NEW DELHI: Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. has announced the 'Protect Your Business' aimed at IT administrators in small, medium and large enterprises. Under this campaign, Microsoft will roll out various initiatives, which will help enterprises secure their IT environment by providing information, tools, guidelines, and updates on a regular basis. As a part of this program Microsoft also announced the immediate availability of the Security Guidance Kit (SGK).
The kit will serve as a resource pool providing third party tools, templates and how to guides for addressing common security concerns facing organizations today. Customers can order the Security Guidance Kit at: http://www.microsoft.com/india/security. The SGK will be delivered within three-four weeks of placing the order.
Microsoft had earlier launched the 'Protect Your PC' campaign, a program aimed to secure desktops of end users, as part of which it had launched a 'Free Virus Support Helpline' and 'Windows Security Update CD'. The 'Protect Your PC' and 'Protect Your Business' programs are part of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, aimed at educating and empowering customers to take the right decisions related to IT security.
Commenting on the Security Guidance Kit, Jasminder Gulati, Manager Enterprise Marketing, Microsoft India said, "According to the PWC - CII Information Security Survey 2002-03, within Indian organizations, only 41 percent of the respondents had a comprehensive security policy in place. We realize that a part of issue lies in customers not being aware of what constitutes a good security initiative or policy, or of the measures they can undertake."
He further added, "Being leaders in this industry, we are committed to enabling businesses to communicate and operate as securely as possible, and are sure that the Security Guidance Kit will help tremendously."
The SGK is aimed at enterprise customers and some of the key security issues faced by these customers today include:
° Virus and patch management - Software is complex by nature and it is generally accepted that flaws may be discovered in well-tested and well-respected products even after being in the marketplace for years. This augments the need for frequent and timely patch management thus, ensuring complete security.
Microsoft offers a number of tools to help customers manage patches and simplify the task of keeping systems up-to-date. The SGK provides guidance to assess the IT environment and implement an effective software update and security patch management strategy
° Securing remote access - Most companies are today investing in remote access solutions to increases productivity and provide flexibility to users. However, these solutions can also lead to vulnerabilities and it is important to secure remote access to minimize the risk of an attacker gaining unauthorized access.
The SGK includes a step-by-step guide for setting up Virtual Private Network (VPN) based remote access; creating and testing connection manager profiles; and setting up remote access certificate provisioning for identity management
° Enhance workstation security - Workstations often contain hard-to-replace or confidential data that may be compromised if a security breach or attack occurs, or if a laptop is lost. Even with firewalls and security update management processes in place, workstations in organizations face security threats. Also, with the increasing volumes of emails in corporate, ensuring that email attachments do not compromise IT security is paramount.
In the Security Guidance Kit, Microsoft provides guidance for implementing client Operating System security measures as a part of an overall defense model including multiple layers of security. The CD also provides guidelines and tools to secure the desktop
In addition, the CD provides customers the following information - a list of Microsoft call-centre details and events calendar, in-depth information about recent security trends and a CD with the tools needed to check and safeguard the system. The CD also contains free software tools from Microsoft, which can be installed or copied to other computers in the network.
More information on Microsoft security guidance & local resources can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/india/security
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