Global action taken by FBI and NCA law enforcement agencies is helping to disrupt the worldwide network of computers being controlled by criminals to steal personal financial details and other sensitive data. In 2014, GOZeuS malware (also known as P2PZeuS) was said to be responsible for the fraudulent transfer of hundreds of millions of pounds globally, with a number of well-publicised, high profile attacks. Recent intelligence has suggested that more than 15,500 computers in the UK are currently infected, with many more potentially at risk.

Every network-connected individual and organisation is at risk but there are particular perils in the monitoring sector. Monitoring services increasingly require network access. In fact, it has become an essential feature of many systems, adding significant value and increased efficiency, but also bringing risks which can seriously threaten monitoring operations.

Alarm Monitoring Centres

Well-managed alarm receiving centres are well aware of the threats and enforce strict policies when it comes to network access. Anyone who has experienced the damage caused by viruses, spyware, exploit kits and other malicious attacks know these can be extremely time consuming, frustrating, costly and disruptive. For those organisations which do not take steps to protect themselves, it is more a case of when rather than if they will fall victim.

To help support our own monitoring customers in the context of this environment, Bold has launched a new managed service in partnership with AVG, called CloudCare. AVG CloudCare offers a range of protection and maintenance features to safeguard systems from such attacks. These include antivirus protection, concealed threat removal and automatic backups in the cloud.

Problems can arise when employees visit certain, non-work related, websites, particularly in the lonely hours. CloudCare’s content filtering option enables businesses to monitor, and if necessary, block selected sites. It also enables protection against spam and encryption for email.

AVG CloudCare from Bold

AVG CloudCare is a centrally managed service only available via authorised service providers such as Bold. Fully supported by Bold’s technical team, AVG CloudCare can be installed on all PCs, both those supplied by Bold and customer supplied hardware. The service provides detailed information on the antivirus status of the user’s computers as well as potential issues with firewalls, Windows services and potentially unsafe installed applications. The service allows antivirus settings to be applied quickly across all computers as needed. For example, where files supplied for a third party CCTV integration might be rejected by the antivirus software causing crashing or other undesirable symptoms – in one action all these files can be excluded via the central portal managed by Bold.

System protection does not replace the need to exercise common sense when network connected. However, Bold’s CloudCare provides an excellent technical solution to protect devices communicating over the network.