If there is one thing that is clear from the latest Sophos mid-year security threat report, it is that traditional attacks on private data are still prevalent.  Perhaps the vectors are shifting but figures show Spam, Phishing and Malware are still a major source of worry for security personnel world-wide.

How can this be the case?  Why is it that the general public are continually fooled by Spam emails for example?  And beyond these basic questions, why don’t people, armed with the knowledge of rising online fraud crimes shy away from using services such as Internet Banking?

Michael McGuiness, Sophos’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations tries to explain “A general observation that we would make is that most people will default towards convenience over security. Though people are aware that credentials could get stolen, and bank accounts compromised creating a situation, at best a huge nuisance and at worst at significant financial loss for them, they are still unwilling to go back to the point where they hand write cheques and lick stamps.”

McGuiness continues, “The same is true in the corporate world, employees of a corporation understand that using an iPhone is not as secure as a Blackberry, they still demand the iPhone.  It starts at the top, it’s not somebody sneaking one in at the lower levels of the organisation, and it’s the CEO demanding the ability to use the iPhone to communicate with the board of directors about a critical earnings announcement.”

The Security Threat Report shows that the traditional security attacks are migrating to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.  Since April 2009,moving into 2010 reported Spam attacks reported from social networks increased from 33.4% to 57%, Phishing from 21% to 30% and Malware from 21.2% to 36%.  It is clear that criminal activity is moving into the online worlds increasingly populated by everyday internet users.

“The most common way to get infected these days is no longer double clicking on an attachment in an email, but rather following a link to a website,” explains McGuinness “Which is why the social networking vector is becoming more prevalent and prominent. It fools people, if you go to Facebook and up on your news page your best friend says ‘isn’t this cool?’  You don’t necessary think, wait a minute, was his account compromised? And was this sent as a way to entice me to a malicious website?  I start to think that way now, but I didn’t necessarily a month or two ago. “

McGuinness continues “You look at something and say, is that really what my best friend would have done. You don’t have to go to a website and click on something; you only need to be at the website and malicious code will execute, if you are unprotected.”

The organisation of criminals attempting to get hold of your private information is getting more professional by the year.  One way of enticing traffic to malicious websites is no longer simply to present an alluring link, instead malware writers are using current news events and search engine optimisation techniques to simply put their sites at the top of an innocent Google search.

Obviously money is being made by these organisations.  “It’s growing, it’s profitable, and it’s much more professional.” Says McGuinness  “ I have this vision of a modern malware author-hacker out there is a guy with a lunch box, [access] badge, health plan and a desk.  They show up at the office, badge their way in, and spend a day trying to steal your money, punch out, go home and coach the kid’s soccer team.”

“If you ask most people where does most malware come from?” says McGuinness “They would say Russia or China, but you can see from the report that it comes from the U.S.”

42.29% of Malware is hosted in the U.S according to the report, with China at 10.75%, Russia at 6.13% and Germany and France around 4%.

McGuinness is quick to point out that things are changing in China “Even more recently China has dropped much further down the ranking, the suspicion is that Chinese are just stopping out-bound spam.  If they determine a high volume spammer is residing in China they just shut down that IP address.  So I think China has become a very good corporate citizen of the internet in the last six months.”
How can the everyday computer user hope to beat organised crime gangs constantly attacking and probing for digital information?

McGuinness says” We are in a different world. When you were young, you had your parents to teach you when to cross the road safely, cross when there is a green man, not when there is a red man.  But who’s teaching our society currently about what is good and bad?  We are having to learn by accident.  We have the largest social change that has probably ever occurred in our social history, and that change is happening around us right now, legislation is a couple of years behind, law enforcement is a couple of years behind and one of the good elements that isn’t behind is the media.  I think you guys are doing a good job publicising what is good and bad whilst our society goes through its learning. “

Thanks Mr McGuiness, but there must be more weapons in our defensive arsenal?  McGuiness goes on “The other element other than good legislation and good education is obviously good technology, we are getting better at integrating and making that simpler.  The enemy of security continues to be complexity, so bringing together good elements of education, legislation and technology I think we will win the battle one day, but I think we are really only at the start of that process.”

How does a company such as sophos stay on top of new technology in this new world?  What are security firms doing to protect the public where a new connected device hits the market every month?

Roby Forsyth, Managing Director for Sophos in Asia Pacific explains” We actually have more people baking in security to new technology rather than bolting it onto the outside, so if you have a new product coming to market and you want the market to perceive it is a good product to use, and you haven’t thought of security then you will not be successful.  So that is why Sophos works with so many OEM partners to ensure we bake in their security.  I think we are getting better at it, there is a long road ahead but each new product that comes on the market is more secure than its predecessors.”

Michael McGuinness expands on this”Many of our customers are concerned about additional devices that they consider insecure, for example the iPhone, the iPad, however, the concern right now is less about malware and more about information loss.  It is very easy for people to carry around huge amounts of information on these devices, and if they are lost, or stolen or somehow compromised then that information is out in the wild, with potentially significant ramifications both in terms of regulatory compliance, IP protection even legal action.  We are a company that focus both on malware as well as helping companies with information protection, so we start to put in capabilities into our products that let companies assign policies for different types of device interaction.”

In Australia our (yet to be decided) Government is wrestling with the best options for connecting even more people to the internet, whether it is fibre to the home or some other technology, chances are that over the next few years even more folks will be greater consumers of connected technology than ever before.
Forsyth is also the Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of the Internet Industry Association of Australia and certainly has some thoughts on what the NBN may mean for the country:  “ The delivery of high speed broadband to our society, comes with some security risks to those that haven’t been exposed to it previously.  I suppose I am keen to see the rollout of any future broadband network have security baked in rather than tacked on.”

Forsyth continues “If we have a disadvantaged community in a remote part of Australia, who has not previously been exposed to the internet, and is suddenly given a 1GB link to their premises, that’s going to be a serious security risk to expose them to the worst of Eastern European crime.  It doesn’t matter if that is delivered wirelessly or  fibre, whether it comes at 12MB or 1GB, we still have an education process to go through, and if the government are going to get involved in delivering then they must take responsibility for delivering it safely.  We don’t build roads without having rules on those roads, without driver education and without standards for seatbelts and air-bags, there is a whole range of things that come together for that kind of safety, and should exist in any type of rollout of a National Broadband Network.  One way or another the society will end up with a fast broadband network, the delivery mechanisms will be decided on through government initiatives and commercial realities of what can be afforded, so I have no doubt we will get there, but I want to get there safely.”

Finally, there was a time when one of the selling points for Apple’s range of technology was that it was relatively immune to many security attack vectors.

McGuinness says” Don’t underestimate the bad guys, be very certain that they are in a free market economy, and so they invest their resources where their likely to get the greatest amount of return.  Historically Macs were a relatively low percentage of users, especially if one of the objectives might have been to steal corporate information.  I would say, in the U.S [today] Macs are fifteen percent of the corporate population, and growing.  And those fifteen percent are often contain the most valuable information, because their C level executives or key designers, or creators of intellectual property within an organisation.  They are the ones that feel they have the need or the power to say ‘I’m getting a Mac’.  As the prevalence of Mac use increases in both the home and the corporate environments, the bad guys are just going to start to target the Mac.”

Source: http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/security/41466-sophos-dont-underestimate-the-bad-guys

There are many manufacturers of alarm controls. Each manufacturer will also produce several models within a particular product line. Alarm companies purchase directly from the manufacturer or more often, buy their products through one of a few available alarm distributors in their area. These distributors and manufacturers do not sell products to the non- professional consumers.

As a general rule,  the controls that are most dependable and have the most programming options are more costly. I will teach you how to get the best control you can find as this will greatly affect your ease of use and ability to have your alarm adjusted to fit your lifestyle.

In the interest of keeping this device as understandable as possible for you, I will share the intense and hundreds of differences among these units and  will break them into a few categories that should make more sense to you.

BASIC

There are many basic units available to the alarm dealers. They often use these units knowing that the average consumer does not know the difference and it’s other concerns. A less qualified installer can also install these basic units, because there are few or non-programming and wiring options.

(HOT TIP!)
What you should be most concerned about when it comes to these basic units is that we, as professionals refer to many of them as ” CROWBAR SYSTEMS.” These systems come as a control, keypad, siren, communicator and backup power supply , all built into one unit. If a burglar breaks into your place and hears a siren coming from this unit, they are going to take the proverbial crowbar and smash it off the wall. At this time you would no longer have a control, keypad, siren, backup power supply or communicator to call for any help. A lot of good things that would do for you!

Now that you are already well-educated in the pitfalls of a self-contained unit,0 I doubt that anyone will be able to sell you any, or even give you one for that matter.

AVERAGE
The majority of systems that professional alarm companies install fall into this category. They are dependable for the most part based on how long the model has been going on into the market. Some of these manufacturers have just relied with their dependable product lines for over 20 years. Some of the newer models have nice new features but when it comes to mid-range units, I have always avoided turning my clients into product testers. These units are comprised of any number of separate components that are wired together to make you a complete system. This way, if someone knocks a siren or keypad or any other component off the wall, the alarm still does what it needs to do. The control panel in this range typically comes with at least eight zones. Zones give you the ability to use all or part of your system; you will also be able to pinpoint with some accuracy where a violation has taken place. An example of using part of your system would be as follows:

*You are staying at home and want only your perimeter devices on and your interior devices off.

* You are lounging in the back yard and want to go in and out of the back door so you go pass that door and motion detector while protecting the other parts of the house.

* You are leaving to work for the evening and your employees are staying late so you passby in the working place and arm the office so no one can enter a certain area.

When choosing your alarm company, avoid a dealer that has many brands and models available in this range. That could mean that they are buying whatever is on sale for that week from the distributor. The dealer that has been using the same model for many years is more proficient when it comes to installing, programming options and servicing the said model/brand.

HIGH-END

If you know what you want in an alarm system and realize that these high-end systems can be programmed to do exactly what you want them to do for many different scenarios, you would settle for nothing less. All of your presets can be activated usually with the touch of one button. It is my experience that all different features of these type of controls are designed for ease of use by the end user (That’s You!) and not the alarm dealer. They come with many zones so you have complete control over every aspect of your protection. These units can even be serviced remotely when changes are requested saving everyone’s time and money.

It takes a more qualified professional to properly install, find out what your requirements are, program the alarm to fit your lifestyle, and then teach you how simple it is to operate. I would assume you are like me and want the best-qualified installer you can find to work inside your home.

(HOT TIP!)
Find the dealer that places the highest number of installations in your area. Because of the volume they buy in, they will get the high-end equipment for the same price, while the rest of the dealers pay for the average equipment. They should always be willing to use the high-end equipment without charging extra cost to you, because it sets them apart from the others and due to the quality of equipment, they don’t carry the expenses of maintaining a large service team.

WHOM CAN YOU CALL?

FIXTEL (AN AUSTRALIAN BASED COMPANY),  your business communications expert in providing a secured, guaranteed quality system.

Let’s try to look at a typical zone layout for a control panel, so that you can understand the way it is wired and program works.

ZONE 1- (DELAY) This zone is where the doors from which you most often enter and exit are. When you turn your alarm on, the exit delay will start a timer (programmed to your specifications, if requested) allowing you time to get out. Once the exit time has expired, (usually about 30-60 seconds.) the alarm will be in the on or “armed” condition.

When you return to your home or business and enter through the delay doors an entry timer begins. This timer is usually set at about 15-30 seconds. You do not want to have a long entry time as a burglar entering through a delay zone that has the same amount of time in your protected area before the alarm goes off. During this time, you would go to the nearest keypad and enter your code to turn your alarm off.

(YOU SHOULD KNOW!)
The delay doors have a chime feature that can easily be turned on or off. Most people elect to leave this feature on all the time, so that they can hear a tone when the alarm is off and someone enters. The high-end systems can be programmed to have a different tone for each door. If you can spare a zone , have your delay doors put on separate zones as opposed to been having them share as one, and request that your control be programmed for different tones.

ZONE 2- (INSTANT PERIMETER) This zone would be for other than delay doors.
The back yard door and the master bedroom to deck doors are good examples of these types of doors. There is no delay timer on these doors and when the alarm is on and entry is made the alarm will go off instantly.

ZONE 3- (INTERIOR) This zone is for your motion detector on the main floor. When you enter through a delay door the motion will delay also, giving you the ability to get to the keypad to turn off or “disarm” your system. If you do not enter through a delay door first and the motion sees you it will go into an alarm condition instantly. When you are staying home or arming your business system without leaving, you can arm your system in the stay mode. This will passby your interior zone or zones allowing you to move around without restrictions while still having your perimeter secured.

ZONE 4-(INTERIOR) This zone is for your basement motion detector. It will function the same as your main floor motion detector.

(HOT TIP!)
Most alarm technicians will put multiple motion detectors on a single interior zone. I like to be sure these are separated, so that you have the flexibility of deciding which stays on and which are bypassed, when armed in the stay mode. This would be handy if you have an unfinished basement with windows, and you have no need to access that area while armed in the stay mode. This also gives you pinpoint indications of which area has been or is being violated when the alarm sounds.

ZONE 5- (INSTANT) This zone is for basement or lower level door or window contacts.

ZONE 6- (INSTANT) This zone is for main or upper level window contacts.

ZONE 7- (INSTANT) This zone is for main floor glass break detectors.

ZONE 8- (FIRE) This zone is for smoke and heat detectors. Any zone that is designated as a fire zone is on 24 hours a day even if the alarm is not armed.

As you can see, there is great flexibility in the way your alarm control gets set up for you. In all my years in the business, I have rarely seen an alarm company discussing this with the customer. Typically, they will create a general set-up standard and tell the client this is how it works. Understanding that you should be involved in this process helps you design a system that fits into your lifestyle, instead of having to adjust your lifestyle to your new alarm system.

This is yet another reason to be sure you are getting the most bang for your buck when selecting an alarm control.

(INSIDER INFO!)
The alarm installer most likely has the ability to program a lockout code into your alarm control. This code prevents a different monitoring or service company in the future from re-programming your system, rendering it useless unless you do business with the installing dealer. Insist on “NO LOCKOUT CODE” in writing from your installing dealer. This way, they have to earn your future business, leaving your freedom of choice intact.

Hardwired Systems vs. Wireless- Hardwired systems are those that have the devices wired directly to the control. Wireless systems send radio signals to a receiver in the control, which processes the signals. There is nothing more dependable than a pair of copper wires to send a signal from point A to point B. I would recommend a hardwired system over a wireless system in all instances where one can be installed. However there are times when the only thing that can be installed in your place is a wireless or “radio frequency” system.

If there is no basement or a finished one, and there is no accessible attic to run wire through, you would have to go wireless to have your systembe installed. In the wireless world, there is a great range of quality available. Wireless equipment is more costly than hardwired equipment in general because each device has a radio transmitter built into or attached to it. If you need to go wireless make sure you are getting the highest quality radios available. Some use common frequencies like 900 megahertz and others use licensed frequencies to transmit signals. The latter is the better one because there is little that will interfere with the signal. Some of the things that could interfere with the common frequencies are airplanes, CB radios, cell towers etc.

A good way to look at the differences in the quality of wireless equipment is to think of a wireless home telephone. The cheap $20.00 unit uses common frequencies. It works, but often has static and drops out. Sometimes you hear a neighbor with the same phone frequency talking. The range you can wander from the base is often less than desirable.
The $100.00 unit makes all the difference in the world and, although you hated spending the extra money on the replacement, you appreciate the quality gained.

I would rather not have an alarm system at all, before I would have one that I don’t use because it is always going off for no apparent reason. The high- end wireless equipment is extremely dependable and you must be prepared to spend a little extra to assure you are at this end of the quality spectrum.

(FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!)
If you have an area such as a basement or accessible attic to run wires in, and your alarm company wants to sell to you or give you a wireless system, consider not doing business with them. They are most likely going to use low quality, inexpensive wireless equipment and also save on the cost of installation. A wireless system takes less time for workers to install because they don’t need to take the time or to have the skill to hide the wires.

Wireless equipment has several other shortcomings that are unavoidable no matter what the quality of equipment you get:

* The transmitters are large and having one on each of your doors is not as aesthetically pleasing as the small hardwired devices.

* The transmitters have batteries in them that have to be changed periodically.

* Many wireless systems will not tell you if a transmitter is not working, so you have a false sense of security.

* Wireless devices are frequency and brand specific so they must match the manufacturer of the control. Updating your control in the future could thus render all your devices useless or restrict your choices in control features.

Hardwired devices of any brand with a few exceptions can be wired directly to any brand control. So if you are upgrading an existing hardwired system you will most likely be able to use the old contacts, motion detectors, smoke detectors, glass break detectors, etc.

One advantage of wireless equipment is that you can place devices exactly where you want them in what would be a complicated hardwire situation. There are great high quality systems at your disposal if a wireless system is a necessity for your installation.

You can also add a wireless receiver to any hardwired control at any time, so that you can transmit one or several devices to it. We call this as a hybrid system, since it is now both hardwired and wireless. Reducing the amount of wireless devices on your system will reduce your cost and increase your dependability. The same rule applies to a wireless system since you can hardwire in any device that you can get a wire into.

Be advised that even if you have a wireless system, there are still few things that must be hardwired to it, such as the keypad, power transformer, sirens and phone line. This may restrict placement of the control panel to an area that is wire accessible to all of these devices. It is worth repeating. There is nothing more dependable than a pair of copper wires to send a signal from point A to point B. If any wire would happen to get cut, it would open the circuit causing an alarm if the system is on.

Compare Apples to Apples- As you can see there is, as with most things in life a great range of quality available to you when choosing an alarm system and its components. Taking the time needed to compare all features of each component of your proposed alarm system will always be at your advantage. Most alarm consultants will jump to the high end of available equipment, if their potential customer is asking for the differences that are needed to be explained.

FOR INQUIRIES, ASK OUR EXPERTS!

CALL US AT: 1300-85-95-20 OR VISIT US AT OUR WEBSITE WWW.FIXTEL.COM