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4 tips for securing your enterprise resource planning software
/in Blog, Security /by wpengineIn the Oscar-winning drama The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin are two Harvard college students working to create what is now the most widely used social networking site in the world: Facebook.
There’s a scene from the film where a crowd of students cheer on five nerdy guys furiously typing on computers. Zuckerberg looks on while Saverin approaches him, asking what’s going on.
“They have 10 minutes to get root access to a Python web server, expose its SSL encryption, and then intercept all traffic over its secure port.”
Saverin replies, “They’re hacking.”
Turns out, these five guys are participating in a “hackathon.” One where, according to the rules, they take a shot every 30 or so seconds.
To these students, hacking is a game. Something fun to do at a party. In the business world, it’s anything but.
The possibility of a cybercriminal breaching your business network and gaining access to sensitive company data is very real. And very serious.
One of the ways a hacker can do this is through your enterprise resource planning software. We’re here to help you prevent that from happening.
Why is ERP security important?
Enterprise resource planning software has the potential to give an overview of your entire company-wide operations, including everything from customer and financial relationships to personal data, HR information and intellectual property.
A data breach that includes ERP records would have sweeping impact. Productivity takes a hit, your reputation suffers, and revenue could easily dip. And if your business is subject to compliance regulations, you could be looking at hefty violation fines, too.
The key to avoiding these headaches is a robust network and application security designed specifically to protect all your data, including the information managed by your ERP solution.
Here are 4 tips to help you better secure your ERP software.
Update, update, update.
Forgive the repetition, but this first tip is just that important. Update your network security and upgrade your application software to the most current release. Due to ERP’s integration into nearly every area of your company, a breach into one are of your network can expose your entire system to hackers.
Patching your system will protect against new malware threats and fix bugs. Plus, updates can introduce new software capabilities unavailable in previous versions.
Since enterprise resource planning software is massive, performing updates will take longer. Scheduling them outside of business hours will help you eliminate update-related downtime.
Control user access.
If anyone in your company can access all the information in your ERP, then in the famous words of NASA Mission Control, “Houston, we have a problem.” Allowing every employee to see every module’s information is a security risk. And, depending on the data, a potential compliance violation.
To prevent internal attacks or accidental data removal, define permissions for different features in your ERP and require employees to frequently change their passwords. If an employee doesn’t need access to certain information to do their job, they shouldn’t have it. An experienced professional can help you set up these permissions.
Train your employees.
Piggybacking onto our previous point, it’s essential to acknowledge that employees pose a substantial security risk, so be sure you take into consideration segregation of duties when allocating permissions. Sure, your staff means well. But humans, by nature, have a larger predisposition for error than machines.
That’s why it’s critical to train your team on cybersecurity best practices. If your team knows how to spot and report unusual activity in your ERP, you can greatly reduce a cyberattack’s damage.
Use active reporting.
Visibility is crucial. If an issue occurs, you’ll need to know where in order to resolve it. Real-time, internal reporting can help by letting you see problematic user activity as it happens and trace data quickly and efficiently. Run frequent audit reports in your most sensitive ERP modules.
For example, if users try to access data without the required permissions, you’ll know. Once you’re made aware, you can address the issue immediately, minimizing potential damage.
Securing your enterprise resource planning software.
Taking a preventative approach is always the best way to approach network and application security. While there’s not a universal solution, these tips should provide you with a solid foundation for securing the sensitive data in your ERP.
Related Blog: The Advantages of ERP for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Top 3 signs your business needs a custom app
/in Blog, Productivity /by wpengineIf your business is on the right track, you already have a captivating, user-friendly website that is optimized for both desktop and mobile use. The next step in promoting a better relationship with employees, customers, and potential customers is to create a custom app that maximizes value through unique features and functions.
Here are 3 signs you are ready to talk about app development.
1. Your customers need an easy way to connect.
Keeping customers happy is one of your top priorities. To accomplish superior customer satisfaction you need to listen to your customers and provide solutions to their problems. If your customers are looking for easier ways to connect, make requests or complete a certain task, then it’s time to consider app development.
Here’s an example:
Breakdown: As a manufacturing company, you interact several times daily with customers to ensure complete orders.
Problem: Your customer wants to track order progress without having to send multiple inquiry emails or call your dedicated line.
Solution: You work with professionals to create an app that focuses solely on tracking progress of orders.
There’s a special anagram created by the Navy that is the secret to success in app development: KISS (keep it simple, stupid!).
When apps were first created, creators took an “everything but the kitchen sink” approach. This is the opposite of what you want. The entire concept of creating an app is to make things work easier and better for users – in this case, your customers. So, instead of creating one app that does everything, you will actually want to create multiple apps that are hyper-focused to address specific needs or outcomes.
In our example here, you want your customer to use the custom app to see the progress and status of their order as it moves through the inventory, production, packing and delivery processes. Paying an outstanding invoice or inquiring about product specifications should be addressed in a different app altogether.
Focus on your customer wants and needs, and your app will be a success.
2. Your internal operations need more efficiency and flexibility.
In the same way that apps help connect customers in a one-touch approach, app development can also be effective for improving internal business.
Many companies have custom apps for office communication, human resources access, and presence. Here’s one example of how that might work:
Breakdown: Your mid-sized office requires constant communications between employees in different departments.
Problem: In the office, your employees communicate via an internal messaging system, but you don’t have a way for them to access messages out of the office without using company email via cell phone (security risks include internal theft and insider threats).
Solution: You work with professionals to create an internal communications app that accommodates your current cybersecurity protocols and mobile communication functionality. This app integrates with in-office tools to provide seamless communication between office and mobile environments.
Your employees deserve a quick and seamless workflow. Why? Time is money. If work satisfaction and efficiency run hand-in-hand, then creating apps for your employees is a no-brainer and it will save you money by improving productivity.
3. You are ready to tackle the mobile market opportunity.
Mobile productivity essential in most industries now, with over 62% of companies utilizing mobile applications. One recent report showed that each company had an average of 10.6 apps. Don’t let that intimidate you, though. Start with the most important issues and address others as they arise. The important thing is to remember that one app will not, and shouldn’t, solve all problems.
Once you have your apps out there, you’ll find that you’ve succeeded in a few different ways.
First, you have put yourself out there in the mobile realm. That’s huge. In fact, you should have FOMO (fear of missing out) if you don’t have an app. Your competitors probably already do. Second, you’ve created a new connection and a sense intimacy. And finally, you have made it easier for customers and employees to collaborate and solve problems.
How to Develop an App
When it comes time to develop your app, you’ll need to work with a team that is experienced at providing the right design, content, and development to fit your specific business needs..
Whether the needs are driven by customer, staff or market requirements (or all of the above), we can assist. Here at CCS we have proven experience developing apps and we’d be happy to speak with you about how that process looks. Feel free to give us a call or shoot us a message.
5 disaster recovery tips from aboard the Battlestar Galactica
/in Blog, Business Continuity /by wpengineIn the year 2003, SCI FI Channel (now Syfy) aired a successful mini-series remake of the 1978 series, Battlestar Galactica, which launched the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series. In the plot of the mini-series, we have perhaps the most potent argument for a disaster recovery plan of any single piece of entertainment media.
A quick refresher: The beginning of Battlestar Galactica (2003) sees humanity at the height of culture and on the cusp of a digital revolution. The Twelve Colonies are comfortable and they are progressing. To top it off, humans have enjoyed a 40-year armistice with their sworn enemy, the Cylons.
The Cylons are a cybernetic race of soldiers and workers who had rebelled against humanity during a 12-year war and then disappeared into space.
During the mini-series, the Cylons return to rain down unholy hell on the Twelve Colonies, effectively destroying most of humanity via nuclear assault and…cyber warfare.
Meanwhile, Captain William Adama prepares to decommission his storied ship, the battlestar Galactica, which will soon be transformed into a museum.
So what does Battlestar Galactica have to do with your business network? Everything. The Cylons are able to destroy the Twelve Colonies by exploiting the exact same weaknesses that hackers use to destroy businesses every day.
Let’s take a look at what the Cylons did, and how Captain William Adama of the Battlestar Galactica is able to rescue humanity with the help of a disaster recovery plan.
The Nefarious Plan of Cylons and Cyber Attacks
In order to destroy the Twelve Colonies, the Cylons attack on two fronts. First, they make a physical attack with calculated nuclear strikes. Second, they carry out a catastrophic malware attack which renders nearly the entire military of the Twelve Colonies useless.
The Cylons carry out their cyber attack by seducing a human (literally, with a sexy spy model indistinguishable from humans) and using his credentials to access the military network. Then, they upload malware to the network that shuts down most of the battlestars, smaller ships, and other military units, and even drives them to attack and destroy one another.
The digital warfare perpetrated by the Cylons is nothing short of brilliant, and it is cataclysmic to the human race. In a short time, most of the human race is destroyed.
Cyber attacks on your business work the same way. For instance, malware will attack your network by either recognizing weaknesses in your digital infrastructure or by hiding in attached documents. With a few catchy subject lines, hackers are able to “seduce” your own employees into downloading dangerous material.
Even as vicious cyber attacks have become commonplace, end user education still falls behind the techniques of cyber criminals. Human error and insider threats remain a particular weak spot in the world of cybersecurity.
In one report that compiled 20 years of data, ITIC found that human error is the cause of 70% of data center incidents.
Whether it’s a sudden influx of downtime costing $100,000 per hour, or a major data loss incident racking up more than $18,000 for only 100 records, the financial losses can be as devastating as a Cylon attack. In fact, that type of loss can be outright fatal after experiencing a significant data loss incident.
So how did Battlestar Galactica continue for 75 episodes after the Cylons wiped out most of humanity?
Battlestar Galactica, Humanity’s Backup Plan
Commander William Adama was a man of extreme practicality, which some might say bordered on paranoia. As commander of the Battlestar Galactica, he insisted that the ship remain disconnected from the military network and prohibited any upgrades to digital interfaces. While the rest of the world became increasingly more connected, the Galactica was completely self-sufficient.
Adama’s disdain for the digital was more than an inability to adapt to evolving times – he in fact had his reasons. Adama knew that the Cylons had every tactical and strategic advantage in a digital world. They were created to out-process and out-think humans. He specifically kept his ship offline because he wanted to be able to maintain command if the central network was compromised. Boy, was he right on the money.
At the time of the Cylon’s attack on the Twelve Colonies, the battlestar Galactica was hosting an eclectic mix of military personnel and civilians to cover the ship’s decommissioning. Those aboard the ship went on to consist of most of humanity’s survivors.
For most of the remainder of the show, Adama must outthink the Cylons, flee their ranks, and ascertain the identities of the near-human Cylons that seek to infiltrate his ranks.
It is estimated that around 50,000 people lived aboard the ship at the beginning of Adama’s command of the survivors. By maintaining a command that was isolated from the main network, Adama is able to preserve humanity.
Backup and disaster recovery is an essential element of maintaining the longevity of your business. Just as Adama’s analog ship is able to maintain humanity, you should always back up your network in different places, both on your network and off your network.
In addition to Adama’s triumph for humanity’s future existence, the command structures are able to create a new government to guide the survivors beyond Adama’s military lead.
You should also have a disaster recovery plan, including a chain of command that ensures immediate response and establishes near-term operations and communication.
If you’re making a checklist, add a few of these things that we’ve learned from Battlestar Galactica:
“So say we all.”
There are many other ways that Battlestar Galactica shows us what to do in the event of a disaster. We’d love to talk to you about them when you call us or send us a message.
You can also couple this article with our recent Star Wars Weapons Can Help You Find the Best Backup and Restore Plan for Your Business and The Top 5 Reasons to Prepare Your Business Continuity Plan.