Blog / Computer Security Requires a Security Mindset
Always take computer security incidents seriously.
Your network and computer security is more important than ever. Insurance providers now require more extensive defense measures than ever before they’ll even think of insuring you. The world is more connected than ever, making it easier for anyone to communicate with you, including not just customers and vendors, but hackers and attackers looking to steal data, compromise your organization, or otherwise take advantage of the situation.
The most important component of exceptional computer security is the proper mindset to approaching different situations. Fortunately there’s only one rule, albeit an important one, for approaching even just potential computer security situation. When you approach a situation that is or may be a security issue there is a simple rule to follow:
If you can’t answer a question, assume the worst.
Why assume the worst? Well, let’s say you suspect one of your accounts has been compromised. What should you do? You need to prevent further damage to your systems or data loss, so priority one is to lock out the attacker’s access, usually by locking out the account or changing the password. This should be priority one. The longer an attacker has access to your systems the more damage they can do.
This is a vital first step. Not only is it necessary to help prevent further damage, but it also helps limit liability and makes insurance claims stronger. Assuming the worst here would be assuming you’re going to also have to deal with insurance (literally the worst in every case but we digress). In this case, dealing with insurance is worse than having the deal with legal issues is because legal action is relatively easy to face, typically meaning you just need to prove someone did something illegal. Insurers, on the other hand, will search for every possible excuse they can, no matter how trivial or irrelevant, to refuse your claim. Not only do you need to prove you were in some way wronged, but also that you took steps to prevent that harm.
But there’s also another, more pragmatic reason to assume the worst when you can’t confirm the actual details. If you’re take action as if the worst has happened and you’re wrong, the damage is usually limited to a few minor annoyances for end users and IT teams. But if you assume a sunnier scenario when in actuality there really is a computer security incident in progress, then not only are you leaving your system and data open to further exploitation, but your chances of recovering losses begin to plummet.
For this week’s quote I’ll pull a line from Henry V; “Advantage is a better soldier than rashness.”
If you’d like help improving your computer security, contact TRINUS for some stress-free IT and we’ll be happy to help.
