FLORIDA SECURITY WEBSITE JOINS WITH FDLE TO EDUCATE FLORIDA POPULATION ON ISSUES OF CYBERSECURITYSecure FloridaNetwork Security
“If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, then you will be hacked. What's more, you deserve to be hacked.”
--Richard Clarke, Special Advisor to the President


Network security is a complex issue. Traditionally, only well-trained and experienced experts have been responsible for the security of computer networks. As more and more people become regular computer users, there is an increased need for people to understand the basics of security in a networked environment. The information on this page, and throughout the rest of this section, was put together with the basic computer user in mind, explaining network security solutions for the non-professional.


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To help ensure the network security of your home or business, take the necessary precautions outlined in the three guidelines below.

“There are two kinds of computer users: those who have lost data and those who will.”
--Dr. Roger C. Schlobin


Internet Connection
If your business has a broadband Internet connection (T1, DSL, Cable), your network may be vulnerable to intrusion (see the "Dangers and High Speed" section at this link). You can easily protect your network with firewall software. Firewalls are utilized to identify users that attempt to access your computer network. Those with authorization are allowed to enter; others are not.

E-mail System
To ensure that a third party does not intercept your company’s e-mails, always make sure that you have the right address before clicking “send.” An incorrectly typed e-mail address can put your information in the wrong hands. Furthermore, encrypt highly confidential e-mail messages with an encryption program. Encrypted e-mails can be read only by people holding the code, usually only the sender and the recipient.

Website
The company that hosts your website has control over how secure it is. Before you hire an outside company to host your website, evaluate the safety of their server. Make sure they use security technology, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), that can secure e-commerce data. Ensure that they perform security audits regularly. Furthermore, a web hosting company should keep computer hardware physically locked up in order to prevent theft of the hardware itself.