Dealership Security

Dealership Security

The Equifax data breach is expected to affect approximately 143 million Americans. This prompts the question, “How could this have happened, and could it have been prevented?” Fortunately, the answer is known. Equifax failed to enact core security practices and was hacked as a result.


3 TIPS TO AVOID A SECURITY BREACH

1) NETWORK EQUIPMENT PASSWORDS.

Many people often update their passwords on their workstations, but when was the last time you updated the password on your router or server? Equifax made the mistake of leaving the default login information on their equipment: Username “admin” and Password “admin”. Rotating your passwords is always a good idea.

2) PATCH MANAGEMENT.

Security patches are regularly released by equipment and software providers. These patches are designed to address security flaws, and potential attack vectors. It is imperative to keep your equipment running the latest security patches. In the case of Equifax, a security patch was released by Apache in March, and the hack occurred in May. This means that for nearly two months Equifax had not updated key security patches on their equipment. Furthermore, anyone else who has not patched this vulnerability is susceptible to the same attack.

3) SECURITY AUDITS.

Regular security audits by outside partners are specifically designed to test overall infrastructure and discover vulnerabilities. This allows businesses to address issues proactively rather than reactive. It is important to perform security audits yearly to ensure not only compliance, but also security. This is even more critical for businesses that process and store personally identifiable information or PII.

Questions or concerns about Dealership Security? Don’t hesitate to contact us anytime at info@enertronllc.com or (586) 757-1200.We’re always here and happy to help.