EC-Council Warns SMEs of Rising Cyber Attacks Across the Globe

<p><location value="LU/us.nm.albque" idsrc="xmltag.org">Albuquerque, NM</location> (PRWEB) <chron>September 23, 2011</chron></p><p><org value="ACORN:3023560228" idsrc="xmltag.org">Cyber</org> criminals are stealing as much as <money>$1 billion</money> a year from the accounts of small to medium companies (SMEs) in <location value="LC/us" idsrc="xmltag.org">the United States</location> and <location value="LR/eur" idsrc="xmltag.org">Europe</location>, according to estimates from Dell SecureWorks, a security arm of the computer maker. With rising incidences of hacking and other such <a href="http://www.eccouncil.org/training/advanced_security_training/courses/advanced_network_defense.aspx">network defence</a> issues, network defence expert <org>EC-Council</org> advises SMEs to educate their employees on good information security practices and habits.</p><p>According to a recent <org>Bloomberg</org> report, overseas gangs target small commercial accounts protected by rudimentary security measures at community or regional banks. The accounts typically aren’t covered by fraud insurance, as individual accounts are, and businesses often find themselves held accountable by the banks for their losses.</p><p>Owners of SMEs conventionally face the challenge of having to be a jack of all trades, combining a keen knowledge of their core businesses with a basic knowledge of many other specialised fields such as IT security.</p><p>When it comes to IT security, small companies face a particularly problematic situation. While they have data which requires protection, most of them have neither the staff nor the capabilities to protect it effectively. Network protection has remained at the same levels for decades while viruses and other malware have grown more advanced in nature, able to bypass even the most updated network defence.</p><p>As such, <a href="http://www.eccouncil.org/training/advanced_security_training/courses/advanced_network_defense.aspx">network security courses</a> are important in training SME’s limited staff in the basics of network defence, such as learning to use effective passwords and encrypting sensitive data, says <person>Jay Bavisi</person>, President of <org>EC-Council</org>.</p><p>Some examples of courses offered by <org>EC-Council</org> would be the Advanced Network Defence course, a three-day comprehensive course that will educate participants from the psychological standpoint of a hacker, using that as the foundation for defending against such attacks.</p><p>The course will also cover techniques that will improve the security posture of any network from the smallest basic infrastructures to the largest enterprise networks.</p><p>“It is often said that the best defence is a good offense, and this course provides an offensive mind-set to provide a robust and solid defence”, said Bavisi.</p><p>Through <a href="http://www.eccouncil.org/training/advanced_security_training/courses/advanced_network_defense.aspx">network security training</a> like these, employees can learn the latest and best defence methods to stop or at least mitigate the impact of network attacks, including any advanced persistent threats to a database.</p><p>Before investing in security technology, small businesses should assess their current network defence capabilities, and choose solutions specific to their individual situations. In the past, IT security for small businesses has been notoriously expensive and difficult to set up. However, it is an undeniable necessity in the digital marketplace of the 21st century.</p><p>About <org>EC-Council</org>: <br /><org>The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants</org> (EC-Council) is a member-based organisation that certifies individuals in various e-business and information security skills. It is the owner and creator of the world-famous Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), <a href="http://www.eccouncil.org/certification/computer_hacking_forensic_investigator.aspx">Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator</a> (CHFI), and as well as many other programs that are offered in over 60 countries through a global training network of more than 450 training partners. For more information on network security training, visit <a href="http://www.eccouncil.org/">http://www.eccouncil.org/</a></p><p>###</p><p>Read the full story at <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8811235.htm">http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8811235.htm</a></p>