Think of it this way: a thief is walking down a street lined with parked cars. He stealthily attempts to open the doors of each car he walks by. If its locked, he moves on. He doesn't even leave the sidewalk to try the street side lest he expose himself to viewing by the buildings across the street. He tries the next car, and the next, and the next, until he finds an open door on a 9 year old unassuming sedan. He sits down, rifles through the glove box, under the seat, center console, floor in the back seat, and takes whatever he can carry. He even finds an extra ignition key in the glove box, but he doesn't care he has no intention of stealing the car. However he just walked away with your $90 sunglasses, your $50 Pottery Barn gift card you got for Christmas, an iPad on the floor of the back seat, and worst of all several old credit card and banking statements you left in your center console.

This thief did not need any specials skills, he didn't have to pick or jimmy the lock, or disable a sophisticated car alarm, nor did he even care whether it was an expensive foreign car, he just wants to go after that easy, "low hanging fruit". This car is the average small business. Now what if he didn't take the expensive sunglasses you would have looked for as soon as you sat down, and the iPad which you would have needed at the next stop, would you have even noticed the missing credit card statements and gift card right away? He would have spent that gift card before you could act on it, and the bank statements could lead to identity theft at worse and a breach of your accounts at best. Our thief hit 20 more vehicles that day, a lucrative haul for him, but while your minor theft doesn't seem like it would be worth investing in a sophisticated alarm and protection system, it would be a worthwhile thing to make sure your doors are locked.

We have designed specific penetration tests and security audits for small businesses. We can "harden" your systems without spending ANY money on elaborate intrusion detection systems. While it would be ideal to have all the bells and whistles, our audits will first tell you what someone searching for the low hanging fruit could find, if they can exploit it, and how to plug those holes (lock the doors), as well as secure your systems a bit more than they probably are right now. All giving you peach of mind and maybe a little more sleep.

Michael G. Zenzer

Information Technology Manager, MCSE/MCITP | Security+