Welcome, if you are new to the series start with Day 1. For those who are all caught up let’s continue. Today we will spend our time shoring up some basic technical defenses. For those who are not overly fond of technology….You can do this :). First things first let’s make sure we have firewalls to protect our network, servers and workstations. These firewalls are your first line of defense to protect your sensitive data. To check these I’ve found the following guides, for Firewall Settings, which are fairly straightforward:

Firewall Settings

• Check your windows workstation firewall – should be on by default
• Check your windows server firewall – For the basics just stick to the first section. If you want to learn more…read on…though don’t say I didn’t warn you :). Note if your server firewalls are not turned on you will want to discuss with your MSP or your IT professional as you may block critical services if you aren’t careful.
• If you know how, check your network firewall settings or look up the documentation for your brand of firewall. Otherwise, contact your MSP or IT professional with help validating that your network firewall is configured to only allow approved traffic inbound. It can sometimes be wise to hire a security professional to build you a custom firewall ruleset.

You will also want to check that all your employee’s workstations have their firewalls turned on and that they have network firewalls turned on at their home offices if applicable. Most modems have these on by default but that should be verified. For added remote security there are cloud based solutions, available at a moderate monthly charge, which route all your remote employees through a cloud-hosted firewall so they are protected wherever they travel.

Be sure to come back for Day Six / Digital Asset Access / Who can do what? Part 1