Cyber Security for Finance Companies

Posted by Tushar Bedekar
comelec_data_breach
The recent data breach of information giant Equifax underlines the harsh reality that finance companies have to face – when it comes to protecting consumer data, size doesn’t matter. The financial services industry remains under constant threat of cyber attacks.


In the Equifax case, hackers were able to access the personal data of 143 million customers, reports CNN. The breach occurred when the attackers gained access to the company's Apache Struts software – used to develop its online dispute center web application.


Following the attack, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Cybersecurity had alerted Equifax and other users to the Apache system vulnerabilities at least a month prior to the attack, yet the data conglomerate failed to take immediate action to patch holes. The shocking headline is a reminder of the importance of continued monitoring and safeguarding a company's network infrastructure.  

The New Threat: Ransomeware Alert


On May 17, 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a press release stating, “a widespread ransomeware attack, known as WannaCry, WCry, or Wanna Decryptor, rapidly affected numerous organizations across over one hundred countries” – which highlights the importance of performing routine scans, penetration tests, and updates.
Among those identified as susceptible to the cyber threat were broker dealers, financial advisers, private funds, and investment management firms.

26% of advisers and funds (collectively, “investment management firms”) examined did not conduct periodic risk assessments of critical systems to identify cyber security threats, vulnerabilities, and the potential business consequences
57% of investment management firms examined did not conduct penetration tests and vulnerability scans on systems that the firms considered to be critical

Cyber Security Best Practices


Many SMBs in the financial services industry are wondering what they can do to keep their network safe and secure. By following a standard protocol and by following the best cyber security solutions for financial businesses, you can feel rest assured you will be armed and ready for attackers.

Develop & Distribute Cyber Security Guidelines – In the unfortunate event your firm is attacked, ensure that all employees are aware of the firm’s cyber security protocol. Keep the document updated and notify employees regarding changes.

Train Your Employees – Appoint a cyber team leader to schedule periodic training meetings. If your firm works with outside IT specialists, the appointed team leader will work closely with your outside cyber security team to schedule office visits and train employees on security systems.

Perform Routine Risk Assessments – Perform routine risk assessments to monitor and catch potential threats. Get alerted to the latest “Risk Alerts” published on the OCIE website. However, working with an outside cyber security firm takes the pressure off. Your dedicated IT Specialists will monitor your network, scan your system, and implement preventive measures that mitigate risks.

Consider An Off-Site Cloud Server Data Management Center – The most proactive security measure your firm can take to safeguard its data network is a cloud server-based solution. This is sophisticated data solution that employs the around-the-clock monitoring of data management center to service your servers, storage, and applications.

Proper Detection And Elimination Tools


The threats are real and they are unstoppable. Attackers troll the web 24/7 - on the lookout for a way into your company’s data infrastructure. However, malicious spyware, ransomware, and malware can be detected and eliminated before it causes any serious or permanent damage.

By implementing proper detection and spyware elimination tools finance companies are able of keeping customer data out of the hands of cyber hijackers. Your cyber security team or IT Specialist needs to be ready to act immediately to carry-out your cyber security guidelines to catch suspicious activity and suspected threats. Also, ensure that periodic risk assessments are performed on a timely basis.

Expert IT Specialists

The types of methods deployed by cyber attackers are constantly shifting and evolving, presenting a challenge for cyber security professionals. To stay ahead of threats, work with a dedicated team of cyber security specialists.

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--AUTHOR INFO—

This is the Guest Post Written by Stephanie Rowan who works as an IT Consultant at NIC. And I think he is an expert in Information Technology after receiving such a nice drafted article as a gust post from him. 
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How Big Data And IOT Technology Is Shaping Our Future

Posted by Tushar Bedekar
The future of all aspects of our culture and society will rely on advancements in IoT technology and big data. While big data and IoT technology are two different technological concepts, each is directly related to each other, and the future of each are tied to each other.

IoT technology will allow individuals and companies to connect various aspects of their life through devices that communicate with each other through an Internet connection. These devices will open new possibilities to help individuals accomplish their personal goals, along with allowing businesses to increase efficiency in all areas of operation.

IoT is the technology that focuses on collecting massive amounts of information from individual devices. However, the information that is collected is only as good as the ability to analyze and interpret the information based on specific criteria.



Big data is a vital component for the advancement of IoT technology because big data provides the capability to store and analyze massive amounts of data to find specific patterns and make sense of all the information collected. 

Big Data Is The Backbone For IOT Technology

As technological advancements continue to speed ahead, IoT technology is seeing a big push in capabilities and integration into cultures across the globe. The progression of the web is a system of physical items which could be retrieved through an Internet connection.

These connected devices and sensors are being integrated into everyday products like cars, thermostats, and dishwashers. As more devices become connected, sensors are becoming embedded with technology that can interact with other sensors across all aspects of the environment.

IoT will continue to collect more data, and big data processing will help make that information more relevant. Here are three ways that IoT technology and big data will improve the future of connected devices.

1. Improved Data Quality

It’s easy to collect massive amounts of evidence, but it's hard to ensure the quality of data as the volume increases. Even more, data scientists are finding it increasingly difficult to analyze and interpret data as the stream of incoming data increases at the same time.

Big data and IoT is the rise in the quantity of information which will hit the information storage framework for personal and business applications. Data centers will need to utilize advanced data processing practices to ensure there is the appropriate capability to analyze data in real-time, especially at peak periods.

2. Big Data Will Increase Cloud Computing

Taking into account the massive effect IoT will on information storage infrastructure, organizations have started to move towards the Platform-as-a-Service version, a cloud-based alternative, instead of relying on physical storage centers on-site.

Unlike, in-house info systems which will need to be continuously updated as the information load rises, PaaS offers flexibility, scalability, compliance, along with an elaborate architecture to store all valuable IoT data.

Cloud storage alternatives include private, public, in addition to hybrid versions. If a business has sensitive information which is subject to some regulatory compliance conditions that need heightened security, utilizing a personal cloud are the ideal plan of action. For other businesses, a hybrid or public cloud may be used for the storage of IoT data.

3. IoT Technology And Big Data Will Drive Personalization

In a world driven by technology, the ultimate goal of IoT technology and big data is to provide a personalized experience on an individual basis. No longer will people read a generic marketing message. Instead, businesses will be able to engage with individual customers based on unique qualities and input as defined by data submitted from their IoT devices.

For example, the popular Nest thermostat will find patterns for the temperature of a home based on the season and specific preferences of a household. This information can be used in conjunction with other data points like air filtration systems to provide personalized product recommendations based on allergenic, seasonality, and other factors not available to businesses or consumers today.

Another example of IoT making communications hyper-personal is the fact that IoT technology will reshape how we commute throughout our day. Instead of physically driving, autonomous car technology will allow us to engage with interactive media. This means that companies will have a new opportunity to speak directly to their customers and customize Internet marketing message based on geographic location, final destination, and other factors.

Personalization is only possible if IoT technology and big data systems work together to collect and process information in a way that makes that data meaningful. These two technologies will allow a new level of customization and personalization in all areas of life.

IoT And Big Data Will Focus On Security Concerns

Security concerns will continue to be at the forefront of technology. The ability for hackers to break individual devices that are collecting data will be an issue, along with, the security of data centers and big data processing locations. All of these points present potential security concerns for individuals and businesses that utilize IoT technology.

IoT is a new and quickly evolving specialty, which means that many data specialists lack the technical know-how and best practices to secure information collected and stored by IoT devices. Attacks of any type can endanger more than just information. There's also the risk of damage to the apparatus on the network.

Within this sort of world, it is going to become necessary for businesses to make crucial changes to their safety landscape. IoT apparatus will come in assorted sizes and shapes and will be found beyond the network, but also has to have the ability to communicate with corporate programs.

The future of technology looks bright as we continue to see advancements in IoT and big data. These technologies will continue to impact our lives in ways we might not have even thought of yet, but if technology leaders keep the future in mind then we will keep seeing the benefits of this technological evolution emerge!


--AUTHOR INFO—

Chris is a Digital Media Strategy Consultant who helps small business owners grow their business with SEO and PPC Management Services. He is passionate about digital marketing, emerging technologies, and transportation issues.
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What to Do With a Failing Hard Drive

Posted by Tushar Bedekar

 When a hard drive eventually fails, for the vast majority of end users it can come as a real shock. Panic begins to set in, then you realise you did not back up the vast majority of the files on your hard drive.

Trying to fix it is the natural cause of action, especially if you have important data on it that you would like to access. But the chances are, unless you have some understanding of exactly what causes it or what you’re doing, there’s very little that you can do to fix it.

If you’re fortunate and most of the drive has remained to intact, then the problem could be caused by the printed circuit board (PCB). A damaged PCB is usually caused by a power surge which inadvertently overheats the drive. In situations like this, you can take the drive to a computer technician who can repair it by replacing the PCB with a working one.

However, there are those other circumstances when things can be a little more difficult to gauge what is what.

Determining What Causes the Crash


When you experience a hard drive crash, the first thing you’ll want to do is determine whether or not the crash was logical or physical. This can be quite tricky; though there are some tools that you can use to monitor your drive, letting you know when there may be potential problems with it. If your computer crashes and refuses to boot up, such circumstances can be caused by both physical and logical failure.

If your computer refuses to boot up, and you hear clicking, grinding or whirring sounds, that is a good sign that the cause of the failure is physical. At which point, you’d want to power the system down and consider physical repair solutions.

That said, as I touched on earlier, there are many tools that you can use to predict when your hard drive is going to fail, these tools do that by reading the S.M.A.R.T (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) data that is recorded by the operating system. Unfortunately S.M.A.R.T is known for being quite unreliable when it comes to predicting hard drive failure as the drive failure will usually occur before the S.M.A.R.T warning kicks into action. If you have a hard drive that is working, but you’d like to keep tabs on its health, then there are a number of tools that you can use to do that. So be on the lookout for them.

Logical Hard Drive Failure


Logical failure typically occurs when the hard drive is fine, health wise, but you are unable to access your operating system. There are many different factors that can cause this. A corrupt system drive, a malicious file or human error, all are capable of causing a drive to crash. When you experience a failure on this scale, cloning or imaging the computer will usually not work. Utilising professional data recovery software is your best option, although there is a Check Disk tool that you may want to try (assuming you can boot into Windows).

Accessing this tool is as simple as doing the following:

1. First, boot into your computer with full administrative rights.

2. Then press Windows Key + R, type into the Run Command box and click on OK.



3. When My Computer loads up, right click on your Drive and select Properties.



4. This will load up Hard Drive Properties, from here, click on the Tools Tab, and then click on the Check Now button under Error-checking.



5. When the Check Hard Drive applet appears, tick the box next to automatically fix file system errors and scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, then click on Start.



One thing you must keep in mind is that, just because you are unable to access the data on a crashed drive, it doesn’t mean the data no longer exists. The option that you choose to take will be determined by how important the data on the drive is to you.

Physical Hard Drive Failure


If the crash of your hard drive was due to a malfunction, there is still a good chance that the data on it is still intact and accessible. The best giveaway for a physical fault is clicking and grinding noises whenever you turn the computer on, never mistaken these sounds for a malfunctioning cooling fan. In most cases the sounds will be relatively loud, however in some other cases you may be required to open up your PC case to hear the sounds.

If you are still able to boot into the operating system while the hard drive is making those noises, it’s possible that you could clone or copy the hard drive, but it will come at a risk. Do not try booting up the computer then using an external hard drive to copy the files from your active faulty drive, as this will stress the drive out even more. Your best solution is to remove the drive altogether and put it in a working computer as a secondary drive and use Data Recovery software to clone or copy its contents.

If you are able to retrieve the data on it, then you’re done. Next thing you’ll need to do is purchase a new hard drive and install your operating system and applications on it. This process can take some time, but is not too difficult. Alternatively, if you were able to clone your drive, you could simply copy the contents of the old drive to your new one. That way you won’t need to reinstall anything, just install the drive as your primary and you’re good to go.

Conclusion


Its best that you do not rely on software or those tell-tell signs to let you know when, if ever, your drive will fail, as it is most likely that it will fail unexpectedly, without any signs or warnings. You’re best option is always to be one step ahead of these incidences, by backing the data up on your computer constantly.

  

--AUTHOR INFO—


Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website where he writes extensively on failing hard drives and other computer related issues and topics.


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Types of Cloud Computing

Posted by Tushar Bedekar
Basically cloud computing is divided into 3 categories.

  • SaaS (software as a service)
  • PaaS (Platform as a service)
  • IaaS (Infrastructure as a service)

Software as a service - SaaS

SaaS s a software that is centrally hosted and managed for the end customer. It is usually based on a multi tenant architecture - a single version of the application is used for all the customers. It can be scaled to a multiple instances to ensure the best performance at all the locations. SaaS Software is typically licensed through a monthly or annual subscription.
Example :- Microsoft Office 365 is a prototypical model of SaaS. Other example are                                    Dropbox,WordPress and Amazon Kindle.

Platform as a Service - PaaS

With PaaS, you deploy your application into an application-hosting environment provided by the cloud service vendor. The developer provides the application, and the PaaS vendor provides the ability to deploy and run it. This frees developers from infrastructure management, allowing them to focus strictly on development.


Infrastructure as a Service - IaaS  

An IaaS cloud vendor runs and manages server farms running virtualization software, enabling you to create VMs (Virtual Machines) that run on the vendor’s infrastructure. Depending on the vendor, you can create a VM running Windows or Linux and install anything you want on it.
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What Is SAP

Posted by Tushar Bedekar

Introduction

SAP stands for Systems Applications and Products in Data ProcessingSAP SE is a German multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Today Large number of companies are using SAP software to manage their day to day business activities.

SAP modules
  • SAP was founded around 1972 by five IBM engineers Hopp, Wellenreuther, Hector , Tschira and Plattner.
  • There are different products of SAP.

  1. SAP R/3 and R/3 enterprise.
  2. SAP business suite.
  3. SAP ERP (Enterprise Resourse Planning).
  4. SAP industry Solutions
  5. SAp xApps.
  6. SAP solution Manager.

  • There are different versions of SAP.

  1. SAP R/1.
  2. SAP R/2.
  3. SAP R/3.

  • Here R Stands for real time processing.
  • Basically the SAP is a 3 layered architecture.(Presentation - Application - Database) 
  • All these versions differ by the combination of these layers. 

SAP R/1

It is one tier architecture in which three layers are installed in one system/server.

SAP R/2

Here there are two system/server.The presentation and Application layer is combined to form one layer. and there is separate layer for database.

SAP R/3.

Here all the three layers are installed on 3 different server systems.

There are different Modules in SAP which are divided into two categories

  1. Functional Modules.
  2. Technical Modules.

Functional Modules of SAP.


  • FICO- Finance & Control.
  • PP- Production Planning.
  • MM- Material Management.
  • SD- Sales & Distribution.
  • HR- Human Resource.
  • CRM- Customer Relation management.

Technical Modules of SAP


  • ABAP- Advanced business application programming.
  • XI- Exchange Infrastructure.
  • Net Viewer
  • Basis
  • BIW - Business information warehousing.


In the next article You will learn about Introduction to SAP (ABAP) Advanced Business Application Programming 


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What Is Object Oriented Programming Lanugages

Posted by Tushar Bedekar
There are basically two eras of the programming languages to which we have seen which are as follow:-

  • Structured (procedure) oriented programming language
  • Object oriented programming language
There are many structure oriented programming languages such as C, Cobol, Pascal, Assembly languages etc. where we make use of functions (procedures) and supposed to write the programme sequentially with the data and functions mashed up in the form of the sequential statements.
Here in the procedures oriented language the data is allowed to flow freely in the programme.A confusing statement. To understand it let's take an example we have a programme which consist of global variable declaration and being assessed by the two or more number of functions as given bellow

#include<stdio.h>
int a=10;

int add()
{
int b=5;
a=a+b;
printf("%d",a);
}

int sum()
{
int c=7;
a=a+b;
printf("%d",a);
}

int main()
{
add();
sum();
return 0;
}

as here we are seeing that the different functions sum() and add() are modifying the value of the (global variable a).Also as the function sum() is being executed after add().So due to which the value of variable a gets changed before the execution of sum(). This actually the free flow of the data within the different functions.

This drawback is being removed by the object-oriented programming language which binds the data and functions together. This data and function bounded together was collectively known as object.


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