Computer security and problems facing SMEs
Introduction
Computer security (Wikipedia, Computer Security, 2019) encompasses the safety of computer equipment and also information security. It is about minimizing the risk and attacks that come derived from the use of new technologies.
Attention should be paid to information security. The information is very important for companies, it can be used to make sales forecasts, conduct market studies … but all that company information comes from customer data, suppliers, workers … For that reason it is vital that all data are protected.
Developing
Problems facing SMEs
An SME (Spain, 2014) is a medium, small or microenterprise company, depending on the average number of employees, business volume or the general balance. All these companies can have common problems to protect their computer systems and the information that appears in them:
- They have little staff of information technologies to protect their networks (Molina Martínez, Pacheco Meneses, & Zúñiga Silgado, 2009)
- They do not have enough budget to invest in computer security (Molina Martínez, Pacheco Meneses, & Zúñiga Silgado, 2009)
- SMEs are little aware of the attacks derived from the vulnerabilities of the implementation of new technologies (Flórez R., Arboleda s., & Cadavid a., 2012). This is due to the thought that they have that they will not be attacked, since the information they have is not very relevant.
Possible security measures
In Spain, almost all companies that exist are SMEs (99.88%) (Ortega, 2019), so it should be necessary that they are well protected from possible attacks. But most SMEs do not have enough resources to protect their equipment, or so it was believed a few years ago. Currently, there are programs that do not need a great investment and do not need specialized personnel due to easy management (Molina Martínez, Pacheco Meneses, & Zúñiga Silgado, 2009)
- Firewalls or firewall. A Firewall is a network security device that, through established rules, blocks unauthorized accesses and allows authorized communications (Wikipedia, firewall.
- Backup or backup. A backup is a copy of the original data that is stored on a device to recover them in case of loss (Wikipedia, backup, 2019).
- VPN. A Virtual Private Net. It also offers data encryption.
Not only companies should make backups, but all people with electronic devices. If not, companies run the risk of losing all data related to customers and suppliers, orders … In addition, I consider that it is one of the most economical measures.
An example of Firewall for SMEs would be the Firewall under Linux platform (Molina Martínez, Pacheco Meneses, & Zúñiga Silgado, 2009). Its strengths are: it does not need a great investment, it has an integrated defense and automatic protection against threats for small businesses that want to connect to the Internet.
Another example is the unified managers of threats (UTM) (Flórez R., Arboleda s., & Cadavid a., 2012). It is a single product that, at an adequate price, is responsible for managing and detecting attacks and threats. The authors of the article mention a series of security characteristics that incorporate the UTM: Firewall, network content filtering, antivirus, anti-spyware and anti-spam.
Conclusions
Each time progress is made faster. 20 years ago no one would be worried about Internet viruses, most companies would surely not even be connected. They would have their data stored in filing. With which, to some extent they would be concerned with the safety of that data, for example, that they did not steal them. This leads us to the present. If we worry about putting cameras to guarantee security, why not protect the data stored on a computer?
In my opinion, the rapid technological change suffered in recent years has caused hackers to be able to more easily violate the computer security of a company. Even more if that company does not have any safety. Like hackers and viruses they evolve, so do the measures to protect us and very good protection can be achieved for a pretty affordable price. I think that society also influences, since we are more aware of the vulnerability of companies and their data.
References
- Spain, g. d. (June 17, 2014). General Directorate of Industry and SME. Obtained from Pyme Portal: http: // www.ipyme.org/es-e/datapublications/pages/definitionpyme.ASPX
- Flórez r., W., Arboleda s., C. A., & Cadavid a., J. F. (2012). Comprehensive Safety Solution for SMEs using a UTM. Usbmed Imneerias Magazine, 3 (1), 35-42. Obtained from http: // magazines.USBBOG.Edu.CO/INDEX.PHP/INGUSBMED/ARTICLE/VIEW/262/176
- Molina Martínez, K. J., Pacheco Meneses, J., & Zúñiga Silgado, I. (2009). Firewall-Linux: a computer security solution for SMEs (small and medium enterprises). UIS Engineering Magazine, 8 (2), 155-165. Obtained from https: // www.Redalyc.org/article.OA?ID = 553756879003
- Ortega, b. (January 21, 2019). The Economist. Obtained from SMEs and Entrepreneurs: https: // www.the Economist.ES/MANAGEMENT-EMPRESSARIAL/NEWS/9646458/01/19/LAS-PYMES-SPANOLAS-CREAN-EL-66-DEL-EMPLEO.HTML
- Ramírez, i. (August 2, 2019). Xatara Basics. Obtained from https: // www.Xataka.com/basics/que-ies-a-conexion-vpn-for-asirve-and-who-keep
- Wikipedia, c. d. (October 23, 2019). Backup. Obtained from Wikipedia, Free Encyclopedia: https: // es.Wikipedia.org/wiki/copy_
- Wikipedia, c. d. (October 15, 2019). Firewall (computer science). Obtained from Wikipedia, Free Encyclopedia: https: // es.Wikipedia.org/wiki/firewall_ (inform%c3%a1tica)
- Wikipedia, c. d. (October 25, 2019). Informatic security. (L. and. Wikipedia, editor) obtained from wikipedia, free encyclopedia: https: // es.Wikipedia.org/w/index.PHP?Title = Security_inform%C3%A1tica & Oldid = 120759459
Leave feedback