At Atlas T.C., we believe that the security of your network and business data is critically important. With the advent of new security regulations taking effect in 2010, we’re happy to see that the industry is finally recognizing the importance of the security best practices we’ve been advocating for a long time. Although security considerations are a part of all of our services, there are a few points we consider particularly important.
Firewall
The most widely recognized threat to the security of your business technology infrastructure is from outside attackers. That's why it’s essential to have a first-class security product sitting on the border between your internal network and the public Internet. Your firewall is responsible for monitoring all traffic going in and out over your Internet connection, and provides the first level of protection against hostile traffic.
Not all firewalls are created equal. At the low end, most consumer-grade cable/DSL routers incorporate a basic firewall; for very small organizations these firewalls may be sufficient, but most of our clients find that they lack some important functionality. At the other end of the spectrum, dedicated firewall products by manufacturers like Cisco, SonicWALL, and Watchguard provide complete functionality but charge steep per-user licensing fees. Atlas has developed a custom firewall product that leverages open source technology to provide all the features of enterprise-class firewalls for a low upfront cost, with no ongoing renewal fees or per-user costs.
Secure wireless networking
These days, most business want the convenience of a wireless network as part of their overall office network. But all too often, off-the-shelf wireless routers are added to an otherwise secure network and left in their default configuration. That's a little like triple-locking your front door, but leaving your windows wide open.
Atlas T.C. provides hardware and configuration services to give you a wireless network that fits your organization’s size and budget, without jeopardizing your network security.
Network access control
Not all security threats come from outside your organization. If employees and guests are allowed to connect untrusted devices such as laptops and mobile devices to your network, they can bring viruses and spyware and take sensitive internal information when they leave. Atlas T.C. can protect your network by allowing only preapproved, trusted devices to join your network.
IT policy enforcement
A surprisingly high number of desktop support incidents are a direct or indirect result of accidental damage by well-meaning users. Whether it's configuration change by a curious employee that causes a network printing problem, or installing an innocent-looking game or weather tracker that unleashes a spyware outbreak, users who have more control over their systems than they should can cost your business time and money. And that’s not to mention the risk of a disgruntled employee smuggling company secrets out the door on a USB thumb drive.
Atlas T.C. can create an Information Technology (IT) policy that spells out exactly what privileges users should have on their desktops, and then enforce that policy with strict technology controls.
Protecting personal information
It seems that hardly a week goes by without a new story appearing in the news: company laptop lost or stolen, thousands of customer records compromised. The loss of reputation and exposure to civil liability are bad enough, but new regulations coming from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are making it even more important to put safeguards into place that protect the personal information you store on your employees and customers.
Atlas T.C., in conjunction with our partners, can provide a blended solution of procedures and technology to ensure that you are taking all the steps possible to protect the personal information you gather, and protect your business from stiff penalties.