It is paramount for an enterprise to have a way of protecting the data that they have. The information therein might vary in essence because of the different functions that an entity might be performing. In most cases, the intrusion has been handled by creating precautionary measures that can aid during any unwarranted entries. However, there are instances where such approaches might fail terribly. Consequently, companies or individuals might end up losing a lot of crucial data that can be used for various malicious activities. Hence, every enterprise has to be vigilant enough to ensure that they are not susceptible to such incidences. No-Internal-Controls, LLC was a victim of ransomware attack. Luckily, it was taken through a recovery process by a third part company that operates within the field. This paper reviews some of the loopholes that could have led to this scenario and the possible mitigation policies that can be implemented to create an element of constant security of all the details within the firm’s systems.

As a player in the pharmaceutical sector, the entity has been establishing its roots by acquiring small firms to boost its viability in the industry. Currently, with an employee base of 150, its operations are bound to improve as it has shown some signs from its inception. The attack that the corporation suffered could have been avoided if some of the measures had been taken in advance. A  replay of the incident that arose highlighted some fundamental flaws that No-Internal-Controls, LLC has to work on if it wants to continue raking in profit in the field. Further, it has to be vigilant enough on its reputation regarding data handling procedures at the enterprise.

Some policies can be used to avoid a reoccurrence of the same scenario in the company. However, it is clear that the management of the information will have to be reviewed to block all the possible loopholes that could have been used in the past case. A CISO has the mandate to provide effective guidelines on how to handle specific issues based on the nature of the problem at any given point.

Controlling the Configuration of Computers

Based on the re-enactment of the attack, it can be deduced that one of the problems that provide leeway for the unwarranted intrusion involved the configuration of most of the PCs that are used during the training of employees. Any person who wants to hack through a system will have to look at the possible weaknesses that exist in a system. After that, the individual or entity would deploy every alternative to go through the security measures that might exist. No-Internal-Controls, LLC is a firm that strives to make inroads in the industry, but its efforts have been affected by the recent illegal entry arose. There are advantages of configuring the computers to a single system, but in most instances, the shortcomings might outweigh the gains that are bound to be enjoyed by a corporation as it happened in this case.

The company could have taken that step because of the possible cost implications of providing individual security measures to every PC. However, a policy can be devised to prevent such incidences in the future based on the diagnosis of the first incident. It would be prudent for the corporation to the company to review its configuration process by using codes that cannot be regenerated after a person gains access. Therefore, whenever a third party attempts to compromise the system, the commands would not go through because of the security codes that would be generated and sent to the CISO. Information management would have been implemented by such a simple task. These are some of the bits that the firm could have overlooked. However, it has to be understood that its capitation would not allow extreme measures that require heavy financial injections to be enacted.

The policy that has been mentioned above can be more effective if there are controls that provide the required help at any given time. The companies that have been affected by such attacks are mostly shocked, but a quick response would always be helpful. The codes that would be sent to the CISO in case of illegal entry into the system can only be released by the holder. This mode of control is highly effective because the same details can be used to reset the whole computer system without losing crucial information or compromising the quality of the data (Buchanan, 2011). Therefore, the unnecessary sharing of the codes would have been avoided because most of the employees within the organization would not have any access. Hence, future attacks would have been handled ably by the company.

This is a technical mode of control. It is based on having a higher level of proficiency in the IT field. Thus, implementing the procedures that have been outlined above might be time-consuming, but not necessarily expensive. No-Internal-Controls would have a safer computer system for training its employees. Therefore, the management of the organization will not need to be worried because the scope that has been mentioned will have been handled and secured appropriately. Notably, this undertaking would fit within the company budget because it is not a costly decision when weighed against the possible loss of data.

Effective Cryptography and Firewall Protection

The analysis of the attack shows that the attacker used some loopholes to get into the data that had been stored in the computer system. For instance, he ran a script that aided in compromising the computers and gain administrator access. These are issues that can be sorted out by having a vigilant team that monitors any operation that takes place within the entire system. Such incidences can be quelled if proper IT policies are enacted with a tinge of sophistication to dissuade any hacker or attacker from gaining entry.

A cryptographic policy can be implemented at No-Internal-Controls, LLC. This approach ensures that the existing data is protected effectively to prevent any form of unwarranted access (Loshin, 2013). The privacy measures are also incorporated to avoid any information from slipping through the hands of the handlers of the IT system. The controls that would be used might include passwords or numeric pins. Therefore, only authorized individuals can have access to the information that has been stored within the company database. The loss of some of the data as was witnessed in this scenario could have been avoided if such measures could have been implanted accordingly.

The control measure in this instance would be corrective because it reverses the flaws that had arisen before. This technique can be backed up by increasing the firewall protection strategies that would handle any possible ransomware issue within the system. This combination would ensure that the enterprise has its database under tight security based on the adoption of the steps that have been mentioned.

References

Buchanan, S. (2011). Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2010: A practical, step-by-step guide to planning deployment, installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of Data Protection Manager 2010. Birmingham: Packt Pub.

Loshin, P. (2013). Simple steps to data encryption: A practical guide to secure computing. Waltham, MA: Syngress.

 
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