backup system is essential to protect your data. There are various options.

• Backups to computers or external hard drives, which have the disadvantage of being affected by hardware obsolescence (an external hard drive can fail) and are relatively time-consuming to use, requiring files to be manually copied.
• Backups to the company server, which can be automated and performed securely but are not always done in real time (leading to a risk of data loss); data recovery also requires technical skill.
• Remote data backups, which are relatively simple to do these days and allow for nearly real-time backups (very little risk of data loss).However, recovering data from the remote server can take a long time, depending on the volume of data backed up and your internet connection.Furthermore, if you lack internet access for some reason, it is impossible to access the data.
• Finally, there are hybrid backup systems that combine the benefits of local and remote backups and are both automated and secure. These are currently the safest option for protecting your IT assets. For more information, see our article on turnkey data backup solutions.

In conclusion, companies are vulnerable to a host of risks that go far beyond computer viruses, affecting all the technologies they may use in their information system. Taking a proactive approach with both hardware and software is absolutely crucial to protecting yourself.