October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and while you should always be aware of your network security, this month is for an open and conscientious discussion about how to protect your organization, your clients, and yourself from the perils that are seemingly lying in wait to pounce on the less diligent. We can continuously talk about malware, about hackers, about the need for hardware and network monitoring, but one element that isn’t always considered is the security flaws in the software your organization utilizes.
One analogy always stands out when discussing cyber security. If hardware is the body of the IT infrastructure, software is the mind and nervous system. Without software, the hardware is just a series of wires and metal or plastic boxes filled with useless components. It is safe to say the software drives business. From the applications that your employees use, to your payroll software, your organization would be far less efficient if it wasn’t for software.
What happens when the software is the conduit that hackers use to infiltrate your network or your critical IT systems, with malicious intentions? IT administrators are beginning to see this more often, especially when they take care to build a complete security platform, only to be exposed by vulnerabilities on the software titles they depend on.
The cost of a data breach has reached an all-time high. With more organizations than ever looking to technology to solve problems with efficiency, they are spending more of their capital and operational budgets on IT. As a result, the amount of money that is at stake if your organization’s IT security encounters lapses is more than substantial.
There are several resources that you can check to ensure that the software your organization relies on isn’t going to be a major problem down the road. One such resource is CVE Details. Simply find a software title and it will list the reported vulnerabilities that the software has and has had in the past. By using resources like this, your organization can find a software that is dynamic, secure, and supports the needs of your business.