How a Self-Healing Network Can Save Your Company Time & Money

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-duroseau/how-a-selfhealing-network_b_6671470.html

Though a virus seldom causes hardware failure, there are instances where a
virus can disrupt the operation of an infected system. More instances occur
when a virus results in data loss or data theft - which can be measured in
terms of the value of deleted information to the user, and in certain
instances data being held for ransom - resulting in disastrous
consequences. It is imperative you locate the threat, protect the system,
and remediate the damages to prevent harm to the critical data. These
objectives can be achieved through a self-healing network.

The concept of a self-healing network was formed to minimize downtime, and
close the gap between problem identification and its resolution. This
process also extends into incident prediction. A thorough understanding of
the company's data, recognizing the threats, and isolating those threats
once they occur, will create the foundation of a self- healing network.

The Dangers of Undetected and Untreated Malware

Malware is considered the largest nefarious threat to companies of all
sizes. Its sole intent is to be disruptive as possible by causing damage.
Harm occurs in the form of stealing data, holding data hostage, and
impacting the usefulness of a system - which results in diminished
productivity.

Malware can infiltrate your company's network system and access client
data. The data can be held hostage - forcing you and your resources to
spend hours recovering the data, or paying a ransom to the attackers if
there is no data recovery process in place. While inside the system,
malware can seek out proprietary and confidential information. Kiss that
secret family recipe, or that proprietary information goodbye. In addition,
if the server holding all of the firm's financial information is
vulnerable, you're potentially looking at millions of dollars down the
drain.

Disaster Recovery And Business Continuity

Independent of your company's size, a self- healing network maximizes
uptime and provides the ability to service clients at near 100 percent
capacity. All businesses will have to endure a crisis - whether natural,
man-made, or purely coincidental - and need to be prepared to quickly
recover.

Depending on the size and scope of the event, your business will need to
place its disaster recovery (DR) or business continuity (BC) plan in
motion. A DR plan can be measured in terms of hours or days - depending
upon the scale of the event. A BC plan can be measured in seconds to
minutes, and functions to ensure that your business stays functional with
minimum impact to customers. Although your company is still functional, it
is not the ideal work environment.

Most systems are designed to treat malware after the damage is already in
effect. Instead, your company should take a holistic approach and address
the entire life-cycle of data. You should have a strong perimeter in place
that identifies incoming and outgoing data of the environment.

Your business needs reinforced systems that address both the "who" and
"what" - who is dealing with that data, and what's being done with it. As a
preventive measure, you should educate all of your employees of the various
malware threats (i.e. opening unsolicited email links, or providing
information that creates or exploits vulnerabilities in security).

The Value Of A Self-Healing Network

By taking a proactive approach and implementing a self-healing environment,
it will positively impact three specific areas:

Security - This has a direct correlation to customer trust. As most
businesses deal with client data in some form, ensuring that data is always
protected translates into repeat and renewed business.

Bottom-line financial savings - The labor-intensive operational cost spent
on resources to identify, isolate, and remediate threats will continue to
rise as malware compounds. You'll save labor hours by adopting a
self-healing environment with an automated process.

Productivity - Minimizing the impact of malware, by preventing them from
entering your environment or quickly remediating them, allows the
production environment to remain available for business activities without
putting data or systems at risk.

Productivity is seriously hindered once an internet blacklisting is placed
on a company as a result of zombie attacks or low security posture. Don't
let this happen to your company.

_______________________________________________
Dataloss Mailing List (dataloss () datalossdb org)
Archived at http://seclists.org/dataloss/
Unsubscribe at http://lists.osvdb.org/mailman/listinfo/dataloss
For inquiries regarding use or licensing of data, e-mail
        sales () riskbasedsecurity com 

Supporters:

Risk Based Security (http://www.riskbasedsecurity.com/)
YourCISO is an affordable SaaS solution that provides a comprehensive information security program that ensures focus 
on the right security.  If you need security help or want to provide real risk reduction for your clients contact us!