Titan would like to pass along the following information from the FBI Cyber Division, measures to deter unauthorized access to computer networks:

• Educate personnel on appropriate preventative and reactive actions
• Scrutinize links contained in e-mails and do not open attachments included in unsolicited e-mails
• Disable macros; be careful with pop-ups from attachments which require users to enable them
• Only download software, especially free software, from known and trusted sites
• Create a centralized email account for employees to report suspicious emails
• Change network default passwords, configurations and encryption keys
• Recommend you organization’s IT professionals review, test and certify the need/compatibility of a patch or update prior to installing in onto the operating system or software
• Monitor employee logins which occur outside normal business hours
• Restrict access to the Internet or systems handling sensitive information
• Install and regularly update anti-malware solutions, software, operating systems, remote management applications and hardware
• Do not use the same login and password for multiple platforms, servers or networks
• Monitor unusual traffic, especially over non standard business hours
• Monitor outgoing data, and be willing to block unknown IP addresses
• Isolate sensitive information within the network
• Only allow required processes to run on systems handling sensitive information
• Implement two factor authentication for access to sensitive systems
• Ensure proper firewall rules are in place
• Be aware of the organization’s footprint and persona facing the Internet
  • Conduct searches using multiple search engines on multiple Internet domains of the organization’s names, web addresses, key personnel and projects to determine if there is an accidental weak point in the network security
  • Conduct infrastructure look ups in the public domains to ensure additional information is not inadvertently advertised
• Implement a data back up and recovery plan to maintain copies of sensitive or proprietary data in a separate and secure location
  • Backup copies of sensitive data should not be readily accessible from local networks
• Regularly mirror and maintain an image of critical system files
• Use strong passwords, implement a schedule for changing passwords frequently and avoid reusing passwords for multiple accounts
• Enable network monitoring and logging where feasible
• Be aware of social engineering tactics aimed at obtaining sensitive information
• Securely eliminate sensitive files and data from hard drives when no longer needed or required
• Establish a relationship with local law enforcement and participate in IT security information sharing groups for early warning of threats

To read the full FBI notification, click here.