Sony Hacked… Again! Learn From Their Mistakes & Take IT Security Seriously!

This isn’t the first reported incidence that Sony has been hacked. Back in 2011, Sony’s PlayStation division had a network outage that lasted 24 days. Information from 77 million accounts had reportedly been stolen. Now, the Sony Pictures division has been compromised. The hack involves ZIP (archive) files that will be released, to the world, if #GOP’s demands have not been met.

What Sony is Facing

With confirmation from Sony that one of their servers was hacked, employees were instructed to go home because their entire network rendered unusable. Sony instructed all their employees to turn off their computers, disconnect from Wi-Fi and not connect to corporate networks or emails. This should tell you, they are at a strong loss of time and production is being delayed, not a good thing to happen.

What did Sony leave vulnerable?

1. Financial documents
2. Communications
3. Identifications of important personnel
4. Security breach information
5. Passwords to accounts and information

Prevention

Having a proper IT department that regulates and manages these signatures coming into your servers is important to have. In Sony’s case, it would have been a good idea to bring in an outside company to audit their work. An audit shouldn’t be viewed as taboo, but as an insurance policy. Auditing is a practice to make sure information and client data is safe, and to make sure you are in good standing. Protect your clients, protect yourself. Aside from outsourcing an audit, here are some precautions you can take on a business and residential level:

• Use different passwords for different users – ensures that hackers can’t get into all your accounts, use a generator if necessary
• Use password banks on mobile devices – store your passwords using secure apps, not documents, to ensure protection of your accounts
• Audit regularly – audits should be conducted on a regular basis, to make sure your coding is up-to-date and risk free
• Trust certain employees – if an employee changes jobs, change passwords to ensure a high level of security. Don’t forget to disconnect their access, immediately.

Don’t wait until you’re in trouble to take IT security seriously. Give us a call at (403) 457-1478 or email us at info@ctechgroup.net. CTECH Consulting Group is here to help you avoid the ever-so-common security breach.

Written by Carl Fransen

posted on November 27, 2014

Carl Fransen

My passion is to make my mark on the world in a positive and lasting way. I want to set an example for my son that his father can compete with integrity in today’s world, be very successful, and leave the world a better place for him.

Combining my technical/business-based education with a long career steadily progressing up the corporate ladder, I decided to build a company that held true to my values. So, I founded and designed the next generation of IT support firm: CTECH Consulting Group Inc. We are a completely automated, cloud-based IT company designed to compete against any other IT firm without the overhead. We promote a lifestyle to all our staff where they can work anywhere, at any time, access any information on any device that is relevant to their job, and collaborate with anyone they want to.