Organizational Security: Is Your Door Wide Open?

Last Tuesday at about 2:00 AM, I woke up to the doorbell ringing and knocking on our front door.  While I was initially a little startled, my next thought was, “Why isn’t our ferocious guard dog barking?” 

When we answered the door, it was the local police department informing us that we had left our garage door wide open (welcoming in thieves and intruders).  After overcoming our embarrassment and thanking the officer, I then had to check through the house to make sure there was no one hiding out in the basement. 

This incident got me thinking; you can have the best security system in the world, guard dog, alarm system, door locks, cameras, etc., but if you make one simple mistake like forgetting to shut your garage door after mowing the yard, your entire house (or system) is at risk. 

A recent Dark Reading article also revealed that some of the biggest vulnerabilities organizations face can be the most obvious everyday things.

For example, the article listed several everyday dangers that are often overlooked:

• Network-attached devices
• Paper documents
• Passwords on post-its
• Portable storage devices
• Printers and fax machines

One of the article’s tips was to change the default password for devices attached to the network.  While this tip seems like common sense, many organizations may find themselves at risk if they do not verify all devices are secure.

The article also revealed that many ’open doors’ can be found on employees’ unattended desks including:

• Security badges
• Entry cards
• Passwords
• Keyrings
• USB drives

So, how can you ensure your organization is not leaving doors open? 

By providing ongoing training and situational awareness, you can help educate your employees on everyday risks and vulnerabilities.  Employees (and third-parties) need to be made aware of new risks and threats and best practices for securing their environments.  You should also establish policies and procedures for verifying devices are secured, passwords are secured, desks are cleared, etc.  Once these policies and procedures have been created, you must also ensure they are communicated and acknowledged by all appropriate personnel and everyone understands their individual roles and responsibilities. 

Are your employees leaving your organization’s doors wide open?