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The Ultimate Sonicwall Cybersecurity Support
With the latest Sonicwall TZ Firewall now available, is now the time to upgrade your systems and networks?
Firewalls are one of the most commonly used pieces of software for businesses and individuals. Helping to protect against a whole host of cyberattacks, as well as malware, ransomware, and even encrypted threats.
As cyber threats continue to grow in their sophistication and presence, firewalls must be updated regularly to keep abreast of all new developments.
In this post, we take a look at the top 10 reasons to upgrade your Sonicwall Firewall Support
1. Protects against the most advanced cyber threats
As we’re aware, cyber threats are on the rise with no signs of slowing down. The Advanced Threat Protection sandbox service provided by Sonicwall Captures cloud-based multi-engine offers the highest security levels. Protecting businesses from advanced online security threats as well as new attacks, malware, ransomware, and any side-channel attacks. Thousands of attacks have been discovered and stopped in their tracks by Capture ATP.
To check which firewalls, Capture ATP is suitable for contact Sonicwall support for further information.
2. Supports faster wi-fi speeds
People want things faster than ever before. With everything to be provided wirelessly. However, you need to find a compatible firewall to keep everything secure while also supporting this increase in speed. Ideally, you need a firewall that works well alongside the 802.11ac wireless requirements and standards.
The TZ350 and TZ400 support these standards and more. The SonicWave 802.11ac Wave 2 also provides access points for wireless networking at high-speed too!
3. Keeps performance high while inspecting an increase in encrypted traffic
With SonicWall, system and network performance are no longer affected or slowed down as you begin to build and add more networks, and security remains the top priority.
Allowing more businesses to operate with greater capacity, higher performance rates, increased internet speeds, and further support all users.
4. Keep your remote workers secure
More and more organisations are offering workers the opportunity to work remotely, which also means providing remote access to data. This needs to be kept safe. VPN connections, therefore, need to be secure and often depending on the firewalls you have in place will depend on how many remote employees you can protect at any one time.
With the TZ400 firewall from Sonicwall, your business can support and protect ten times more SSL-VPN clients!
5. Keeping costs competitive
You will now find a high percentage of encrypted web traffic filtering through systems, which is great for individuals and companies, not so great for cybercriminals. That’s why we’re now seeing an increase in cybercriminals looking to attack through the backdoor of your network.
Sonicwall support understands that deep packet inspection of all encrypted traffic is required by all businesses, regardless of their size. But what makes our products different is that we don’t charge more for you to have the most appropriate and adequate TLS/SSL capabilities. For example, the TZ350 and TZ400 Sonicwall firewalls have the highly sought after DPI-SSL licence by default, providing this to consumers at no extra charge.
6. Increased memory for additional users
As the number of users on your network grows, so should your level of protection and security. Unfortunately, some older firewalls can’t support every user across the network. However, the latest Sonicwall Firewalls offer more onboard memory allowing more users, policies and rules, as well as log messages to be stored. Reporting is now also much more accessible, as organisations protect and empower a much wider user base.
7. Protect more users
With the new Sonicwall firewalls, you can achieve greater scalability, allowing more active users to be protected simultaneously, removing the barrier on how many users you can protect at one time.
8. Keep your support costs low
Providing a single ID and password to help users gain access to networks safely and securely, you can maximise the use of single sign-in advances in technology - helping to reduce associated IT costs and increase workforce productivity. With Sonicwall TZ350 and TZ400, these firewalls can benefit double the population of users, all from the use of a single sign in.
9. Faster speeds
With the latest updates and upgrades available, you can now increase network traffic through our systems as well as offer a higher level of performance linked to threat processing.
10. Enhance security and performance with extra VLANs
Being able to segment users and devices into more targeted groups through a greater number of VLANs helps to reduce the cost of hardware and improve security and performance. Upgrading to the TZ400 will allow you to increase the number of VLANs five times over, with the TZ350 allowing you to create up to two and a half more.
Sonicwall Online
For integrated security solutions that are flexible and operate at high-speed, look no further than the TZ series from Sonicwall.
Tailored to meet all of your specifications.
Stay protected at all times, contact Sonicwall firewall support on 0333 2405667 to find out more.
How to create a professional cold email without going to recipients spam folder - The Ultimate Guide
How to create a professional cold email without going to recipients spam folder - The Ultimate Guide
At some point in our career lifetime, we have sent out or indeed been sent a cold email.
Those emails where there is no relationship as such with the sender, and you are introducing yourself for the first time. Cold emails are still to this day, the most effective way for businesses to increase their lead generation.
But, and there is a bit, these emails need to get through the numerous security filters and settings that businesses now operate.
Sometimes, you can have the world's best content inside those emails, but ultimately it comes down to whether your email will be a success or a failure.
Many things now need to be considered when sending out cold emails and this guide will show you not only how to create an expert cold email, but how to make sure it doesn't end up in the spam folder of the recipient.
Contents Covered
1. A guide to cold emailing
a. How to successfully land in someone's inbox
b. The most important dos and don'ts for cold emailing
c. Tips for producing compelling content
2. Cold emailing deliverability
d. The cold email checklist everyone needs to know
3. Red flag
e. Need to show them you're human
f. Avoid similar content
g. Spam filters pay attention to things out of the ordinary.
h. No groups, only individuals
4. Spam emails
5. Your ultimate email security guide
6. Technical attacks
i. Viruses
j. Phishing attacks
k. Denial of service
7. Email encryption
l. The benefits
m. Encryption should be...
1a. A guide to cold emailing and how to successfully land in someone's inbox
There is no definitive way to successfully land in someone's inbox and make them read your email and then act upon its content.
But, in this chapter we will explore some of the tried and tested tips which can increase your chances of making this cold email a more successful one.
Starting with, make it personal. Most marketers and content writers will stress this in all sales approaches, but to make it clear, you need to tailor the message to the person you are sending it to to be successful.
Of course, this is harder than usual as you have no relationship with this person or feedback, etc, but it can be done. Research them, check out their LinkedIn profile, what interests them, what news is the following, how do they see the specific niche that they are specialising in, and what is it that they want?
You need to show them that you have put the work in. Make them feel special and not part of a cold emailing campaign where everyone has received the same message. Tell them why you are emailing them as opposed to anyone else, where do they fit in with your thinking etc.
Tell them about yourself. No boasting here, but you need to show them that you're credible and that they can trust you. Do you have any direct connections or mutual friends, similar groups that you are part of, etc.? The aim here is to make it, so you don't feel like a stranger to them. Remember we're told from a very young age not to talk to strangers, so you need something compelling to change this.
Identify their pain points and give them something they want. Why should they care about your email? What are their pain points? Make them appropriate and relevant to your content and the offer that you are providing them with.
Keep emails to the point and actionable. Research has shown that short emails are more likely to be read than long ones. People who ask for specific action will also get a higher response rate.
If you have a point in the email, get to it. And if you want the recipient to do something, tell them what that is. Try to avoid getting them to choose as this involves thinking and processing, which consumes too much time.
Say thank you. Being appreciative as well as showing a little bit of vulnerability provides recipients with the feeling that they're a good person if they help. Of course, it also gives them power and status too.
Finally, don't use templates and write the email as if you were giving a speech. If the email when read aloud doesn't flow smoothly, then change it.
1b. The most important do's and don'ts for cold emailing
For your email to be perfect 100% of the time, there are a few dos and don'ts to take into consideration when constructing your approach.
Do
- Target smartly: don't just email anyone, focus on whom you want to connect with, building a lead list and an understanding of your audience.
- Segment! You will be guaranteed to receive a higher click-through rate if your target audience is segmented appropriately, customising your pitch. (Look to segment by industry, title, location, company size, products of interest, etc.)
- Have a compelling subject line. This is the reason why they choose to open it or not. It should convey a fantastic benefit or spark some curiosity. Short to the point and ideally five words and under.
- Use the right sender name. Make sure to send the email from an actual person, not marketing@ for example; you will receive a much higher click-through when its person led.
- Split test everything. Test the length of your emails, the Call to Action, colours used, times sent, subject lines, how links are formatted, tone of voice, tracking links and more!
Don't
- Include too many pictures. Look to abide by the 80: 20 rule when it comes to text to picture ratio, especially as spammers are known to hide links in pictures, hence most security filters will reject emails with too many!
- Rush to close your prospect. Remember, they don't even know you. You need to build up trust and a rapport, dig deep, build a relationship and then go for the sale kill.
- Send all your cold emails all at once. This will only have them targeted as spam, pacing them at 20-30 second intervals between every send helps to avoid this trap.
- Forget to follow up. Reports show that 80% of sales require at least five follow-ups after initial contact. However, 92% of sales reps report to give up before then, with the 8% that carry on following up, closing 80% of sales.
- Make follow-up emails generic. Make sure to inject a bit of humour where possible and keep things light-hearted; remember you're looking to build rapport.
- Track links. Tracking links within emails will increase your chances of hitting people's spam filters.
1c. Tips for producing compelling content
Content is what sells people, products, places, services and more. It's what we use to engage audiences with and get them to follow through on what we want them to do. This section looks at some top tips when it comes to creating such compelling content.
Mentioned earlier in this guide, is the point that within cold emails you need to communicate that you understand their pain points, and what you're going to tell them will help alleviate this, and what problems they/ there sector is facing.
Reminding them about the problems compels readers to read on, as they find common ground with someone who knows and shares their pain.
In some cases, research on cold email content has shown that if you raise these issues a little further, then swoop in with a solution, a positive result is more likely to follow-up with a call to action.
However, make it their decision. Make sure that they know that they are in charge. For example, if you would rather not, I fully understand and thank you for taking the time to read this email so far. This type of psychology doubles the chances that they'll say yes!
Content creation is about telling a story with a successful outcome at the end. You want to grab their attention, engage their interest, build a desire for your products and services by telling them about the facts, your big ideas, and the proof points. You ask them for a direct response, and you hook them with a strong call to action.
You will find that the most successful cold emails are fact-packed ones, those that are concise, specific, contain few adjectives and overall spark curiosity.
In a switched-on digital world, no one has time any more, so you need to make sure you get to the point.
We're not re-inventing the wheel, but instead using combinations of tried and tested formulas within our business contexts.
2. Cold emailing deliverability
Writing compelling content for an email to be read is one thing. Making sure it is delivered into the intended recipient's inbox is quite another.
With email security higher than ever, how can you ensure your emails are delivered correctly?
Firstly, and one which not many people are aware of, don't the very first cold email using your primary domain. Make sure to purchase a few domains that relate to your primary address, for cold email campaigns. This way, spam filters will not find your primary address.
It's also recommended that you avoid using.com where possible as these are also email addresses that are more likely to be checked by security software.
Secondly, check your email list. When 6-8% of the emails you send start bouncing, it will affect your overall email deliverability, with email providers soon blacklisting you across different platforms (see why we recommended buying alternative domains at the very beginning).
Check the details you have and the data you house, as well as monitor the bounce back rate when you start receiving emails in return.
Thirdly, you can check your deliverability using services such as mail-tester.com, taking their recommendations and working with the results you are then sent.
3. Red Flag
So, what constitutes a red flag when it comes to cold emails? What factors do they raise and how can we overcome them?
3.a. Need to show them you're human!
This is important, because email security software and spam filters can be very tight. If your email is thought to be spam, it will go through spam filters and never reach its intended destination.
A red flag in this area is when emails are all sent at the same time, without the time lag in between, this can show you as a spamming machine rather than a human being.
Make sure to pace your emails with 20-30 seconds between each send. Tools such as Mix max, Yesware, and Mail shake can all make it easier to send cold emails. They also give you advice on how to make your emails work better. (These platforms can also generate sending out emails through your Gmail accounts too).
3b. Avoid similar content
All content in your emails should be unique, but we tend to take advantage of commonly used words and phrases in the industries we work in.If you are sending out cold emails similar to content that is already out there or indeed like the content you have already sent (think about your follow-up emails), this will be followed-upgged and end up in spam folders or deleted altogether before even being read.
The key is not to repeat yourself; create unique and compelling content.
3c. Spam filters pay attention to things out of the ordinary
Things like additional links in the text or hidden in pictures. They also raise a red flag for shortening links.
In this case, it's important to write links in your email without making them a clickable link, or indeed disable link tracking systems. This will make it much easier to pass through spam filters.
3d. No groups, only individuals
Make sure when checking your email lists there are no group email addresses mixed up in there. Things such as finance@, sales@, etc as emailing these will again raise red flags and report your domain address as spam for any future communications.
4. Spam emails
With studies showing that over 281 billion emails were sent in 2018 and about 333 billion could be sent in 2022, email plays an important role in business and society.
Knowing how email works is ultimately how we develop our understanding of spam emails as well as being aware of potential threats and IT attacks.
Email is ingrained in how we communicate, sell, inform, and develop. Offering us the opportunity to communicate with anyone, anywhere at any time. They are simple in nature, so everyone who encounters them understands how to use them.
However, messages and information are openly exposed to others and just because we can't physically see it doesn't mean this exposure isn't happening.
For example, emails can be intercepted, read, edited or even have viruses and malware placed within them, before being passed on to their final recipient.
For example, public networks mean just that!
Sending mail via public networks means that an email is visible to anyone. It goes through other people's servers to get to where it is going, and the people who run these servers can quickly stop it, do something with it, and then send it on its way.
The temptation of knowing what is sent in an email is too much for hackers; the temptation of knowing what is sent in an email is too much and placing something untoward in the email causing problems to the recipient.
5. Your ultimate mail security guide
There is a growing threat of hackers, viruses, spam emails, identity theft and phishing, as the number of people using email has increased dramatically.
So, how can you secure your business and keep your information safe?
Email security
When it comes to email security software and systems, this is often multi-layered, with several types of security technology now available.
Using things like spam filters, software that can scan email attachments (9 out of 10 viruses that infect a computer and network come from attachments), as well as relying on resources such as Microsoft eExchangeserver hosted encryption, can all help to increase email security. For example, Sophos PureMessage for Microsoft Exchange can scan all email messages.
Good network security systems
Private network security systems within the business increase email security as well as check for spam and phishing emails coming in through a secure server.
It's important to consider introducing instant messaging protection, email spyware protection, personal firewall tools (some of which will come with operating systems and then with add-on security suites), as well as identity protection and content blocking, which helps to prevent viruses and malicious content from getting into the computer system.
Good communication and training
Communicating and training staff in email security is key. Knowing what to look out for, and the signs of an unsolicited and potential spam email, is essential to embedding into the company culture.
Building email policies and best practices to include things such as:
- Don't open emails from unreliable sources
- Don't click on web links within emails
- Be careful when clicking on reply all within emails, as well as using the forward function
- Make use of the bcc
- Have strong passwords, which are never shared and updated regularly
Make sure you have the appropriate compliance controls in place so that you meet the legal and regulatory compliance requirements surrounding emails and email security.
6. Technical attacks Viruses
Viruses come in many forms and from several different sources, affecting computers and systems in different ways. Viruses are a way to install malware or malicious software onto your computer to delete information, steal data and information, even hold information and you hostage!
Time-consuming and annoying, viruses can take a painstaking process for them to be entirely removed from your machines and networks.
The best way to counteract viruses is to include anti-virus filters, filters which remove infected and potentially infected emails from the system before an employee even has a chance to open it, let alone click any links or attachments.
6b. Phishing attacks
Phishing attacks are a way for hackers and spammers to target users to try and get them to hand over and enter personal details. Usually entered onto a fraudulent site, phishing emails are much more sophisticated now than a couple of years ago, looking authentic in appearance and with many passing through email security and antivirus settings.
It's important to look at your email filtering services and train employees on how to spot a potential phishing attack and what to look out for in a phishing email.
Protecting customers, employees and your business from the latest phishing attacks out there is vital to protecting your personal and company data.
6c. Denial of service
This is independent of human error and designed to overload the company's mail server with incoming mail and attachments. A DoS attack is both an inconvenience and time-consuming; however, if it does happen, it's important that you base your email security over multiple data centers.
7. Email Encryption
Email encryption is used to protect sensitive information sent in emails. Encryptions services can help protect both the sender and the recipient. Depending on the type of encryption used, it can be very difficult to break because the code is very complex.
7a. Benefits of email encryption
Mitigates risk
Human error is inevitable. Sharing information publicly when it's a private document, forwarding the wrong email to the wrong person, and sharing attachments that shouldn't be shared are all bad for your business.
Using encryption software helps to mitigate these risks and problems, as it allows you to control information much more carefully.
Control information contained within emails by being able to set time limits before emails automatically expire, disabling forward options so that emails can't be passed around, and having recall functions if emails are sent by mistake.
Controls access
You can control access at each stage of your email journey, showing who has access to your content, who has received it and if so who, etc.
Ultimately you are in control, and you can always remain in control.
Don't always have to remember
Integrating email encryption into your IT solutions can make sure that employees don't have to continually remember how to encrypt sensitive information or protect email attachments, as this will be done for them as part of their operating system and they will not have to remember how to do it.
7b. Email encryption should
- Be effortless
- Be universal
- secure any file attachments
- transport sensitive information securely
- remain private!
Without email encryption, your email messages and attachments remain unprotected.
Conclusion
Cold emailing plays a vital role in business development and networking. Making the right email, with the right information, and using the right software approach can ensure that the email is actually read by the intended recipient, and not just spam.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask, maybe you'd like to share your email security experiences with us, or if you feel something is missing from our guide, we'd love to hear from you! Comment in the box below or email enquiries@sonicwall-sales.com
Read related post: Everything You Need to Know About Log4j
10 Reasons to Upgrade to the Latest SonicWall NSa Firewall
Firewalls are the workhorse of network security and are especially adept at mitigating advanced threats like malware, ransomware and encrypted threats. Firewall appliances must, however, be regularly upgraded to stay ahead of cybercriminals.
Still running an older SonicWall NSA or E series model? Consider these 10 reasons to upgrade to the latest mid-range SonicWall NSa next-generation firewall.
Stop the Most Advanced Threats
Advanced persistent threats move with great speed and veracity, and are designed to target and infiltrate all businesses and organizations.
However, a cloud-based, multi-engine sandbox, such as the SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service, provides real-time security against advanced cyberattacks, including ‘never-before-seen’ ransomware, malware and side-channel attacks. Each day, Capture ATP subscribers discover and stop more than 1,000 new attacks each business day.
Why upgrade: SonicWall Capture ATP is only available for the NSA/NSa 2600 and newer next-generation firewalls, as well as the current TZ and NSsp product lines (sixth generation or newer). This service is not available for legacy SonicWall firewalls, including some NSA and E Series models (usually silver in color with the old blue SonicWall logo).
Inspect Traffic without Slowing Performance
You should never be put into a position to choose between security and performance. With bandwidth-hungry apps woven into our everyday lives — SaaS apps, video streaming and social media — firewalls with faster deep packet inspection (DPI) are better at securing networks without greatly affecting performance.
In fact, through the first three quarters of 2019, SonicWall registered 3.1 million encrypted attacks. This marked a 58% year-over-year increase from 2018.
Faster DPI performance gives businesses greater capacity to utilize higher internet speeds and support more concurrent users without ever sacrificing security.
Why upgrade: For example, NSa 2650 delivers a 25% DPI-SSL performance improvement over the NSA 2600. SonicWall NSa 2650 and newer firewalls (e.g., 2650-9650) offer significantly faster DPI performance than their predecessors, the NSA 2600-9600 range, E Series models and other older appliances.
Inspect TLS/SSL Traffic without Increasing Costs
The majority of web traffic is encrypted today. Without proper security controls in place, TLS/SSL encryption standards provide cybercriminals easy access to your network.
That’s why deep packet inspection of encrypted traffic (DPI for TLS/SSL) is mandatory. Some firewall vendors, unfortunately, upcharge for proper TLS/SSL inspection capabilities or simply don’t offer the capability at all. Unfortunately, inspecting TLS/SSL traffic also takes compute power and organizations need a firewall that can process TLS-encrypted traffic without hurting performance.
Why upgrade: The latest SonicWall NSa firewalls include the DPI-SSL license (by default) to inspect encrypted traffic at no additional cost, thereby reducing capital expense. Unfortunately, older-generation NSA firewalls (usually silver in color with our old logo) do not support inspection of encrypted traffic.
Expand Remote Branch/Site Security
For organizations with remote and branch locations, such as retail POS businesses, the ability to create a larger number of site-to-site VPN tunnels to connect distributed networks together and securely share data is essential. But not all firewalls have the capability or capability to make this happen.
Why upgrade: By moving to the latest NSa firewall series, your organization can secure more remote branches, services and devices. This is particularly powerful for distributed enterprises, retail organizations, etc. The NSa 2650, for example, enables the creation of 4x more site-to-site VPN tunnels than the NSA 2600 (1,000 vs. 250).
Support More High-Speed Wi-Fi Connections
Fast and secure Wi-Fi is a requirement in today’s hyper-connect world. Today’s wireless standard, 802.11ac, delivers the performance, range and reliability of high-speed wireless technology for a safe and fast user experience.
In a properly secured environment, wireless access points must be paired with a firewall that can support 802.11ac wireless standards.
But newer firewalls can support more connections, too. The option to connect a larger number of wireless access points to a single firewall enables organizations to extend their wireless network farther without purchasing additional hardware.
Why upgrade: Combine the latest NSa series next-generation firewall with a SonicWall SonicWave 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless access point to create a high-speed wireless network security solution.
NSa series firewalls and SonicWave 400 series wireless access points both feature 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports that can support multi-gigabit wireless throughput, which is available in the 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless standard. In addition, you can connect more wireless access points to the latest NSa firewall. The NSa 2650, for example, supports 1.5x the number of connected SonicWave wireless access points as the NSA 2600 (48 vs. 32).
Unfortunately, legacy NSA and older firewalls (as well as those on SonicOS 5.x or older firmware) do not offer multi-gigabit ports to accommodate the faster throughput supported by Wave 2 wireless standard.
Decrease Support Costs
Single sign-on (SSO) technology helps secure your environment, as well as employees, to be more productive and helps shrink IT support costs (e.g., tickets, calls, etc.) by enabling users to safely gain access to connected systems with a single ID and password.
Simply, the more users who can access a system with a single ID, the fewer support calls, IT tickets and complaints that will be generated. This self-service approach means real savings to your business or enterprise.
Why upgrade: The NSa 2650, for example, allows a larger population of users
(40,000 vs. 30,000) to benefit from the use of SSO compared to the legacy NSA 2600. This disparity widens the further you go up the product line.
Increase Network Capacity
With increased network bandwidth requirements from apps, video streaming and social media, faster DPI and DPI-SSL performance provides a secure network without performance degradation.
Faster DPI performance also provides organizations with a greater capacity to utilize higher internet speeds and support more concurrent users. A higher number of concurrent connections provides greater scalability by enabling more simultaneous user sessions to be active and protected by the firewall.
Why upgrade: The NSa 2650 enables 500,000 deep packet inspection (DPI) connections and up to 100,000 deep packet inspection of TLS/SSL-encrypted (DPI-SSL) connections compared to the 250,000 for
DPI and 1,000 for DPI-SSL on the NSA 2600 and older models, such as the NSA 220 (32,000 for DPI).
Boost Memory for Added Users, Logs & Policies
The number of users who require security on your network grows by the day. Unfortunately, the on-board memory of legacy firewalls can only support a finite footprint of users on the network.
Advanced NSa firewalls offer more onboard memory to allow for more rules and policies, users and log messages to be stored on the firewall, making reporting easily accessible.
Why upgrade: The NSa 2650 has twice the onboard memory of the NSA 2600 (4 GB vs. 2 GB) and eight times the memory of the NSA 220 (4 GB vs. 512MB). This increased capacity empowers organizations to use a single NSa firewall to protect a larger userbase with deeper and more robust rules and policies.
Ditch the Switch with More Ports
It’s time to clean up your server room or IT area. Having a greater number of ports allows organizations to connect more SonicWall devices directly to the firewall without needing to purchase a switch. In addition, organizations that require increased throughput to support bandwidth-intensive applications and data transfer need multi-gigabit ports.
Why upgrade: Newer NSa firewalls offer many more ports than their predecessors. For example, the NSa 2650 has 2.5x the number of ports as the NSA 2600 (20 vs. 8). The NSa 2650 also features eight 2.5 GbE ports while the NSA 2600 has none.
Improve Business Continuity
Many enterprises and larger organizations build in businesses continuity and disaster recovery plans in their process. Part of this is planning is ensuring there’s a contingency for as many scenarios as possible, not the least of which is power. Many legacy firewalls only offer a single power supply. Newer models offer a second power supply to ensure business continuity if one power supply fails.
Why upgrade: While the current NSa line and last-generation NSA series both include a single power supply, the NSa 2650-9650 have an additional slot to add an optional second power supply for critical redundancy.
About SonicWall NSa Next-Generation Firewalls
The SonicWall Network Security appliance (NSa) Mid-Range Firewall series consolidates automated advanced threat prevention technologies in a mid-range next-generation firewall platform. To go in-depth on the NSa range of firewalls, explore the specifications table below or download the complete SonicWall NSa data sheet.
What is SSL VPN?
There are a lot, and we mean a lot of acronyms in the world of IT.
Two of which include SSL VPN.
Starting at the very beginning, we look at breaking these down and demonstrating how they affect businesses and individuals and why choosing the right route is essential.
Definition of SSL VPN
SSL VPN - Secure Sockets Layer. Virtual Private Network. A protocol used in everyday web browsers that provide remote access securely through a VPN connection.
Using secure encryption end to end, the job of an SSL-VPN is to ultimately protect data that is sent, received and obtained between the device client’s software and the VPN client-server.
Benefits of SonicWall VPN for modern-day working
More businesses are now taking advantage of using SSL VPN clients as they look to increase the number of workers remotely requiring access to their network and resources. Creating a secure internet passage for all who are working online from outside of the company’s four walls.
The biggest benefit of SonicWall VPN is that it is easily installed and doesn’t require any specialised client software.
It also provides a more reliable connection for your remote workers providing higher compatibility with configurations and platforms of firewalls and networks.
Using an SSL VPN client means you can encrypt all network traffic, allowing remote workers access to restricted networks and resources securely, all through an authenticated pathway.
This level of security also prevents unwanted cyber visitors from obtaining sensitive information or eavesdropping on any private and confidential communications.
SSL VPN offers flexible and secure options for anyone working remotely who requires access to private business networks.
But how do they achieve all of this?
By allowing approved users a secure connection through standard web browsers to internal HTTP and HTTPS services, all enabling direct access to the client’s applications, resources and networks.
SSL VPN Types
VPN Portal – enables access to remote websites through one connection at a time. Authenticated remote users gain access to SSL VPN through their browser through an approved method/gateway, where access is achieved via a dedicated web page that acts as a portal for other services.
VPN Tunnel – is where access to multiple services can all be achieved securely via all standard browsers, non-web-based applications and other protocols. The tunnel should be thought of as a circuit established between a remote user and VPN server, where the server can connect to one or more remote websites, services, resources at any time. The SSL tunnel handles live content and offers a function that is not obtainable via other means.
A further advantage of SSL-VPN is that using TLS technology implemented in modern web browsers, which means you don’t need to install any specific software. Hence, it is easy to deploy.
There’s also less of a requirement for IT personnel to provide technical support, due to the ease of use of the client.
And unlike other security protocols you don’t need to download any additional software or configuration files, with no complex steps to follow, SonicWall's VPN simply needs an updated browser to establish a secure network.
As a business, you can also restrict remote users to particular applications instead of allowing your whole network to be accessed, keeping you in complete control at all times.
Important points to note
Remote workers' devices should be updated with anti-virus software to avoid malware spreading.
Training sessions for remote workers also help with keeping standards high and act as a good reminder that sessions should be closed down properly and not left open for all who have access to that device, view, for example.
We’d also advise not to use a public computer to set up an SSL VPN connection. In these instances, you can open yourself and your systems up to more cyber-attacks, offering up your confidential information and more to those that you don’t want to give it to.
SonicWall's VPN provides secure remote access to the network using the NetExtender client. Downloaded transparently, you can run any application securely on your computer network.
Ultimately, this is a seamless solution that allows secure access to your resources on your local network.
To find out more about SonicWall VPN and firewall solutions, give us a call on 0333 2405667.
Read the next blog: A Virtual Firewall that Protects Multi-Cloud Environments
What SonicWall Secure Mobile Access can offer you
Today it is not uncommon to find that most businesses will have a remote workforce is some shape or form. It fits with today's modern lifestyles as well as the digital era we have to succumb.
For all an excellent work solution, businesses must still ensure that end users have secure and fast access to applications at any time, from anywhere. Making the systems and networks within your business a vital function.
To provide the ideal solution to secure remote working, the SonicWall SRA (Secure Remote Access) would previously have been the product of choice.
However, as we know, everything within the digital sphere moves fast, and in today’s business environments, you need a solution that supports more remote users (globally), advanced applications, and overall provide some of the best services around.
You need SonicWall’s Secure Mobile Access (SMA).
A high-performing remote access solution, with more memory, supporting many more users, and offering more throughput, the SMA acts as a unified and secure access gateway. Allowing businesses, the opportunity to provide anywhere, anytime, and any device access to any application!
Helping businesses to easily make the switch to the cloud, as well as embrace mobility and BYOD in a busy IT environment, SMA offers access control policy engines, application-level SonicWall VPN, advanced authentication and context-aware device authorisation.
Why upgrade to SonicWall SMA?
Helps to lower costs. With the powerful virtual appliance in place, your infrastructure can benefit from improved performance when it comes to secure remote access, scalability, and complete flexibility. All are resulting in reducing downtime, lowering the costs of maintenance, and minimising upfront investment! Much more cost-effective than that of a physical appliance.
Provides a faster experience for the end-users. With processing cores that run 1.8 times faster than that of the SRA series, the SMA can encrypt data-in-motion and with lower latency, ultimately offering a quicker, higher-performance experience for all end users.
Delivers a seamless user experience. Increasing throughput allows for better productivity as the SMA has 15 times the SSL-VPN throughput compared to previous SonicWall series, where the SSL VPN client can offer faster and more secure access to mission-critical cloud and on-premises applications.
Work with more users remotely than ever before. With an increase in the number of user sessions running concurrently, offer greater scalability as more simultaneous user sessions cannot only be active but can also be tracked by SonicWall firewalls.
Beat the bandwidth hogs. Combining cloud services and the applications used today means that bandwidths can sometimes feel a little overcrowded. With more high-speed ports, the SMA provides the throughput needed to support intensive bandwidth applications, as well as the high-speed transfer of data.
Keeps patches current. This is the most recommended and best way of protecting against cyberattacks and unknown threats and also ensures that you’re getting the latest updates and capabilities. Helping to keep costs low while also embracing new Firmware trends.
Offers secure access for remote devices, always. Now an essential part of the IT function, delivering secure remote access that reduces the risk of attack by a cybercriminal, is vital.
You can centralise your reporting processes and automate routine everyday tasks. Helping to reduce your administrative overheads, allowing you more time to spend on your core business and security objectives.
Reduce downtime. By configuring appliances and using the Global Traffic Optimiser solution, you can ensure your business's continuity and scalability while continuing to meet service-level agreements.
Make use of the onboard memory to store critical business information/data. With 12.5 times more capacity compared to the SRA series, the SMA allows you to store reports, logs, file transfer inspections, backups and restores, and more.
Focus on usage and reduce costs. If you have appliances globally, the good news is that you no longer have to apply user licenses to each device. Instead, a central user license is set up with the CMS reallocating these to all managed and used SMA appliances. Perfect if some licenses are required at different times due to different time zones/working hours.
Ultimately, and in its simplest form, SMA offers any licensed device secure access to networks and cloud resources. It is an advanced access security gateway that fits perfectly into any existing and new IT infrastructures.
To find out more and upgrade to the SMA solution, call us on 0333 2405667, we’d be happy to help.
SonicWall Ways in which Capture Cloud Platform Protects Businesses
Keeping systems and networks continuously protected is what SonicWall does best.
That and developing these systems so that they provide even further enhanced capabilities to customers, all while keeping products cost-effective and efficient to run.
With the speed and number of cyber threats that target businesses daily, SonicWall is using the Cloud Platform to protect businesses further by:
- Helping and supporting companies who operate cloud applications
- Providing more cost-effective solutions for businesses of all sizes across all sectors
- Offering more endpoint protection, supporting the empowerment of teams and administrators
- Ensuring smooth wireless security with better planning and visibility
- Incorporating mesh networking and zero touchpoint deployments.
How the capture cloud platform protects businesses
Through some of the best firewalls and app security measures, you can imagine.
For example:
SonicWall TZ300 – offers the best protection for small businesses who are looking and who need enterprise-level protection, all for a reasonably low price. The SonicWall TZ firewall series is best for network connections that are always up. For those high speed small or home networks, networks which are running cable, DSL or FiOS, or for teleworkers who require VPN connections, the SonicWall TZ is the ideal solution.
Soho Firewall – looking particularly at the 250 and the TZ350 range, these firewalls help to consolidate performance, security, and networking, saving your business time and money all through reducing costs and operating systems. With this firewall, you’ll find SD-WAN, zero-touch deployments, and auto-provision VPN.
Cloud Security 2.0 App – one of the best home firewalls around. This security app works with Office 365 and G-Suite to provide increased protection from phishing attacks, email fraud, and zero-day threats. It can also identify malicious PDFs and Microsoft Office Files, mitigating the damage these can cause in cloud solutions (solutions like your Office 365 software, or G Suite and Dropbox, for example).
Secure email solutions – with SonicWall email security 10.0, businesses can have the multi-layered protection they need to keep inboxes safe. This solution provides attachment sandboxing and time to click URL protection. Focusing on protecting you from ransomware, having your business emails compromised, an array of phishing attacks, and email fraud – to name a few!
SonicWall Cloud Manager – this is a Wi-Fi network management system that is not only centralised, but it can be scaled to your business needs — helping you to simplify wireless access and control across a network of any size. You are in complete control all through a single pane, as well as through the SonicWall WIFI mobile app. Setting up wireless mesh networks and onboarding wireless access points have never been easier or more secure with the Cloud Manager app.
Speaking of access points – the SonicWave 200 series is a new advancement enabling businesses to better protect their online selves by enhancing wireless user experiences. This solution is extremely secure and, most importantly, affordable. Activating a host of security solutions through the SonicWave access points, such as Capture Advanced Threat Protection sandbox service, and Content Filtering Service, even when firewalls are not deployed.
SonicWall Planner – this Wi-Fi surveying tool helps businesses to secure their wireless networks while maintaining and enhancing user experience resulting in better and increased workforce productivity. Taking into account your business location, i.e., floor space, building materials, office space, power requirements, signal strength, etc., businesses can now make informed Wi-Fi coverage decisions that are best suited to them.
SonicOS 6.5.4 – supporting all SonicWall firewalls and hardware platforms, the SonicOS is the most up to date version of the SonicWall firewall operating system. Including improvements in network security, authentication, and wireless capabilities, this solution now provides businesses with much more comprehensive logging and reporting data and analysis.
SonicWall Capture Client – this solution can be one of the biggest benefits to a business. Allowing administrators to track threats more comprehensively, as well as kill them off before they reach their destination, the Capture client offers endpoint detection and response capabilities to support all business activities.
Businesses must protect their data and their information at all costs. With cyber threats showing no sign of slowing down, companies must deploy the best solutions for their networks.
The SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform is designed to do just that.
Protect your business, offering you the best solutions at the most competitive prices.
For further information and advice, give us a call on 0333 2405667, our team will be happy to help.
Using a firewall with PoE integration
hen it comes to setting up and protecting network devices for business, it can not only be time-consuming, but you can also end up with a lot, and we mean a lot of cables and power outlets running across your floors, hiding under desks, etc.
For example, printers, security cameras, access points, point of sale terminals, IP phones, and any other devices that you can think of that requires power and a connection to a switch or firewall/router.
With wires, wires, and more wires running through your business, is there a better way? An easier way?
Yes.
PoE Integration
For us, the fewer cables and wires in and around businesses, the better, and this is not just a dream but a reality when you use a firewall with Power over Ethernet (PoE).
PoE integration ultimately helps to reduce the need for additional equipment as well as lowering installation costs by passing electric power and data through Ethernet cabling and ultimately providing power and data connection to a range of networked devices all through one cable, helping to expand IP-based security all through highly efficient means.
For those mid to large range organisations with larger networks, you may have a PoE switch, which provides power and data to your PoE devices. And for all this is a good solution, there is still a cost associated with purchasing the switch.
For smaller networks, where you have only a few devices, purchasing a PoE switch can be seen as a waste of money. In such instances, we would recommend a Sonic firewall with built-in Power over Ethernet.
Why use a firewall with PoE integration?
Firstly, because these firewalls are designed for small businesses and those with remote workers or branches in different locations.
Using systems such as the SonicWall TZ600P and the SonicWall TZ300P helps to reduce costs and ease overall use all through offering integrated support for all PoE and PoE+ devices.
The SonicWall TZ firewall series provides power directly to a connected PoE enabled device, which can include:
- Printers
- Wireless access points
- Point of sale terminals
- Cameras
- And any other IP devices you might have and use.
Secondly, because instead of two cables, there is now just one. Your device also doesn’t have to be near an outlet, and you don’t have to purchase a PoE switch – saving you the headache of designing office and floor layouts to suit cabling requirements and the cost of the switch.
Note: Both of the TZ firewalls mentioned above support PoE and PoE+ standards.
PoE and PoE+
PoE+ helps to satisfy higher wattage loads, supporting up to 25.5w of DC power, making it significantly more efficient to power devices that require 25wdc.
Helping to boost PoE output, the range of new features and capabilities of PoE+ solutions, have far-reaching, positive effects. One of which is helping to accelerate the deployment of all IP devices across several applications, taking things above and beyond professional security.
Using firewalls with integrated PoE helps to future proof your network systems, by providing a power and data transmission foundation. A foundation that you can continually assess and develop security solutions from.
However, when looking at using a firewall with PoE integration, you will need to consider:
The number of devices within your network
The distance limitations and potential voltage drops as a consequence
The appropriate and best firewall application for your business.
Benefits of using the TZ series SonicWall Firewalls
1. They consolidate a host of necessary security and networking features, allowing businesses to take advantage of high-speed wireless connectivity while using LANs to segment traffic.
2. Businesses with branches located in different areas can take advantage of the connection capabilities using the site to site VPN. There’s also a reduction in cost and complexity when building a secure private network when using the Secure SD-WAN.
3. You can bring on new sites using zero-touch deployment, thus removing the need for permanent onsite personnel to provision the firewall. Using the SonicWall Capture Security Center, you can manage, through a single pane of glass, all SonicWall devices via the cloud.
And the biggest benefit?
4. Security. With more high-profile network breaches than ever before, across a range of sectors, businesses need to put the right solutions in place to protect their business. The TZ600P and TZ300P are designed to stop ransomware, phishing attacks, crypto-jacking, and much more.
SonicWall firewalls provide the highest security levels in the industry. Continually updating networks and systems and never resting on our laurels.
We aim to ensure that your business data and confidential information is safe from cybercriminals 24/7.
Find out how you could be using a TZ firewall with PoE integration to support your network today.
Call 0333 2405667
The SonicWall TZ Firewall Series
As you grow and scale your business or home network, you, unfortunately, can open yourself up to further cyber crime and attacks.
Having the right firewalls and security systems in place is what makes the difference when scaling.
Keeping you and your business safe online is essential. You need to be safe in the knowledge that no one can reach your confidential data or access personal information that they shouldn’t have access to.
The good news is that SonicWall firewalls offer the highest level of security with products that are cost-effective and affordable.
With the new firewall series, small and medium-sized businesses can now have a firewall that operates at faster broadband speeds and is priced much more competitively.
The best firewalls within this series include:
- SonicWall SoHo firewall
- SonicWall TZ300
- SonicWall TZ400
- SonicWall TZ500
- SonicWall TZ600
Products that can scale as you grow, this series has the flexibility to meet all of the demands of a distributed environment and more. Allowing for a centrally managed system, these products ensure standard protection across all locations, all provided by a SonicWall firewall.
Keep your networks secure and stay ahead of threats with a firewall perfectly suited to your business.
Why Sonicwall TZ?
Designed to be better.
A series of firewalls that protect small and medium-sized businesses, inspecting traffic and entire files with no restrictions on size or ports/protocols in use. The TZ Series offers the same level of security that you would expect to see in large corporations and institutes. Offering customers intrusion prevention, anti-malware, URL and content filtering, mobile access that is 100% secure, and application control.
Designed to be faster.
With faster broadbands and faster wireless connections, you need a firewall that can keep up. SonicWall firewalls cannot only keep up the pace but are also specifically designed to single out malware which may be hiding amongst encrypted SSL traffic. SonicWall Firewalls also provide the integrated controller which is of course wireless, offering extreme speeds with no additional costs.
Designed to be affordable.
SonicWall TZ300 offers Deep Packet Protection all at high speed but without the hefty price tag. What’s more, the Total Secure bundle also includes application control, content filtering, SSL inspection, intrusion protection, antivirus, and the appliance itself.
Designed for growing businesses.
Known as being the latest ideal solution to stop cybercriminals compromising your business, SonicWall firewalls offer it all. Helping to solve all security and performance requests, the SonicWall series is priced cost-effectively, making them suited to a range of businesses and home office networks.
The Ultimate Firewall Appliance – SonicWall TZ300 Review
The SonicWall TZ300 is the perfect solution in providing cyber protection for small businesses that need and want enterprise-level protection, all for the best possible price.
The TZ300 is ideally suited to:
- Network connections that are `always up.`
- Home networks or high-speed small businesses
- Systems that run cable/DSL/or FiOS
- Teleworkers who need VPN connections
Dell SonicWall’s latest TZ appliances offer a performance boost over previous products in the range as well as providing the best wireless network management features around.
Supporting access points for integrated wireless network provisions and management, you can subscribe to round-the-clock support, IPS, anti-spyware, gateway activities, and content filtering services.
Wireless management also comes enabled as standard so that the TZ300 can handle up to eight SonicPoint APS; however, it’s important to note that the anti-spam is a bolt-on option.
With versatility, a significant feature, setup of SonicWall firewalls is quick and easy. Here you can plan your antivirus scans, choose the best option for you when it comes to web content filtering, customise your policy with blacklists and whitelists determining when you want these to be active, apply acceptable use policies and more.
Ultimately you have control of activities such as web browsing, messaging and file transfers, blocking certain activities, or address book requests, all as you see fit.
Better security means better business
Extending protection beyond the home office to include branch offices and retail sites, SonicWall can be the most reliable link in the security chain.
Providing the right tools to solve your network security needs, continue to thrive and grow by taking advantage of everything online has to offer, knowing that you’re protected 24/7 by SonicWall security.
For the next generation of protection for your network, call 0333 2405667, and see how we can keep your business secure from all online threats.
Read next blog: Firewall with PoE integration.integration.
Upgrade your old Firewall for the latest SonicWall Firewall Software
Choosing the right firewall for you and your business is by no means an easy task. There’s not only a lot of people, so a lot of opinions to take into consideration, but there is also what is best for your business, your systems and network, your previous history with firewalls, and what has worked well and not so well for you and your networks.
Ultimately you want to prevent cyberattacks from happening full stop. So, having a firewall and sandbox in place that works with your current networks and doesn’t affect performance and your business operations in any way, shape, or form is ideal.
Ideally, you would like to control your entire system and platform from one single view. Accessible from anywhere, using an end-to-end platform that offers you a high-class solution all at the most competitive price!
Sounds like a lot to ask for right?
Not with SonicWall Firewall Software.
Offering you a cybersecurity platform which has the experience and the advanced skills to stop cyberattacks in their tracks. Rest assured that your business data and network systems are in safe and capable hands with a firewall you can trust.
SonicWall Firewall Best Practices
Helping to protect you and your business, always, is what SonicWall firewalls do best.
How?
Because our firewall software offers a layered approach to cybersecurity. A layered approach that can be applied across entire business platforms, protecting you from start to finish. For example, the
Capture Cloud Platform uses real-time detection identifying all and any breaches, helping to prevent threats from occurring across wireless and wired networks, emails, as well as cloud and mobile.
SonicWall firewall is also one of the most highly ranked firewalls when it comes to fitting with the majority of budgets. Achieving the “Recommended†rating by NSS Lab for its innovative firewall solutions, the effectiveness of its security levels, and its value for money.
These firewalls also help with malware through `block until verdict` capabilities and anti-evasion.
Ensuring that even those advanced and more sophisticated malware and cyberattacks can be prevented.
Staying on our toes, the continuing advances in the software developed has allowed for an increased level of security against threats and online attacks that have never been seen before. With Real-Time
Deep Memory Inspection built-in as standard, businesses can now identify and mitigate all memory-based attacks.
Attacks that include Spectre, Meltdown, PortSmash, Foreshadow, corrupt PDFs, and Microsoft Office documents.
From a management side of things and making your reporting life easier, analytics can be carried out in one single view. Providing complete visibility as and when you require, the software is also agile and can manage all SonicWall security packages centrally. Providing greater clarity, at a faster pace and all with much more precision – all from one console.
Decrypting, inspecting, detecting, and mitigating those `hidden` cyber threats can all be carried out through SSL/TLS traffic and SonicWall DPI-SSL scans.
This isn’t always an option with some firewall providers.
But, SonicWall is different.
Providing dependable ransomware protection, protecting against attacks such as Petya, Notpetya, BadRbbit, Cerber, Wannacry, and Nemucod, before they even reach your systems, encrypting your data.
Offering endpoint protection for today's busy commercial environments, SonicWall Capture Client can provide your business with so much more when it comes to cybersecurity.
Protecting your business from cyberattacks should be your number one priority, as when these attacks strike, they can have a disastrous and more far-reaching impact than you can imagine.
For further information on the latest SonicWall firewall software call us today, we’d be happy to help.
Are you aware of the latest phishing attacks threatening your systems?
Email security has had to most certainly `up its game` over the years. Staying ahead of malware and ransomware attacks, growing in sophistication while still allowing your business to do what it needs to for it to work.
With reports continually in the news regarding threats and attacks on people’s data and private and confidential information, it's no wonder that SonicWall email security has seen a rise in demand.
Phishing is now the most common attack carried out by cybercriminals. Becoming more sophisticated in their approach and targeting, these email threats now demand recipients to act. To click on a malicious link, open a corrupt and virus-ridden file, providing personal details so access to information can be stolen, and so much more.
These threats continually try and work their way around email security software. With a recorded 26 million phishing attacks taking place worldwide (according to the 2019 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report), the average SonicWall customer faced a staggering 5,488 phishing attacks alone.
Common Phisher Tactics
As we become better at spotting and blocking unsolicited emails and links, etc., businesses are also now taking the necessary precautions in training staff to be able to detect such malicious threats too.
However, those carrying out the phishing attack are also changing their tactics, reducing the volume of emails they send out and instead, sending much more targeted phishing attacks.
Below, we’ve provided the top 5 tactics phishers will use to steal your identity, deploy malware, infiltrate your systems and networks, and damage your brand.
1. Compromised credentials
Compromised credentials spawn from account takeovers, using ID and password combinations to carry out attacks from the inside. It ultimately involves compromising employees work credentials by launching a credential phishing campaign or worse, by buying these credentials on the Darkweb. These stolen credentials are then used to access certain information, systems, data, etc. In January this year, Troy Hunt, security research, found approximately 773 million email addresses and over 20 million passwords available for sale on Hacker. How long they had been, there is anyone’s guess and is also the scariest part.
2. Fake websites
Malicious URLs are one of the more innovative approaches a cybercriminal can take. Creating phishing websites to gather login details and personal information.
It’s reported that over 1.5 million phishing websites are developed and deployed every month, with the detection of such sites becoming much harder because phishers will use multiple redirections and URL shorteners.
It’s also good to be mindful that some phishing sites even have HTTPS and SSL certificates in place, making it much harder to spot a fake at first glance.
Popular document sharing and collaboration sites are the most targeted. Creating fake login forms and using them as a platform to distribute malicious payloads.
3. Business Email Compromise (BEC)
BEC is a serious scam which targets those businesses working with foreign suppliers, or indeed those businesses who regularly carry out wire transfer payments. In each case email accounts are compromised through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques, conducting unauthorised transfers of funds.
Unfortunately, these types of attacks are difficult to spot and stop because they don’t actively contain any malicious links or corrupt files, rather just another email from a “trusted sender†requesting a transfer in funds.
SonicWall email security software works hard to counteract such attacks, as well as provide teams with the vital signs on how to spot a fake.
4. Targeting of Office 365 Applications
With Office 365 growing as the most popular choice when it comes to a cloud-based email platform, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Microsoft is now the most impersonated brand online.
As the Office 365 subscription platform is open to anyone with a credit card, cybercriminals are finding these security features very accessible and easy to target.
5. Corrupt/Malicious Files
Sending a corrupt attachment or PDF is the most popular form for malicious payloads such as ransomware and malware. Taking advantage of people’s trust that PDF files are safe, these new PDF fraud campaigns are increasing at pace.
Email security is your best defence against all and any attacks. Protecting your business, your employees’ credentials, and your reputation and brand all at the same time.
Don’t let phishing attacks threaten how you run and manage your business.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you.
20 proven techniques to improve cybersecurity in the workplace in the long run
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In 2017 cybercrime affecting businesses rose to a staggering 63%. With 17 million people in Britain targeted by phishing, ransomware, online fraud, and hacking, and an estimated 4.6 million pounds stolen during this period,
can your business afford the critical downtime these cyber threats cause?
Losing confidential and private information is one of the main issues faced by businesses, with breaches occurring due to no formal written internet security policies for employees, as well as a lack of firewall best practices and email security software implementing; businesses are now more exposed than ever.
Below we've provided 20 proven techniques to improve cybersecurity in your workplace, preparing it for now and for the future.
Let’s get started...
- Educate your workforce on what cybersecurity actually is.
- Trust us, information from the top is allowed.
- Set reminders
- Review processes / Practices / Culture
- Tell it ASAP
- It’s everyone job to stay online to stay online
- Safeguard your digital growth
- Be ready to respond to a digital attack
- Value your work
- Make a cybersecurity strategy a priority
- Make a point about passwords
- Install the right software and keep it updated
- Always backup your backups!
- How private is private if the information isn’t encryptedencrypted
- Be careful what you post about yourself and others
- Install a firewall for better security
- Look for the “s†in HTTPs when online
- Learn from past mistakes
- Employ a hacker
- Stay up to date
1. Educate your workforce on what cybersecurity actually is.
It's naive of us to think that everyone knows and understands all of the different forms of cyber-attacks, what they look like and what they mean. But, why should we, surely, we have our IT departments to take care of all of that?
Wrong.
Your IT teams can only do so much, and what they can't do is stop employees clicking on links they shouldn't because they're unsure, visit sites they shouldn't because they don't know what's appropriate, or worse, sharing information online without using appropriate security encryption methods first.
Steps to take to ensure this doesn't sound like your workplace.
- Make sure you have IT workplace policies in place, in-depth, and in a language everyone can understand.
- Please make sure everyone, and we mean everyone, in the organisation reads these.
- Monitor behaviours and explain that as an organisation, you have to stop doing unsafe behaviours just to get a task finished quicker!
- Look to create better workflows to combat point 3 and avoid the clunkiness.
- Provide constant internet security information in bitesize chunks, as and when appropriate. Employees will follow if they know why.
2. Trust us, information from the top is followed.
Leading by example is a common phrase and one which your cybersecurity protocols should also follow.
From the CEO to floor staff, everyone needs to be singing from the same security hymn sheet for it to be taken seriously and for it to be taken on board.
Steps for implementation:
- Put cybersecurity on the risk management agenda (create a risk management agenda if you don't already have one!)
- Filter down your communications and the key highlights from discussions.
- Look to designate a security officer to maintain and control the flow of information up and down your businesses lines of hierarchy.
3. Set reminders.
Not only will all of this combined information be appreciated; it also makes people much more aware of internet security and how they play a vital role.
To help achieve this objective further:
- Make sure you schedule in regular communications
- Look to set weekly, even monthly reminders, and
- Place on team meeting agendas as a regular topic for discussion.
4. Review processes / Practices/ Culture
Reviewing what you currently have in place allows you to make the right and necessary changes to be flexible in your approach to cybersecurity.
Steps:
- Create documents that discuss how to create strong passwords and how to update them.
- Explain how to back up work safely and securely and what systems and software to use.
- Explain and show how to avoid malicious links in emails, what appropriate use and behaviour is required on social media, how to manage devices, what apps are ok, and you approve of during work, and how to work remotely, safely, etc.
- Review your current processes and look at what you need to incorporate and how best to communicate this to your workforce within your current culture.
5. Tell IT ASAP
Mistakes happen, this is inevitable. Especially as the complexity of phishing attempts grow in sophistication, bypassing even the most robust firewalls put in place. If you do fall victim to a potential attack, don't cover it up. This can only lead to matters getting worse and bigger problems presenting themselves.
Steps:
- Look at what your current culture and processes are for contacting IT.
- Identify whom you need to speak to and call them asap.
- Provide as much information as possible, and they will provide you with advice over the phone as to the "next steps."
Knowing whom to call and how to inform the right people is the best step in being able to help fix the problem asap.
6. It's everyone's job to stay safe online
It's not just the responsibility of the IT department to keep people safe online, nor is it solely the responsibility of senior management to put the right infrastructures in place too.
Everyone must take responsibility for their role and activity using the internet and web-based applications.
But, do your employees know how to stay safe online?
Steps:
- You need to provide the relevant training, identifying the most common threats such as phishing attacks and ransomware, showing what such things look like, what forms they come in and signs to look out for if you're at all unsure.
- This needs to be backed up with formal policies and,
- Regular communications to reinforce what people should be looking for if they think they're PC is under attack.
7. Safeguard your digital growth
Advances in digital technology and innovation can drive growth; however, they can also create bigger opportunities for cybercriminals.
Steps:
- Change business processes to incorporate digital transformation
- Secure applications
- Manage identities and,
- Monitor your suppliers – all on a regular basis.
8. Be ready to respond to a digital attack
In today's digital era, you can't rest on your laurels; you need to be prepared at all times for when a cyber-attack might strike.
- Make sure you have the right tools and software in place (software such as SonicWall Firewall, SonicWall email security, and SonicWall online) to protect your business systems.
- Look at cyber insurance.
- Create a cyber plan, allowing you to cope with costs and deal with any negative impact.
9. Value your work
You need to protect any, and all, information about you, your business, and your work – it has value, just like money, and cybercriminals thrive on this type of information.
Steps to take to protect your most valuable possession include:
- Being thoughtful as to where you store, send, and display this information.
- Think before you connect, look at wi-fi routers as well as public networks that aren't secure.
- Make sure to use strong passwords, and don't connect to unknown or generic wi-fi networks.
- If you do access public wi-fi use a VPN and,
- Make sure to turn wifi and Bluetooth off when your device is not in use.
10. Make a cybersecurity strategy a priority
No one is invincible to a cyber-attack of some sort. To strengthen your resilience to such attacks:
- You need to build cybersecurity into your culture.
- Set up regular security strategy meetings.
- Form a strategy document that classifies and outlines the data that you handle and the level of security you need to protect it.
- Make sure you have the most effective email security software and firewall best practices in place, all appropriate to the sensitivity levels of your data.
11. Make a point about passwords
We've all heard it a hundred times, but we need to reiterate it once more (probably more but at this point just once). Employees need to know and understand the importance of their password choice.
Steps to achieve this
Put password guidance in place which covers:
- how to use a password manager to create strong and unique passwords
- why passwords should be changed frequently
- why you should never reuse a password
- how employees should never use the same password on multiple devices
- and please please make sure to emphasize that passwords should never be written down, "somewhere safe."
12. Install the right software and keep it updated
Antivirus software is there for a reason. Protecting businesses against ransomware, trojan horse programs, botnets and more, companies need to be utilising antivirus programmes and add ons to protect from unscrupulous attacks continuously.
Steps:
- Install the right software to your platform, updating this regularly (a great way is to set reminders as a recurring task) and follow your antivirus instructions.
13. Always backup your backups!
Cybercriminals steal your data and keep it hostage until you pay up. It sounds dramatic, but it's true. Data can also be compromised due to natural accidents too such as floods and fire etc. To help make sure your data is backed up safely and securely:
- Instruct a disaster recovery plan identifying the exact steps you would need to follow if your company's data was found to be at risk.
- Just because you have the cloud doesn't mean you're all backed up; you need to have a contract in place that provides appropriate backup services.
14. How private is private if the information isn't encrypted?
Encryption is the best way to protect privacy and confidentiality, yet not everyone knows how to use it, set it up, and communicate it throughout the organisation.
Steps:
- Make sure that as an organisation you're using end to end encryption. This is the highest level of encryption for all confidential documents and information.
- Information and attachments should be encrypted before they leave your device and remain encrypted until they reach the intended recipient.
- Work with your IT department to make sure this level of encryption is standard across all company devices.
15. Be careful what you post about yourself and others
Posting status updates and tweets online can seem harmless at the time, but it is also one of the biggest areas which land people in a whole host of trouble. Opening up you and businesses to being hacked, suffer from identity theft, etc., all because people monitor your activity and what you say online, and then use this information against you in some form or another.
Steps to avoid such adverse events from happening:
- Don't leave yourself open; don't announce times and dates when your business will be left unattended, for example!
- Don't break NDA's
- Don't post personal information about others.
16. Install SonicWall firewall security
You want and need to prevent unauthorised access from a private network, at all times.
Firewalls are the perfect solution to increase your network's security.
However, for them to be effective:
- You first need to turn them on or install them as additional security features onto your network's platform.
- You can then look to create a set of rules, rules which will allow you to let the software know, what it should allow through its filters and what it should stop, what websites can be accessed and what ones it should block, even setting restrictions on incoming and outgoing emails if you would like.
Good firewalls monitor all incoming and outgoing data, consistently and to a high standard.
17. Look for the "s" in HTTPs when online
This is not a point that everyone knows about; however, it's an important one to inform workforces, as almost everyone within an office environment will use the web at work. We're also naive to think that this usage is 100% work-related 100% of the time.
Before jumping online and heading onto any old website, you need to:
- Look for the padlock icon in the websites address bar – if it doesn't have one the site is unsecured, and your details could be compromised.
- Look for the "s" in the HTTPs, if it looks like it's missing the site is again unprotected, and you shouldn't enter any information or details
18. Learn from past mistakes
Learning from mistakes is the only way we as individuals as well as organisations can move on. Learning from highlighted practices reported in the news as well as competitor information is also essential.
To take heed of past learnings you need:
- To conduct a review of the situation that has occurred.
- Discuss the event and record and report this as part of your incident response plan.
- Make any necessary adjustments, communicating this with the rest of the business appropriately, and making sure you work hand in hand on these adjustments with IT!
19. Employ a hacker
Ok, so a little extreme but you've got to admit, interesting.
Not all hackers are bad and are out to steal your data to sell online; some actually want to help the world.
To make sure you find the right hacker, you need to:
- Look for what is known as a White Hat Hacker. White hat hackers come on board to combat Black Hat Hackers and ultimately place your company in a position of fighting fire with fire.
20. Stay up to date
Industries are becoming much more aware of cybersecurity, what it means to businesses, as well as what it costs if things go wrong. There is also numerous regulation and standards that companies must meet when it comes to protecting private and confidential information, and processes must be in place to avoid any unnecessary fines.
In this sense it's important:
- To stay up to date with:
- best practices
- Operators
- suppliers, and
- technologies.
- Updating your software regularly and being flexible enough to adapt to new tools and technologies as and when they come to market.
- Install the right and the best firewall and email security your business needs, and stay protected at all times.
Conclusion
Cybercrime is unfortunately very real. How we protect ourselves and how we protect our businesses is of the utmost importance.
These tips will improve cybersecurity in the workplace in the long run, and we'd encourage you to take at least two tips away immediately to implement into your work practices, of course, we'd love you to implement them all, but let's be realistic and tick two off today!
If you found this list useful and interesting, please feel free to share online.
