How To Get The Most From Your Firewall

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) 6 February 2017

Firewalls are the first line in defense to protecting your network. Their main aim is to keep the bad guys out and let the good guys get on with their jobs; preventing threats to your network 24/7. From averting entry of malware to prohibiting hacking attempts. With a firewall your employees can easily access the Internet whilst the packets are constantly inspected and stopping malicious traffic. Without a firewall, every connection to your network can be accessed by anyone, anywhere. No packet inspection would occur allowing attacks to be welcomed. We can agree that a firewall is essential for the security of your network.
However, after being implemented into a business, normally a lot is not done to ensure that it is properly configured; which in some cases can be worse than having none. How do you ensure that your firewall is as effective as you think?
Here are some things to consider when configuring your firewall:

  • Initially, deny all traffic through the firewall. By default, firewalls entrust all connections to and from your network. By denying all, you can ensure that only the services that are needed are available.
  • Disable the administrative page. Most firewalls have a remote administrative log in which does not need to be seen by anyone unauthorised.
  • Change the default password of the administrator and create a new secure one. This should be changed frequently.
  • Block any unnecessary ports. Many ports can be accessed within networks, but only a few need to be accessible. Disable or filter these to reduce your business’ attack surface.
  • Update firewall software regularly to patch any recent vulnerabilities found.
  • Enable firewall logging and make regular backups, keeping copies off-site as well.
  • Enable firewall alerts and investigate anything suspicious.
  • Review your firewall rules every six months and remove any rules that conflict, have expired or simply should not have been added so that the configuration is clear to what should be entering your network and what should not.
  • Block ping requests to your network through the firewall. Basically, an attacker will send a ping request to see if there is something interesting there and if they get a response he knows to investigate further. In the administrator firewall settings, disable responses to ping requests.

A properly configured firewall can help prevent attacks but what if malformed malicious traffic did happen to get through your firewall or what if internal attacks occurred within your business? Other network services are important to implement to further lower the risks, such as intrusion detection system (IDS), intrusion prevention system (IPS), traffic monitoring, content filtering etc.
Not sure how to incorporate this all into your company? Looking for a secure solution to all your network security needs? Are you are looking for an all-in-one solution or one tailored to fit your business; allowing not only stress-free utilisation and continual management but also delivering the strongest security possible? Then Intact Security can help you! Either for small to medium businesses (SMB’s) or large enterprises, we have the network security solution for you.

Relax. Your security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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The Importance Of Continuous Monitoring And Vulnerability Management

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) 30 January 2017

Companies may be aware that they need to have penetration tests and vulnerability assessments at least annually, but what about your security every other day during the year. Security is an ongoing process and while both these measures help to secure your company, new vulnerabilities are uncovered every day.

80% of external attacks take advantage of known vulnerabilities that have either have not been patched within the software or systems that are misconfigured.  Continual monitoring and scanning of your systems are encouraged within your company. This preventative method in turn will make a huge difference in increasing your security.

Software may be safe and secure one day, and the next it could be riddled with new found vulnerabilities. Just as security experts blog about new threats and alerts to everyone, this also alerts hackers about the weak points present. Using this information, they can generate new attacks and exploits against software that has not been updated.

Implementing firewalls and IDS/IPS (Intrusion detection/prevention systems) is a good step to securing your company, however do not solely rely on them.  These also come with their weaknesses and often hackers can get around them without being detected. Continual monitoring of the traffic within your network can quickly identify unusual activity that could result in the compromise of sensitive data. Anything strange such as a large data transfer or unapproved encrypted requests should alert your security team and be looked further into.

Companies should be on top of their vulnerability management to ensure rapid updates to software and if needed, fixes to networks and/or applications. By frequently scanning and evaluating the state of your security, you can pick up fresh emerging threats, constant changes to software and help you mitigate the risk your systems are under. Without it, many holes could go undetected until the next vulnerability assessment or penetration test, leaving you wide open for attack.

To perform a precise process of protecting your company, you need to implement the right tools to your system as well as scheduled vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. These tools need to be convenient and easy to use, provide accurate results, be affordable and not  impact the day-to-day operations of your business. Vulnerability scanners are the most effective when implemented into a company that are determined on strengthening their security. Applying a good strategy to tighten your security can save you money. The costs of damage and repercussions of an attack can be extremely severe.

Intact Security have a wide range of highly recommended tools for all situations and will help reduce your attack surface. Be it to stamp down on malware on machines, detect active lurking threats in your systems or monitor devices connected to your network, we will help patch your security. Get an advantage over the cyber attackers!

Relax. Your security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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Why Your Security Depends On Your Employees

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) 23 January 2017

It may be a surprise that 59% of breaches within a company happen due to employees. This is not because all your employees are turning against you, (perhaps some), but due to a lack of awareness about information security.

With more than half of employees stating that they connect personal devices to their work computer and one in ten owning up to downloading software onto their work computer, it is easy to see how the percentage of breaches is so high. Connecting devices not related to work and downloading unknown content greatly expands your attack surface which makes your company increasingly vulnerable.

Security awareness within the company involves everyone, including top management, and should be one of the top priorities for all companies. By putting policies and procedures in place, all employees can be informed of their roles within the security of the company. Promoting security in the work place and having regular training sessions, especially for new employees, can help detect threats and avoid any potential consequences of them. Important topics during training sessions are:

Backing up of files
Employees should be involved in preventing loss of information. Even if the information is backed up on a regular basis, it is useful that they too have a daily back up.

Be aware of phishing attacks
Anything that is at all out of the blue, such as links in messages, attachments, emails etc, should not be opened. Even if the sender is known, their machine could have been compromised. Most phishing attempts are sent via email and if clicked on, can result in the installation of malware, redirection to unknown sources etc.

Keeping strong passwords
Passwords should contain at least ten characters, of at least three different types such as upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols. No dictionary words, usernames or names should be used. By using sentences that are easy to remember this can oppose password cracking attempts from attackers. Different passwords should be used for both personal and work accounts and setting up two-factor authentication can also greatly decrease the risk of a compromise.

Keeping a clean machine
Ensure there is a policy on what employees can and can not download. Unknown programs can contain malware which can result in the loss of data, money and open your company to attack.

Physical & desktop security
All file cabinets and desk drawers should be locked in case of theft. When a machine is left for any specific period of time, the screen should be locked. Attackers can install key loggers to track what a user has typed, which can lead to stolen passwords.

Software updating & patching
Having all the correct software, e.g anti-virus and anti-malware, running to protect each machine is a good step in preventing infections. However, it was reported that over half (51%) of employees do not know how to update anti-virus protection, which can result in new variants of malware going unnoticed. Also other software the company uses requires regular updates to patch any recent vulnerabilities that have been fixed.

Stay alert & report strange activity
Encourage employees to speak up about anything peculiar happening on their machine and flag any suspicious behaviour such as phishing emails.

Training sessions can be performed in various ways, such as class-like lectures, videos and Q&A discussions. To make the process of educating employees beneficial and ensuring the information was absorbed, have mini quizzes after each session. Try to not bombard them with too much, as this can have the opposite affect to what you intended.

Security awareness is a critical element to your company’s security, and if implemented correctly, can prevent and protect your systems from potential attacks.

Relax, your Security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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Declassified Report States Russia’s Involvement In US Election

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) 16 January 2017

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, enforced a campaign to sway the votes in the 2016 US election in Donald Trump’s favour, boosting his chance of winning, according to a declassified report released on Friday 6th of January.

The report did not state how exactly the campaign may have altered people’s decision when voting or in fact if it resulted in Trump being elected. What was included was that there were various hacks ongoing throughout the election. These included attacks into email accounts of political figures and officials of the Democratic Party. There was also evidence found that members of Russia’s government were paying “trolls” to spread fake news about Hilary Clinton just days before the election.

Trump had been quick to dismiss any findings obtained by the CIA on Russia’s interference and with his opinion on the attacks changing every other day, it is hard to understand what actually has been going on. Trump first believed the attacks were from Russia, but did not comment if they were imposed by Vladimir Putin. Days later, he took back his allegations commenting that anyone could have done it. Now he has stated that he does believe Russia was involved in the hacks but also other countries and people. Leaders of his own party have been expressing their concerns on the topic.

In a new twist, it was revealed that during the attacks, Russian operatives not only found damaging information on Hilary Clinton but claim that they have obtained compromising personal and financial information about Donald Trump. This information is said to be held to keep him inline with the Russian allegations and to show that even though they had information on both parties, only information on Hilary Clinton was released.

Obama has expressed his feelings to Putin about the situation and has stated that actions shall be taken. However, with just days before he steps down and Trump takes his place, there has been no sign of any action. Will it be all swept under the carpet when Trump takes charge?

During a party on New Year’s Eve, Trump was asked about the problem with cyber security at the moment and his response was “No computer is safe”. He preceded to say that we should do things the old fashioned way and send anything important via courier if we really wanted our information to be secure. In debates leading up to the US election, Trump has expressed his doubts in the current security issues, that we had to “do cyber better” and about  “closing that Internet up”. Even though Trump clearly does not know a lot about cyber security and sending us into the past of using couriers is in noway going to help the issue; he does make a good point, “no computer is safe!”

With such large-scale attacks causing global chaos and an average of 90 million attacks a year, more still needs to be done to help prevent cyber crime. With obvious threats to the election, the US stated they were prepared for a Russian cyber attack, but were they actually fully prepared?

If there was an approaching threat to your business, could you confidently say that you are prepared?
Intact Security can assist your business, we conduct Risk Assessments, Threat Analysis, Penetration Tests and have a plethora of useful tools to help fend off an attack. Click here to find out more.

Relax, your Security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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Top Security Threats In 2017

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) 9 January 2017

2016 seen the rise of cyber security attacks, resulting in nearly a third of all computer users experiencing some sort of attack. However, 2017 has been described to be the year of creative malicious hacks. Cyber security is no longer classed as only the IT departments problem, with the increase of smart hacks and evolving threats, every employee should be informed of cyber security and ways to prevent a breach. The more your business anticipates an attack, the better you can be prepared. Below are the most predicted threats of 2017.

Ransomware is growing.
Even though it has been around for years, ransomware rose to be -come a real threat during 2016. It has resulted in hospitals and organisations paying larges ransoms to regain control of their systems, with no other choice for them to make. With the continuing success of these attacks, hackers are only improving and willing to invest more time and money into better and more complicated attacks.

At the end of the year ransomware variants started developing worm-like qualities, where they are able to spread independently, resulting in hundreds of computers being infected in a short space of time. This type of attack will more than likely become more common in the months ahead and with the bitcoin value reaching its highest value this week since 2013, this can only be bad news for businesses. Not only will computer machine’s be vulnerable to ransomware, it is predicted that there will be a large increase on mobile device attacks.

With attackers improving their abilities to design and create new and unique variants, ransomware can only get more dangerous in the coming months.

Increased IoT Attacks.
With the increase of IoT devices in our homes and offices, the global digital attack surface will begin to grow exponentially over the next few years. New devices that have never been connected to the Internet before are collecting information about us and accessing information over our networks; these need to be designed with security in mind. Many small to large organisations are creating new IoT devices at low cost and not taking into account of what information the device will be accessing, what risk arises if someone could obtain this information or what security flaws exist with this device connected to the network.

As the goal is to get these devices created and on the market, the risk and security of them is an after thought. This leaves no time or money for security testing or patch management as with computers and mobile phones, resulting in vulnerable devices that attackers may easily hack into and gain your information. As this is a new area of technology and is known for its lack of security, it is an attractive invitation for hackers this year.

Attacks on Company’s Reputation and Trust
2017 brings around a new attacker’s perspective. In the past, customer details and identity theft were targeted. Attacks on corporate information, top level secrets and critical infrastructure are now trending amongst cyber criminals. With attacks becoming more intelligent, there is a growing risk to businesses. Both the reputation of a business and the trust their clients have can be damaged through a single attack.

Employees can be a strong or a weak link in the chain. If they are ill-prepared for an attack,  it can result in disastrous consequences such as social engineering attacks and data loss. By educating staff on good security practices and behaviours, understanding how they themselves may be used to carrying out an attack and also keeping an eye out for anything unusual on their computer, can all be steps on building better security for your business.

Relax. Your security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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Malware: What Is It And How You Can Defend Against It

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) 26 December 2016

Malware, short for ‘malicious software’, are programs that are designed to cause damage to a computer. There are various types of malware which are discussed below. Over many years it has caused chaos for all kinds of organisations, large and small, infecting computers, devices and mobiles. However, in the last year there has been a significant rise in the number of attacks, mainly due to ransomware. The infected programs can result in encrypting, stealing and deleting user’s files, hijacking the computer’s functions and a whole list of other things without the user’s permission.

Types of malware:

Virus – Infectious code that poisons other software on hosts and networks. It attaches to programs and when those infected programs are ran, the virus executes the code and begins to spread. Viruses are used to steal data, money and deal damage to computers and networks.

Worm – Worms use operating system vulnerabilities to spread throughout the computer system. They can independently replicate and spread without needing any human activity, such as opening a program. Worms continue to ‘eat’ through your files until everything is destroyed and the drive is empty.

Trojan (Horse) – An infected file that disguises itself as a program or a normal (uninfected) file to trick the user into downloading it. When downloaded, the file allows the attacker to have remote access to your computer. With this access many malicious attacks can be performed such as stealing data, modifying files and installing more malware.

Ransomware – Normally spread from downloading an attachment from a file. The ransomware takes the user’s files hostage, by encrypting them and restricting the user’s access on the computer. After all the files are encrypted, an alert message will be displayed saying that the user must pay a ransom for the decryption key. If the ransom is not provided, the files will be deleted.

Adware – Displays advertisements automatically, such as pop-ups. Most adware is not dangerous and is specifically for generating revenue. Often adware will be bundled together with other malware such as spyware, which can then make it more threatening.

Spyware – Spies on your activity and tracks your internet history, often to help adware send relevant advertisements to your machine. Spyware can also change security settings to impede network connections

Defending against malware – Antivirus & Anti-Malware

Viruses have been around for many years, which is why anti-virus was created to detect and stop them. Companies have had to evolve anti-virus to detect other threats, not just viruses. So why is it still called anti-virus? As a lot of people are familiar with what viruses are, many may not know what malware is. Therefore keeping the name was more of a strategy in the marketing department.

The main difference between anti-virus and anti-malware is what they are trying to find. Anti-virus deals with finding older types of threats, such as viruses, trojans, worms etc. Anti- malware is more ‘hip’, where it can detect recent malware threats, rather than older threats. It could take months until the anti-virus is updated to include recent threats in its search, resulting in those vulnerabilities existing in your system and ready to be attacked.

Which one should I use?
Both. To get great results, both are needed for different threats; running another malware scanner can only be beneficial. Anti-virus should be run frequently and anti-malware should be when a computer system has changed or seems to be running slower than usual.  By running a second program to your systems, there is a 19.2% potential increase on finding extra malware. Although, do not try and run them at the same time as this will slow your systems down.

Relax. Your Security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Test – What’s the Difference?

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By Samantha Woollard (Internet Security Specialist) – 19 December 2016

Vulnerability assessment or penetration test? Both are often confused and sometimes thought to be the same thing. However there are some major differences between them which are important to know when it comes to the security of your business.

A vulnerability assessment consists of detecting vulnerabilities, defining what they are, how they can affect your business and advice on remediation. This test is more about breadth than depth, to bring to light what vulnerabilities exist over your systems, rather than exploiting them. During a vulnerability assessment, scanners are used to pick up missing patches that need to be updated and other vulnerabilities that exist. Even though the scanners can pick up certain threats, they cannot think like an attacker. Because of this the system is also manually tested for other threats that require a human’s viewpoint and an attacker’s mind set.

A penetration test simulates what a real attacker would do. Using various tools and procedures, the key is to exploit a business’ system and get unauthorised access to critical information. It gives an extensive insight into how much risk your business is under. This test is more about depth than breadth. Rather than a list of vulnerabilities, the goal is to find out if someone can break in and if so, how far can they delve.

Vulnerability scanners should be used within your company and run frequently, especially when changes are put into place and new equipment is added. However, running these scans can often bring up false positives which can be a real headache for someone who does not have a background in security. How can you differentiate between the real vulnerabilities and the false positives? By having a vulnerability assessment, only the actual vulnerabilities will be brought to your attention along with other manually found threats. Both assessments are essential and be it the security of your network or web application, it is recommended that they each should undergo at least one vulnerability assessment and one penetration test a year. By completing both of these, you will get a comprehensive depiction of your business’ security holes.

Relax. Your Security is Intact.

Author: Intact Security

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IF YOU ARE PAYING OVER $10,000 FOR A BASIC PEN TEST YOU ARE PAYING TOO MUCH.

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By Anthony Ousback (Business Development Manager) 8 December 2015

There are a number of large players with in the IT security Industry, charging a premium for services. This does not have to be the case. The down side of dealing with the big firms is that many times you will not have direct access to project managers, they try to lock you in on contracts, you will be penalised if you wish to amend project dates, and you can be sold all the bells and whistles only to have the work performed by a junior tech with minimum experience, all the while being charged large sums of money for the privilege. Why would you want this?

This does not have to be the case. The Good news is, is that INTACT SECURITY offers enterprise level expertise at a fraction of what the big companies charge.We are a small team that has the flexibility, technical know how and small overheads that can keep costs low for you. Size matters when it comes to IT, with large companies you can get lost in the mix, unless you are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars, the large firms don’t want to look at you. INTACT SECURITY are ready to give you the service you deserve at prices that will not break the bank.

IF YOU ARE PAYING OVER $10,000 FOR A BASIC PEN TEST YOU ARE PAYING TOO MUCH.

Intact Security is headed up by Martin Quinn who has over 20 years experience with in the IT security Industry. His technical experience is world class, having worked with Cisco, Solaris, Microsoft and The Australian Defence Force he is also an expert in the areas of Compliance. He is an ISO 27001 lead auditor and an IRAP assessor.

INTACT SECURITY offers complete IT security solutions for your company no matter how large or small. From small to medium business, financial institutions, government departments, right up to top secret!

At INTACT SECURITY we are a one stop shop for all your IT Security needs!

We perform Pen Tests (Ethical Hacking where we perform a full scale Cyber attack on your systems and then run in depth reports to show you where you are being targetted) This does not compromise any of your important data, nor do we reveal any of your secrets, all our work is totally encrypted and secure, we are the good guys stopping the Criminals from getting in!

Vulnerability Scans, which are like a penetration test but less involved, we scan your systems and see where you may be compromised, then supply in depth reports detailing your weak points.

Architecture Reviews: We can go over all your physical systems, such as what Firewalls you have in place, what software you use and review where you are in danger, noting all weaknesses and gaps where hacks may occur.

Digital Forensics: This is the real deal CSI level stuff!!. We can track down fraudulent activity, catch any un-towards activity that has been occurring and help police in their investigations.

The Police Cyber Crime unit has used us to help catch crims!

We  also offer consultancy on hardware and software, we have picked out the best products for value and are happy to discuss all your needs!

 

With INTACT SECURITY you get a small dedicated team that will communicate with you daily, we ensure that when we deliver our reports we explain our findings in depth so you have  full understanding. The last thing we want to do is dump a complex report on your desk and walk away. We  go above and beyond in maintaining and nurturing customer relations, we wish to offer an honest, trusted IT security service with no hidden fees or unexpected costs. What we quote on is what you pay!

Infact, here is my mobile number! , Now you don’t get that from the big guys! Give me a call and we can discuss your IT security needs.

With INTACT SECURITY, Relax, Your Security is INTACT!

Author: Intact Security
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Christmas Time = Cyber Crime!

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By Anthony Ousback (Business Development Manager) 30 November 2015

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Winding down for the year? quality family time and putting your feet up?…well, I hate to be the barer of bad news, much like Santa bringing you a dodgy scooter when really all you wanted off the cheap ol’ man was a bicycle,(thanks dad!!!)  but you are in for a shock!!!!…Did you know that while you are working the Christmas lunch through, hackers are working their way through your business. Sneaking their way in, fleecing you of your sensitive information…Santa sneaks down your chimney at night while your sleeping, these cyber Crims do it while your watching the Boxing day test 6 beers in and cursing about Steve Smiths poor form…Yep, they get you when your guard is down!!!…So you think your business is safe, its shut down for the Christmas break and you can switch off and not have to think about the office, well that’s when Hackers get you!!!!…free access to your servers while you are holidaying. Are you confident that your Firewall is doing its job? that your system is scanning correctly and alerting you about threats?..you can never be too safe!!…Get in touch with INTACT SECURITY, we can keep you safe this Holiday season…the only disappointing news you want to hear this year is that your mother -in-law is coming to stay for three weeks, imagine how devastated you would be to think you’ve been hacked and had your personal, business and credit card information stolen on top of that…that’s poorer than Punters form as a captain! Get in touch now to find out about your IT security options INTACT SECURITY, Relax, Your Security is INTACT!

Author: Intact Security
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JobActive IRAP – how to get clued in with Intact Security

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By Martin Quinn (Principal Consultant) 29 July 2015
With the introduction of the Department of Employment’s (DoE) JobActive initiative, the way job services providers work with the department has been turned on its head.

The Department of Employment JobActive program requires providers to be certified and compliant with the minimum requirements of Information Security Manual (ISM) mandated by Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) from the beginning of the 2015 financial year.
The ISM defines the minimum standards that government agencies must maintain to operate securely and in ensure the security of data. It aims to define overall good security practices, to reduce the risk of compromise and maintain the three tenants of information security (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability)

This has created an air of anxiety and nervousness within the job services arena, mainly due to providers not having ever had to adhere to such stringent compliance requirements and those non-compliant providers may not have access to the department’s data. That said DoE has defined a roadmap within the deed, defining the path how providers can achieve compliance.
There are several milestones defined within the deed, the first being a gap analysis of where the organisation currently stands in comparison to the ISM and ultimately becoming compliant.

This first step is designed to illustrate the current security posture of the organisation, allowing it to focus on items which pose the greatest threat and risk to the business (and by proxy DoE), and shows the difference between where the company currently is and where it needs/wants to be.
After this has been conducted, the business can develop and improvement plan, and begin to define the scope of applicability (SOA). The SOA is ultimately what defines what the organisation will be held accountable to in relation to the ISM, and how it conducts operations. The SOA is how ASD and DES understand how the provider is compliant, and is independently assessed/audited by an IRAP assessor.

This is where Intact Security can assist. We are working providers within the job services sector (JobReady, CoAct) and have a good grasp of where their strengths and sore points lie. Not only this, we are IRAP assessors and ISO 27001 Lead Auditors, enabling us to provide advice on how to achieve compliance and meet deed and ISM requirements. We have more than 18 years of technical and non-technical experience in information security.

Intact Security are in regular contact with DoE, ASD and providers to communicate feedback, address issues and bridge any concerns parties may have, this ensures a smooth transition and that there are no gotchas along the way.
Intact Security offer several options to assist in becoming compliant, whether it be a full document, extensively assisted option to a low touch, minimalistic guidance approach, Intact Security can tailor your certification prep so that you achieve compliance first go.

If, you’re concerned about how to deal with the ISM, IRAP or the DoE deed, give Intact Security a call today, for a no obligation discussion or follow this link and we’ll call you

Relax your security is INTACT

Author: Intact Security
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