10 things a corporate should do to protect itself and its employees from Identity Theft

(26/03/2007)

The office cleaner wanders around the IT department emptying bins into a black plastic sack. He bends below each desk to look for stray sandwich wrappers and plastic cups. Whilst he’s under the desk, it is a matter of seconds for him to attach a hardware key logger between keyboard and system unit. These small key loggers are effectively invisible on the back of the computer, and record every keystroke the IT folk make for the next week. They will capture user names and passwords, as well as every e-mail and browser entry. Often this will include credit card information from Internet shopping, home address details, bank account details – in fact whatever the individual typed into the computer during that week.

Of course there are plenty of similar opportunities throughout the organisation – the CEO’s secretary’s PC for instance, or the Finance Director’s. It’s just like bugging with virtually no risk and far bigger rewards according to Peter Wood, Chief of Operations at First Base Technologies. Most organisations are vulnerable to this type of attack and will never know that it has taken place. The truth is that no-one conduct proper staff vetting, and they certainly don’t check the cleaner’s credentials!

Industrial espionage and organised crime are a real threat, but most surveys show that the more significant risk is from inside the organisation. An employee can often see far more corporate information on the head office network than anyone realises. If hacking is defined as attempting to gain unauthorised access to sensitive information, then most organisations have significant number of hackers on their staff. Disgruntled employees (and ex-employees) present a very serious threat to business through access to critical data and personal information. Suppose an employee, with just a little Internet research, discovers how to read everyone’s e-mails or even send mails as if they were the CEO.

Access to information is almost always controlled by a password. Users, even technical experts and senior staff, frequently use incredibly easy-to-guess words, such as ‘password,’ ‘holiday,’ or even their own name. The use of trivial passwords to secure “service accounts” – highly privileged accounts used by backup programs, network control software and anti-virus tools – is so common that gaining control of an entire network frequently takes take no more than a few minutes.

Organisations make very dangerous assumptions about the security of data on their networks. No-one considers, or more importantly tests, who might be able to view or steal mergers and acquisitions data, business plans, payroll information or BACS payments. On a typical corporate Windows network, anyone with an administrator account can see or copy anything. Putting information on a network server is not the same as locking it in your desk drawer.

In the words of Fox Mulder, ‘trust no-one.’ If someone steals your password, it is a significant step towards stealing your identity. It won’t just impact your employer but your personal life too. In fact it could easily leave you with a reputation for enjoying child pornography, a large credit card bill and an even larger overdraft.

10 things a corporate should do to protect itself and its employees
1. Policy, procedures, standards and guidelines should be written and published for all aspects of security, and kept up to date with evolving technology and workplace practices.
2. Implement thorough vetting procedures for everyone who comes through the door, including cleaners and other sub-contractors.
3. Conduct appropriate security awareness training for all staff. Make the training entertaining, relevant and never condescending – implement the human firewall.
4. A happy employee is a well-behaved employee. Treat employees and sub-contractors with respect, to minimise the chance of malicious activities which may compromise the organisation or other employees’ security.
5. Don’t put your trust in technologies – security products are only as good as the people who install them and maintain them. Ensure that frequent tests and audits are conducted, both by your own staff and third parties.
6. Remember that security is not an IT issue – it’s a business issue. It embraces people, offices, networks and homes. Give your staff the skills and motivation to think securely.
7. Ensure that every new project plan and every third-party contract includes a risk analysis and considers security at every stage.
8. Don’t try to outsource the responsibility for security – it doesn’t work. Lead from the top and ensure that all senior staff visibly implement best practice security at work, at home and whilst travelling.
9. Test all components of your business for secure behaviour – telephone operators, help desks, home and travelling workers, network infrastructure, servers, workstations, laptops, mobile phones, etc. etc.
10. Make security a core business process, not an afterthought or an IT problem.

Article contributed by Peter Wood, Chief of Operations, First Base Technologies. First Base Technologies is exhibiting at Infosecurity Europe 2007, on the 24th – 26th April 2007 in the Grand Hall, Olympia, www.infosec.co.uk

Related topics:  IT Network and Computer Security   Security market sectors 

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