National IT and Cyber Security experts for over 35 years

PC World is a good option if you are a small business who can take IT equipment into your local store to get basic problems fixed.

You may find that the response times to solve issues are very different from what a managed provider like CIS can offer. If you’re happy to wait 10-14 days for a solution to your problem, then certainly consider them, although you might also find them more expensive than a typical provider.
 

While your external network is the easiest to access for hackers, and available for attack 24/7, your internal systems can also be reached with a little extra effort. For example, by an email containing a malicious attachment, or link to a web page that exploits known unpatched software on an employee’s device. Similarly, unpatched software or the lack of hardening of internal systems can help an attacker move around internal systems once they’ve gained an initial foothold.

Having a well patched and hardened internal environment will help you avoid this next level of attack, and can be important for compliance with many security standards, or customer security questionnaires. It also helps further protect perimeter systems, by providing next-level information that can’t be gained from the outside.

Authenticated web application scanning allows you to find vulnerabilities which exist behind the login pages of your applications. Each web application is different, but some of the most critical functionality in an application exists behind a login page, such as the ability to add data to your account, edit data, delete data, upload files and interact with other users.

As a result, a large percentage of the attack surface of an application can exist behind a login page.

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There are lots of aspects to consider to ensure you and your systems are secure. You may have other questions but we have outlined a few points to consider in this simple “Guide to IT Security”
 
 

Generally, when it comes to identifying and fixing vulnerabilities on your internal network, there are two competing (but not mutually exclusive) approaches: network-based internal vulnerability scanning and agent-based internal vulnerability scanning. Our CYDEFENCE internal scanner uses an agent that you need to install onto each device that you wish to scan. You can scan anything supporting Windows, Linux or MacOS operating systems.

• What is network-based scanning?
  Network-based internal vulnerability scanning is the more traditional approach, running internal network scans on a box known as a scanning ‘appliance’ that sits on your infrastructure (or more recently, on a Virtual Machine in your internal cloud).
• What is agent-based scanning?
  Agent-based internal vulnerability scanning is considered the more modern approach, running ‘agents’ on your devices that report back to a central server. 

We work with a range of customers from large to small. We have clients with hundreds of devices and some with just 2 to 3. What matters to us are helping you solve the IT and technical challenges that you have within your business which allows you to focus on growing and thriving.
 

CYDEFENCE’s external vulnerability scanning assesses your internet-facing infrastructure for known vulnerabilities that an attacker, who doesn’t have access to your organisation’s private networks, could exploit.

Inveresly, internal vulnerability scanning is concerned with finding weaknesses on your private network, which is typically hidden behind a firewall and is only accessible by your employees or trusted partners.

Web application vulnerability scanners are a specialised type of vulnerability scanner which focus on finding weaknesses in web applications and websites. Traditionally, they work by ‘crawling’ through a site or application in a similar way as a search engine would, sending a range of probes to each page or form it finds to look for weaknesses.

CYDEFENCE Internal scans check for similar types of issues as our external scans, but can do so from a trusted position on the device, gathering even more data to help secure your systems.

• Common mistakes & configuration weaknesses
  Even the most secure software can often be configured in an insecure way. Simple mistakes such as leaving default passwords, not enabling encryption or other security settings. CYDEFENCE has thousands of checks for these kinds of mistakes, making sure all your business sensitive systems are hardened as much as they need to be.‍
• Missing patches
  Patch management is a fundamental part of keeping your digital estate secure, as missing patches can quickly be detected and exploited by attackers.
  CYDEFENCE’s internal security scans can detect insecure versions of many thousands of software components and frameworks, from web servers to operating systems and network devices.
• Encryption weaknesses
  It is common to find that services which are capable of secure encryption, have either not been configured, or mistakenly configured to be less secure.
  CYDEFENCE has checks for all the latest known encryption weaknesses, some of which include: Heartbleed, SSL/TLS weaknesses, and VPN encryption weaknesses.

Each training plan and course is bespoke to the client and the cost is agreed in advance as a fixed fee.

Our e-Learning platform is a monthly subscription and is linked to the number of user accounts required.