Security Policies and Procedures, Essay Example

There are several security policies and procedures that my team recommended preventing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks of a financial institution in New Zealand.

1. The development of a denial service Response plan. The procedure for this policy is through systems checklist assessments, identification, and filtering of tools to make sure everything is in place (Dobran, 2018). It calls for the formation of a response team that will inform when the attack occurs, making sure the team knows exactly who to call after the attack and have a list of external and internal contacts to inform about it. A denial service response will, therefore, enhance and tighten security and prevent DDoS attacks in the future.
2. The use of a security firewall. Firewalls are barriers or gatekeepers between the computer and the internet; this protects the computer from the spread of cyber viruses and malware. It filters all incoming or outgoing traffic to the computer by blocking malicious emails and preventing malware downloads from an untrusted website. There are two types of firewalls to consider; a hardware firewall and a software firewall (Kartich, 2016). Hardware firewalls are majorly routers that protect the entire local network from unauthorized external access; software security prevents overloading of servers with data, which results in network malfunction.
3. The use of security software such as anti-spyware, anti-malware, and anti-virus programs. These programs detect malicious codes and contain them. Some of the common signs of DDoS attacks include slowing down of systems, email server overloading, corrupting of data files, and unexpected changes in the content of files. Therefore, employees will be trained on how to use the malware. If any of these signs are noted and suspected, security software should be used to diagnose the issue. Thus, installing security software will regulate DDoS attacks through network traffic monitoring and analysis.
4. Update of programs and systems regularly. Updated systems and programs contain vital security upgrades that will ensure the safety of software (10 ways to prevent Cyber Attacks, 2020). This procedure is enacted through monitoring systems to prevent intrusions by use of detectors to alert unusual service in the computer system, such as email alerts or any other activity detected. In case of any traffic experience due to a DDoS attack, the intrusion detector will provide an alert.
5. Raise awareness. Updating employees on relevant security policies and procedures to alert them on any attack is important. The information security policy states that each staff should concentrate on doing their job, their role, and their responsibilities (Ilvonen & Hellsten, 2015). Therefore, putting the above policies and procedures into consideration will greatly protect and prevent network attacks, minimizing future DDoS attacks in New Zealand.

Therefore, the inclusion of these policies will ensure that the organizations are protected from cyber-attacks that may cause DDoS, thus damaging the company’s reputation, which may lead to loss of customers.

References

Dobran, B. (2018). 7 tactics to prevent DDoS attack & keep your website safe. Phoenix Nap. https://phoenixnap.com/blog/prevent-ddos-attacks

Ilvonen, L., & Hellsten, P. (2015). Preparing for cyber threats with information security policies. International Journal of Cyber Warfare and Terrorism, 1-12. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313118000_Preparing_for_Cyber_Threats_with_Information_Security_Policies

Kartich, R. (2016). Distributed Denial of Service Attacks: Four Best Practices for Prevention and Response. Insights. https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/blog/distributed-denial-of-service-attacks-four-best-practise.

Leaf-it. (2020). 10 ways to prevent cyber attacks. Leaf-it. https://leaf-it.com/10-ways-prevent-cyber-attacks/