How to Detect a Cyber Attack Against Your Company

 

Install & Update Anti-virus & Other Cybersecurity Programs

 

If you have not already installed anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spyware software on every device at your manufacturing facility, now is the time. Install, use, and continuously update these cybersecurity measures on every computer, tablet, and smartphone.

 

These mechanisms can certainly help shield your company’s important data and information from malware, which is the catch-all term for malicious code. Written with the purpose to steal or cause harm to information systems, malware contains viruses, spyware, and ransomware. Destructive code can not just steal your computer memory; it can also facilitate a cyber criminal to record your computer actions and access sensitive information.

 

To get the most from your anti-malware programs, set the software to conveniently check for updates at a minimum once daily, or in real-time, if available. Set the settings to run a complete scan after daily updates.

 

A typical example of typical business anti-malware settings might include:

- Running anti-virus programs daily or nightly, such as at midnight

- Scheduling a virus scan to run about half an hour later (12:30 a.m.)

- Following up by running anti-spyware software a couple of hours later, such as at 2:30 a.m.

- Running a full system scan shortly afterward (3:00 a.m.)

 

This example is based on the assumption that a facility normally has a running, high-speed Internet connection for all devices. The time of your updates and scans may differ, but you need to do them daily. Do not forget to schedule them so that basically one activity takes place at any given time. For home-based employees or for employees’ personal devices, ensure that they have copies or access to the same anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and ask them to run frequent updates per the previous example.

 

It's vital that all employees understand why running anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spyware is vital to protecting company information and assets. Employees must also realize how early detection could potentially save the company from serious consequences associated with a cybersecurity incident or breach.

 

For redundant security, it's a good idea to use two different anti-virus solutions from different vendors. Using anti-malware protection from two different providers can increase your chances of detecting a virus. Routers, firewalls, or Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) usually have some anti-virus capabilities; but you don’t want to rely on them exclusively to protect your network.

 

Understand that anti-virus solutions can only find known viruses. If a new virus is developed and deployed, your anti-virus may not be able to recognize it. It is essential to keep your anti-virus solutions up to date in order to detect the latest viruses.

 

Maintain & Monitor Detection Logs

 

Most malware protection and detection hardware or software is built with logging capability. Check your user manual for instructions on how to:

- Use your logs to identify suspicious activity

- Maintain regular log records that are valuable in an investigation

- Back up logs regularly and save them for at least a year (although some types of information may need to be stored for longer)

 

For added assurance, consider recruiting a cybersecurity professional to review your logs for any red-flag trends, such as an unusually large amount of time spent on a social media site or a high frequency of viruses consistently found on a single computer. This activity may present an important information security problem that requires stronger protection.

 

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