Installing and upgrading Oracle E-Business Suite can be an extensive process that involves the coordination and orderly implementation of several databases and business systems, leaving even seasoned professionals forgetting one of the most crucial aspects: security. Security isn’t always at the top of the list when you’re getting ready to go-live, but it is the single most important element when running Oracle EBS successfully for the long term.
Cutting edge security features are available for all recent and updated Oracle applications, but there is still room for humans to misconfigure and mismanage Oracle EBS security. Efficient management allows CISOs to enforce and optimize their security precautions and protocols to create a seamless experience from end to end. For a good cybersecurity strategy to be effective, everyone in the company must be on board and committed to preventing a data breach.
Company-wide Focus on Cyber Security
Relying on passwords is no longer an effective strategy for protecting company data according to 80% of CISOs. Today’s cybercriminals are stealthy and incredibly innovative, which means that organizations need to be diligent about implementing security solutions. The increase of remote workers and IoT devices used to access company information has created a wide attack surface with many entry points for fraudsters to inject malicious code or trick employees into giving up pertinent login information.
Cybersecurity solutions are never one and done. An effective security solution requires around the clock monitoring, prevention, and a backup plan in the event of a worst-case scenario. In light of the recent slew of security breaches and ransomware attacks affecting thousands of businesses in the US alone, costing trillions of dollars in recovery, organizations are wise to investigate whether or not their security solutions are strong enough to contend with today’s hackers.
A hyper-focus on cybersecurity is a trend that should become a long-term priority that is integrated with daily business tasks from the lowest level employees to the board of directors and even those in C-level positions. Data breaches can be incredibly costly, and can cause significant damage to customer privacy and company data. Security is not just an IT problem – it’s a company-wide issue.
Mitigating Security Issues
Oracle EBS touches nearly every aspect of IT infrastructure and contains vital financial, HR, and consumer information, so it is important to ensure that your organization is effectively utilizing security features like database encryption and application firewalls.
However, these features alone may not be enough protection depending on the amount of critical data, the number of users with access, and their level of security clearance. Mitigating security issues involves a combination of automated tools, employee education, and implementation of company specific protocols in case a data breach occurs.
Let’s discuss some of the areas that companies need to address in order to ensure that Oracle EBS security is optimized according to company needs.
1) Trusted access and cybersecurity education
Creating a secure Oracle EBS environment starts with properly designed access roles. Implement a zero-trust model, requiring multi-factor authentication and managed sign-on for all employees and restricted access according to the specific tools that are necessary for each role. This limits the attack surface and helps auditors detect vulnerabilities so that more robust security protocols can be integrated as necessary.
The enforcement of an effective cybersecurity plan also involves regular and thorough education for employees regarding the common ways that hackers will try to access critical data and login information. Employees are the first line of defense when it comes to cybersecurity.
2) Prevention, Detection, and Automation
By the time an attack is fully realized, it is often already too late. Adequate prevention and detection methods that utilize automation are key to protecting consumer data and other proprietary information. Use tools that have a comprehensive security framework for protecting all levels of your network.
To fully protect your company from today’s security threats, organizations need to have high visibility into all layers of the enterprise infrastructure so threat detection can occur rapidly.
The faster a threat is detected, the higher the likelihood that it can be contained and eliminated. Automated tools that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning are keys to exceptional security monitoring and protection.
3) Super Users
The Super User feature of Oracle EBS is a double-edged sword. It’s intended for administration-level tasks with a root (or super user) account. This account has the ability to override user file protection, manage file systems, and add other users.
However, allowing unlimited privileges to a single super user profile can be very dangerous for an organization if those credentials get into the wrong hands. It’s important that this feature is only activated if there is no other way the desired functionality can be achieved.
4) Consistent tracking and auditing
As an additional layer of security, IT should consistently track changes to know who is changing what data and for what reasons, especially when it comes to vendor and client information. It’s recommended that both automated continuous tracking is utilized as well as regular manual audits, making regular reviews a standard means of finding errors and potential fraudulent actions.
5) Backup and cyber-attack response planning
If the worst does happen and your organization falls victim to a ransomware attack, without a backup of relevant data your business could go dark and be at risk of large financial losses.
A managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution is an asset that many enterprises can’t afford to miss out on. But at the very least, you should maintain a separate backup of critical business data on a separate, secure network. Additionally, make sure that IT and operations disaster recovery plans are regularly updated with procedures for every department to follow in the event that a malicious attack does occur.
Conclusion
In today’s digital environment, it is unwise to rely on firewalls, multifactor identification, and encryption alone when it comes to protecting critical business data. An effective cybersecurity plan involves tools, automation, education and ongoing change tracking and data management.
There are many options when creating a security plan for Oracle EBS, but effectively managing and implementing it takes special attention to detail and effort from everyone in the organization.
The areas of focus discussed here are just a few that organizations can use to enhance their security plan that will have an immediate impact on data protection. A true cybersecurity solution is a company-wide commitment to the prevention of hacks and data breaches.