Protecting your company against internet attacks from hackers requires constant effort much like keeping up the moat in a sandcastle against the ocean waves. When it comes to internet security, the sandbox is an extra safeguard to protect your company from disruptive hackers tempting your employees with emails filled with tricky malware, ransomware, and other phishing devices. Investing in the sandbox is an excellent tool to invest in your company’s defense strategy. The unwanted expense an attack internet security appliances into the realm of a reasonable approach. We’ll describe what the sandbox is and look at 2 different ways having a security sandbox may very well prevent an otherwise successful breach of your Internet castle.
A Sandbox is an appliance or a cloud application connected to your company’s firewall (your doorway to the Internet). Think of it as a filter to only let the good internet into your company. More precisely, any website to which your users attempt to access is sent to the sandbox first, in a split-second. All the scripts and programming on the page are accessed and “played” in the sandbox. If something bad is found, it explodes harmlessly in the sandbox and the user is prevented from reaching the infecting site. If nothing is found, the user is allowed to proceed and is completely unaware this split-second intervention took place. There are “software only” sandboxes available, but we don’t recommend them as the user will likely notice the delay in those circumstances.
This often comes from SPAM email. If you still have trouble spotting these, read my anatomy lesson HERE. We’ve all gotten them, the court appearance notice, the banking or online store notices and the fake social media emails. They all have links to malicious code. If you mistakenly click on one of these links the action takes place in the sandbox first to test for malware and infections. Should one be present, the user is politely informed the link is malicious and the email can be harmlessly deleted.
We’ve all done it. We meant to type “yahoo.com” and mistyped “yahooo.com.” Often, this is harmless and you’re taken to page where the owner simply wants you to purchase the incorrect domain name. Cyber criminals will use these type of sites particularly if it’s an event related website with mega traffic. Believe it or not, these guys are using SEO to find these and plan campaigns around it. If that much sophistication is being used, you can bet you’ll have someone land on the site by accident. As soon as the user clicks to access the website, the sandbox tests the page and stops the user before any malware is able to drop its payload.
It’s an extremely cool concept. Your users, as well trained as possible, are going to make mistakes. For the vast majority of threats, an expertly installed and maintained security sandbox will be well worth the investment if you never have to take a phone call from the CEO asking how long it will take to restore your entire network that’s been encrypted by an extortionist. You and your CEO will sleep better.
The best advice is to not click or open anything in an email of which you aren't expecting or feel secure. The list above is common sense to most IT people. My hope is to make it more common among the Internet Population in general. Lastly, the hackers are becoming more sophisticated each day. Talk to your IT group about detecting threats and ask about the Sandbox as an option for additional protection. The paradigm shift is toward detecting active threats. Be suspicious of all your emails and you'll be a detective for active threats yourself.
Complete Programmed Accounting, Inc. (CPA, Inc.), is a team of ERP software and CRM software integration specialists in the central Indiana area with over 20 years of experience supporting SYSPRO ERP, SYSPRO CRM, TRAVERSE ERP, TRAVERSE CRM, Platinum for DOS, and Platinum for Windows, where your support is our service.
CPA, Inc. was founded in 1992 with the following mission statement: “The ability to take advantage of the power of timely information lies in the successful implementation of complete, appropriately configured and properly installed financial and management computer systems.”
Contact Completed Programmed Accounting at: (317) 290-8702. Email: sales@cpa-inc.com. The Complete Programmed Accounting Web site is located at: www.cpa-inc.comFollow Complete Programmed Accounting, Inc. on:
Another version of this blog was previously posted on July 21, 2015 on CPA, Inc.’s BLOG site. Security Sandbox, Is Your Company Playing In One?
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