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We are proud to feature a carefully curated collection of articles and other content related to the most important technology topics of today and beyond. Our posts are composed and edited by Sentinel’s ALWAYS ENGAGED team of solutions architects, engineers, project managers and other subject matter experts.
A Recap of Sentinel's 2018 Security Summit
Last Thursday, Sentinel held our annual Security Summit at
Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights, IL. We were joined by
more than 100 of our customers, who came to learn more about the many different
types of security solutions available to help protect their organizations, as
well as get their most pressing security questions answered by our panel of
industry experts. It was a great day, and we hope everyone that attended came
away with a better understanding of the current security landscape and steps
they can take to improve their own security posture.
In case you missed it or were unable to attend, we wanted to
share a brief summary of some of the topics that were discussed and questions
that were asked during the event. If you are interested in learning more about
any of these things, please don’t hesitate to contact us. A special thank you
to our partners at Cisco, Attivo, AlienVault, and Duo for their hard work and
expertise that helped make this day a success!
Endpoint Security
-The top two attack vectors today are email and malicious
websites. Hackers will send a targeted phishing email that looks like it was
sent by a friend, family member, co-worker, or boss, which contains harmful
content or links designed to infect your system or obtain key personal
information.
-Regular assessments, at least one or two every year, are
essential to make sure your security is doing its job. Penetration tests are
strongly recommended as well.
-Sentinel strongly recommends organizations have at least
two endpoint security solutions installed in their environment, such as Cisco
AMP with Umbrella. Multiple endpoint security solutions create layers of
protection, as each one looks at different aspects of the environment.
-Segmentation in your environment is of paramount
importance. If you have a server farm, for example, segment it. Segment as many
things as you can, because it makes it much more difficult for attackers to
move around and gain access to sensitive data.
-You not only need security to identify and help stop
threats, but also to remediate and patch after an attack. If you don’t
currently have a patching cycle already in place, you are already in danger.
There are new vulnerabilities emerging every day/week, and regularly patching
keeps your protection solutions up to date.
Cloud Security
-A public cloud uses the resources of outside organizations
(such as Azure and AWS) to store and operate portions of your environment. Your
business won’t be able to manage and adjust every aspect of the public cloud,
but above all else you need to maintain control over who has access to private
and sensitive data. Private cloud is fully controlled by your organization,
meaning all responsibilities are yours, including security and access to data.
-A strong cloud security posture should emphasize visibility
so you who has access to what. For example, if an employee downloads a tool or
app, they might agree to terms of service that includes access to their private
accounts or email and not realize it. Proper cloud security is designed to spot
these vulnerabilities and make sure nobody is granting permissions that can
open your organization up to danger.
-Cisco Umbrella offers cloud security to help identify what other
security products are missing. It is a great add-on for all types of
environments, including Microsoft Office 365.
-Cisco Stealthwatch Cloud will monitor your cloud
environment using behavioral analytics and keep an eye on any strange activity
that deviates from standard operations.
-Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) controls endpoint
access to the corporate environment. If a user tries to log in to your network
using an unapproved, non-corporate device, they may be denied access out of
concern that device may not be secure.
Security Assessments and Security Advisory
-Your organization needs a security strategy and roadmap.
Assessments, gap analysis, and penetration tests are so important.
Vulnerability scans help identify dangers in your environment.
-If your organization is PCI compliant, quarterly
vulnerability scans are required, though Sentinel recommends monthly
vulnerability scans. If you’re non-PCI compliant, your organization should get
security and risk assessments at least once or twice a year.
-If an attacker obtains your system administrator’s username
and password, your whole network is likely going down, because they can exploit
that to gain access anywhere and cause catastrophic damage across servers and
systems.
-Having a two-factor authentication system in place is very
important to protecting access and preventing attacks from spreading. A
platform like Duo verifies the identities of users and the security health of
their devices before they are allowed to log in to your environment.
Security Incident Event Management (SIEM) and Security
Operations Center (SOC)
-High costs and a lack of manpower are the two primary
reasons why many organizations haven’t yet adopted a SIEM. Those that do are
often overwhelmed with SIEM products, which have all kinds of alerts and false
positives that take too much time and energy to go through. Sentinel offers a managed SIEM option that is
inexpensive and only sends important alerts and updates to your IT team to help
improve the focus on the security of your environment.
-Sentinel’s SOC monitors your environment 24x7x365 to ensure
your critical data remains secure. Once an alarm is triggered, our SOC works
closely with your organization to help shut down the attack.
-Quarterly quality assurance meetings for our SIEM and SOC
offerings enable the Sentinel team to talk with you about security incidents
and make recommendations on next steps and ways to improve your security
posture. Sentinel wants to help you achieve your security goals, even if it
takes years to build, piece by piece.
-In the event your environment is compromised,
Attivo offers deception technology that creates decoys and other lures for
attackers to follow, pulling them away from your critical data and systems so
you can minimize their access and any potential damage.
My Sentinel Story: Kelly
It’s no secret that at Sentinel we place a high value on our
employees. Their unparalleled expertise, strong work ethic, and dynamic
personalities help us maintain our status as an Always Leading IT solutions and
services provider. We are proud of the work they do on a daily basis, and hope
our customers recognize the Sentinel difference.
Kelly is an Advanced Regional Territory Coordinator for
Sentinel, and has been a valued member of our team since 1995. She got her
start in the Parts department, helping in our warehouse to supply Sentinel
technicians with the pieces needed to fix broken or malfunctioning computers,
printers, and other technology assets. A desire to learn more about how all of
those different parts worked drove Kelly to advance her education by taking
classes at a local college. That eventually led to a position where she was
able to interact with customers in the field and actively participate in
equipment repairs.
Beyond the various jobs she’s held during her time at the
company, Kelly appreciates that Sentinel encourages employees to further their
education and apply for positions they want internally. She views Sentinel as
an extension of her own family, as everyone is willing to do what it takes to help
you succeed and maintain a strong work-life balance. Learn more about Kelly’s
experiences and find out her advice for women in the technology industry by
watching her “My Sentinel Story” below.
If you are passionate, motivated, and interested
in joining the Sentinel team, you can learn more about our corporate culture
and browse our current job openings by visiting our Careers page.
A Deeper Exploration of Sentinel's Managed Services
As your IT department continues to get bogged down by an
ever-growing list of new duties and challenges, finding the time to achieve
innovation and other business technology goals has become an extremely
difficult task. Sentinel wants to help make everyone’s lives easier with our
Managed Services offerings. We handle day-to-day monitoring, maintenance,
optimization, and repair of your environment to help improve system health,
stabilize costs, and ease the burden on your IT team. Learn more about the
unique benefits of Sentinel’s Managed Services via the infographics below.