Article Starter Guide to Staying Cyber Secure by Joe Harmon, Vice President – Technology & Support, B&L Information Systems, Inc. C


yber security. Ransomware.


Hackers. These are all


scary words and a scarier concept – a new “norm” of digital safety that seems to get a little bigger and impact manufacturing more every day. Research shows firms with less than 250 employees make up more than 40% of all cyber attacks and the manufacturing industry receives the highest incidence of malicious spam.2


fixes will not work in this evolving cyber landscape.


Outdated technology Example: The latest


version of the LOCKY ransomware virus can not be deterred by the standard emergency protocol of shutting down the computer.1


Additionally, as manufacturers rush


to embrace the Internet of Things (IoT), the manufacturing industry must provide more security for the cyber-physical infrastructure of the manufacturing shop floor.4


Cyber risks to manufacturers include data loss, leaking of private/ confidential information, and even physical damage. Legacy on-premise software systems are more vulnerable as there are more attack vectors available to cyber criminals. Are your defenses set?


There are


simple steps you can take to make all your software systems, including your ERP system, more secure - whether the software is on-premise or Cloud-based. Here are six starter steps to improved cyber security: 1. Confirm the physical security of your servers and systems


2. Check your firewalls regularly 3. Institute regular system updates


4. Close any possible back doors to Trojan horse infected email


22 ❘ November 2016 ®


5. Institute complex password protocol


6. Teach your staff what to look out for as well as what not to do


First step – The simplest and


sometimes most overlooked cyber security step is placement of your hardware. Are your servers physically in a secure location? Is there a protocol for access? What is the off-site access to vulnerable data? Do employees have a protocol for checking out sensitive data? Answering these questions is your first step to cyber-physical security. Second step – Firewalls are your


first line of cyber defense. When was the last time you ran a penetration or port check of your security system? Have you reviewed your network traffic analytics via the firewall recently? Making sure your firewall is up-to-date and unbreached goes a long way to maintaining a secure cyber environment. Third step – Updates often contain


patches that fix potential security vulnerabilities within the software. Are your users up-to-date with the anti-virus software? Has your IT team downloaded the most recent software updates for systems used by the company? Regularly updating systems and software to make sure every device on a given network is using the latest versions available will go a long way to creating a more secure digital environment. Fourth step – The easiest way to


access anything is an unsecured opening or “back door”. Staff opening an infected email attachment (aka Trojan horse) is the most likely culprit to any cyber attack. Which of your systems are not using whitelists that allow only certain software to run? Do you have a shared drive which would allow a virus


to


proliferate? Malware can be embedded in Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, and a host of other document types. Using reduced permissions reduces risk as well as using a UNC path closes one access point for a Trojan horse. Fifth step – Passwords are an easy


Once released onto your


system, it propagates itself throughout your network, encrypting files as it spreads.


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