Looking at IT Security Like a Cybercriminal Does

Cybercriminals are not taking a break after the holidays… at least not from what security experts can tell.  The volume of spam and viruses originating from the US, UK and Germany is slightly higher this month, and more than half (55.59 per cent) of all malware sent via email is an attempted phishing attack as reported by Help Net Security.

Now more than ever, it’s important to monitor what your employees are doing at the computer; especially when they click on a suspicious link or innocently download a PDF file in their Webmail, which triggers an attack on your business security.  A new Deloitte report shows that companies are unprepared for cybercrime. Although the biggest threats are from cybercriminals on the outside, it turns out that attacks by insiders are proving to be significantly more damaging.

The report’s author suggests that “organizations can take a more effective approach by looking at themselves as cybercriminals do, focusing on what assets are at risk of leaving the organization through the IT environment as well as the threats entering the organization through the same means.”

Today’s social engineering attacks are exploiting people’s interests and weaknesses.  It’s this “human element” of security that makes SpectorSoft corporate-wide monitoring products unique and extremely compelling.

Spector 360 is the most advanced company-wide PC and Internet monitoring and filtering product available today, and is used by more than 50,000 businesses worldwide. It records all Web sites visited, emails sent and received, chats and IMs, keystrokes typed, files transferred, documents printed, and applications run. Through a first-of-its-kind surveillance camera-like recording tool, Spector 360 can also show in exact visual detail what an employee does, every step of the way.

Some of the useful features that can prevent malware from getting into your network and sensitive company information from getting out, include Spector 360’s activity recorders for file transfers and documents.

Spector 360 records Files Transferred by keeping track of HTTP, FTP and P2P file transfers over the Internet. You will be able to see who is downloading or uploading files, what file protocol is being used, which service is being used, the name of the file being transferred and the type of file being transferred (audio, image, video, software, document).  It also provides robust Document Tracking features to alert you when sensitive files are opened, printed, or transferred out of your company via email, file transfer, as well as removable media such as floppy, zip, CD, DVD or USB storage devices.

With Spector 360, you’ll have unmatched insight into what employees are doing on the PC and Internet at all times by monitoring the human element of security, just like cybercriminals do.

As pioneers of PC and Internet monitoring software products, SpectorSoft has achieved some critical milestones and made some unique observations in the last decade. Starting next week, we’ll publish the first in a three-part series titled: “Monitoring the ‘Human Ele­­ment’ of Security – 10 Predictions for 2010” so please check back to our blog.