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Three Ways to Secure your Intranet For Free
Would you be surprised if you were told that the majority of all possible security breaches in your intranet may be your own fault? Sure, it takes a hacker or virus creator to make a lethal threat that could harm your network. But what some network administrators don’t realize is that most of these threats may be circumvented for free - and without much hassle at all.
Your Internal Line of Defense: Awareness
Think about it: your employees or coworkers are the users who have access to the intranet in question. If security holes or threats are going to be made, they are usually made possible because of a lack of awareness.
The biggest mistake you can make is allowing employees to set their own passwords. Too often employees will set a password as something simple they can remember. This may be good for them, but it’s even better to a cracker who can use computer programs to guess the password with ease. Instead, initiate a policy where a random password is generated; one of which uses letters, numbers, and observes capitalization.
If you can stop a malicious hacker from obtaining the login information for the intranet, you successfully stopped doomsday from occurring. But security can also come from within the company itself. More specifically, let’s say your intranet was improved to the point where a few jobs could be cut. These disgruntled employees may still have their logon information, and may wish to slyly seek revenge. In this case, make sure the network administrator deletes logon information not in use.
Another possible security breach deals with sessions. When a user logs onto a web service, they are granted what is called a session. This session expires after a set amount of time, or when the web browser is closed. It is used so that the user doesn’t have to login repeatedly. It is also a security concern, however. What if a user walks away for a cup of coffee, and an intruder or malicious user sneaks onto the computer? The malicious user in question could walk right up, sit down, and enjoy unrestricted access to the intranet. To get around this, you may wish to set a screensaver password, and insist that employees close their web browsers if they plan on leaving their computers.
Lastly, it is important to note that social engineering is one of the most popular forms of getting access to a restricted network. Social engineering is the art of a malicious person masquerading as a trustworthy individual. They often try to solicit information from a company employee. Some of the more interesting acts of social engineering even have these bad guys dressing up as janitors, and working in teams.
Your External Line of Defense: Security Software
When we said that we would demonstrate free ways of securing your intranet, we weren’t excluding antivirus or firewall software. Many types of security software runs based on subscriptions, usually around $50 a year for a complete security package for a set amount of computers - depending on the software. But with a little motivation, even these types of security defenses can be had for absolutely nothing.
Some of the best security software is free, depending on your needs exactly. For a firewall solution, you may wish to take a good look at Comodo - one of the most advanced free firewalls we’ve come across. If you are looking for an antivirus, you may obtain AVG or Avast! absolutely free. As far as software goes, these are very good alternatives. For the more serious and expensive alternatives, you’ll have to upgrade to hardware solutions. And, sadly, those aren’t anywhere near free.
Another good practice to take to heart is to remove all unnecessary applications and services. Every application and service that is running is a potential security threat. Anything from buffer overflow attacks to backdoors left in programs can cause a lot of ruckus even on the most secure networks. Some firewalls may block all applications automatically - while only allowing a set list of them to run. It is rather cumbersome to tell a firewall each application that can be run, but it is often worth it in the long run.
Your Final (And Most Important) Line of Defense: A Simple Configuration
You may be surprised to hear that the biggest threat to networks is the simple fact that administrators rarely change default settings. Even the United States Government has fallen victim to attacks, solely because default passwords or login information were used for newly installed computers, databases, or software.
Most applications and operating systems come with a simple login that allows the installing user to login and edit the login information. In the example case of the United States government, a great deal of computers had the default of no password on Windows systems, which ultimately led to a severe security breach. Although this has happened multiple times, one of the more famous cases occurred in 2004, where just a 20 year old man used default passwords to gain access to government networks - scary huh?
For every database, application, or operating system username or password, be sure to change default settings before bringing them online. If the United States government can make this mistake, don’t over estimate your own company’s network administrator.
Closing Comments
Intranet security shouldn’t be expensive, and it shouldn’t be vulnerable to simple security holes. We managed to cover several security holes and useful security programs - all without spending a penny. There’s a common misconception that good security requires money - something that just simply isn’t true. Rather, it only requires the network administrator to have the proper training and dedication.
And of course the aid of free security software doesn’t hurt either. Just remember to keep things simple, and periodically check your firewall’s logs for possible intrusions. Because it isn’t always a matter of if your network will be breached - but when.
