As an outsource security partner BAI provides managed security, managed firewall, managed ids, content filtering, internet security, network security, penetration testing, and vulnerability testing.

A: Unauthorized access, data manipulation and denial of service attacks are becoming commonplace in today's business news headlines. The rapidly expanding scope of modern networks, along with the surge of commonly available hacking tools, has significantly increased the probability and impact of attacks on your company's information network and proprietary data. Unfortunately, viruses are only one manner in which hackers negatively affect business operations and corrupt or steal vital business information.

Each month several new viruses appear, and with the majority of companies being dependant on a dedicated connection to the Internet, these viruses are finding their way into companies at an alarming rate. More and more businesses are encountering situations that lead to major data and intellectual property loss because systems are left unprotected. In the past, these viruses usually came from things like inserting a disk from an unknown source into your computer. Today's viruses are far more sophisticated and attach themselves to Internet pages and downloads as well as common e-mail messages.

More of a concern is the type of virus that finds its way into your systems even without user intervention. These active viruses like CodeRed, CodeBlue and Nimda prey on vulnerabilities in e-mail and Web-connected servers and can infect without a user activating them, automatically spreading within your environment as well to the computers of other companies.

Most viruses are generally easily removed if diagnosed early, but only if an antivirus program is in place and is current enough to detect the latest viruses. While virus protection should be considered a vital part of a security plan, it is definitely not the only security a company needs to stay protected.

Information security relates to the protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of IT/computer systems and the information and data stored and exchanged within them. There are several ways to address your company's information security:

• Full-featured firewall. A full-featured firewall is one of the most important first steps to securing your environment from the Internet. Generally, firewalls protect against unauthenticated, unauthorized logins from outside your network. This helps prevent hackers from logging in to computers within your network. Some firewalls are more elaborate and block traffic from outside the network to the inside, but permit users within the network to go freely to the outside.

   

• Internet-based and internal auditing tools. A firewall alone will not protect you from misconfigured systems that are accessible from the Internet (i.e., e-mail, Web, FTP, etc.). You need to audit yourself or hire an outside firm to perform annual audits.

   

• Virtual private network (VPN). One of the benefits of having your company connected to the Internet is the ability to access systems from the outside or connect business partners to your corporate network. A VPN ensures that data is protected as it travels over the Internet. Utilizing a VPN, employees, partners and suppliers outside your network may access your internal IT resources if they are properly identified or authenticated. Information traveling over a public network to and from these users can be made private through the VPN's encryption technology.

   

• Intrusion detection system (IDS). Trying to keep up with all the vulnerabilities that hackers can take advantage of is a very difficult task. Utilize an IDS, and you have an excellent chance of stopping hackers before they can even identify your systems have a weakness.

   

• Enterprise antivirus system. Viruses are still one of the hottest issues facing corporate security departments today. Use a product that blocks viruses at the firewall before they reach the internal network.

   

• Content management system. Blocking employees from browsing non-business or inappropriate Web sites is very helpful in reducing the risk of downloading viruses in addition to limiting company liability.

From one organization to another, the security requirements will vary. The important thing to remember is that there are several ways to secure your corporate network beyond just virus protection. Companies that do not have the specialized internal resources to implement and support an effective security program can turn to proven security specialists and/or managed service firms for assistance.