Cybersecurity, protecting your business from criminality: 9 tips.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the perfect time to reflect on the security of your data. That’s why we had a talk with Kris De Bisschop, managing partner at GroupWave and passionate about cybersecurity. In the spirit of ‘better safe than sorry’, we asked Kris to share some interesting tips & tricks on how to avoid data leaks and improve your security.  

Kris always had a keen interest in security within the broad definition of infrastructure. This interest and passion led him to test with the various security functionalities of Domino, even to the point that he wrote some interesting documentation and blogs on this subject. 

As passionate system engineer, he always implements an infrastructure with the necessary security measures in mind. When he analyses a new IT infrastructure, he makes sure the customer is aware of the potential gaps in their security and how to close them up. It’s without a doubt that Kris is the perfect person to share some tips & tricks on cyber security. 

A cyberattack, so what?

Cybersecurity attacks are everywhere and can lead to many problems. Leaking sensitive data, such as personal data, can have a big impact on your company but it’s not the main goal for hackers. “Hackers are no longer concerned with getting a hold of your data. They do it for the thrill of gaining access to all your internal systems and exposing your security issues. That leads to reputational damage and can have a huge business impact,” says Kris. 

So, what can you do to optimize your cybersecurity?

1. Authentication is important

Since the release of HCL Domino V12, there is a strong focus on making your applications available anywhere, anytime. Of course, you want to give your users access to your data and/or applications in as many ways as possible. There is nothing wrong with that, given that you provide sufficient authentication. Less anonymity means fewer possibilities for security breaches. 

2. Provide other ways of authentication

While authentication is important, limiting authentication to a username and password is simply not enough. We all know that even if you introduce password policies, passwords are still the weakest link. You need to provide an extra check so users must confirm their identity via, for example, an authenticator app on their phone. It isn’t always easy to implement multi-factor authentication into your application. Luckily, Domino has built-in multi-factor authentication functionalities, meaning that you can enable it with the push of a button. 

Since the release of HCL Domino V14, more enhancements have been introduced to use a central identity provider. We could already configure SAML, but now we also can use OpenID Connect for the authentication. 

Passkeys go a step further and eliminates the use of a password. Instead, the user will use a unique private key that can only be used in combination with the corresponding public key on the site or application that user wants to use. 

3. Use SSL certificates

Enabling a secure connection is more important than ever! By introducing HCL Nomad Web, you can access your applications via your browser. To guarantee a secure connection, you need to make sure that you make use of SSL certificates. These SSL certificates ensure your internet connections are secure and it prevents criminals from reading or modifying the information that is transferred between systems.

With the introduction of the new certificate manager task on Domino, there is no excuse anymore to configure SSL certificates on your servers.

4. Check your servers

With Domino, there are different layers of security that you must go through to access certain parts of your application. Authentication as you enter the server is important, but Domino doesn’t stop there.  Domino continuously checks whether the user has the correct rights throughout every action they take. The best thing is,  this all happens in the background, so no need to log –in multiple times during your session. User-friendly? Check! 

5. Rights management

As mentioned in the previous tip, rights management is a crucial part of creating a secure environment. Make sure that you have an organisational overview of who has access to the different levels of your application and how you are going to classify them. For example, are you going to work with specific groups or rather with individual profiles? A great example is an HR application. The HR department can access and edit all the data within the application. You, as an employee, can only access certain fields like address, marital status or phone number. Adjusting your wage is definitely a no go! 

In Domino, you can easily determine those rights on the level of individual fields. In comparison to other technologies, where you often have to go through all kinds of detours to reach the same settings. This not only results in additional costs, but also a greater margin of error and vulnerability. 

6. Directory synchronisation

Make sure that you sync your Active Directory with your Domino Directory. This way, you make sure that changes done in Active Directory are up to date in the Domino Directory and in one go you are sure that if someone leaves the company, access rights are also closed in Domino. 

7. Choose a Domino partner who considers security of utmost importance

At GroupWave, security is a top priority. Our goal is to unburden you as much as possible while you can rest assured that your security is airtight and that you can focus on your core business. We for example always start with an analysis of your configuration to make sure everything is sufficiently secured and keep an eye on the maintenance of your SSL certificates.

8. Choose safe third-party tools

It makes no sense to bet on security when you work with integrated tools that are unsafe. A good reliable partner who can help with integration and has knowledge of both parties is important. That’s why we not only focus on application development at GroupWave, but also on system engineering. Building an application is the first step, making sure it runs in the right environment in a safe way is crucial.

9. Create awareness about cybersecurity within your organisation

You can have great security, but if your people are not informed, you’re still at risk. Security is a shared responsibility across your organisation. Cyberattacks happen every day. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small or large corporation, everyone can be a target. “Thinking that it won’t happen to you, is wishful thinking and a dangerous attitude,” says Kris. 

With these concrete tips, you can ensure that your risk of a security breach is as small as possible  and that you create a safe environment in which your organisation can work. Are you still looking for additional information? Contact us and we will be more than happy to help you! 

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