Reports of security breaches in organizations across the globe hit the headlines daily. These attacks reveal the lack of quality cybersecurity strategies and practices in these organizations. Unfortunately, this is the true state of many businesses’ information and technology (IT) security systems. (1)
The security of your data and systems is crucial for the well-being of your business. Your business financial records, trade secrets, and customer and employee information have to be protected at all costs. If any of them is compromised, you risk losing too many resources and even have your reputation tarnished as a company with poor security.
The best way to keep your business from becoming a statistic in a cyberattack is by employing quality security practices. That said, here are five tips to ensure both the quality and security of your business IT:
1. Hiring A Managed IT Services Provider
One of the best ways to ensure quality and security for your business IT infrastructure and systems is by hiring a managed IT services provider. This is where you outsource the management of all your IT needs and duties to a third-party expert to reduce your in-house team’s workload.
Hiring a third-party service provider also helps fill the gaps in your in-house team’s skill set and roles. They can include on-site workloads as well as those on the cloud. Here are several benefits you get when you work with managed IT service providers:
- Cost-effective services as you only pay for the services you need
- Expert IT and security services
- Increased IT efficiency
- Reduced downtimes
- IT support availability 24/7
- Compliance with privacy and security regulations
However, you need to ensure that the managed IT services provider is reputable and qualified on paper and in practice to offer quality services. You can read these additional resources on managed IT services providers. (2)
2. Don’t Ignore Insider Threats
Visualizing outside threats is easy, and they are often what most people associate with security threats—they’re also associated with high financial losses. But insider threats are just as real and should never be ignored.
Insider threats can even be worse than external attacks as they can be difficult to detect or prevent. These attacks can be deliberate, but unintentional security breaches due to a lack of training can also cause similar issues. Clear security practice policies and guidelines, access control, and team member training are just some things you need to ensure the quality and security of your business IT.
3. Secure The Data And Not Just The Firewall
It’s common for many companies to concentrate on creating preventive measures to protect data and then forget about securing the data itself. While you may spend a large portion of your budget setting up a firewall and other access restrictions, remember that cybercriminals can find ways to circumvent these measures. Securing data itself as well is one of the best ways to ensure the quality of your security.
Hackers can and will use different means to get past your initial line of defense. If they get past the firewall and your data is not properly secured, they’ll have no trouble stealing valuable information. This is why you need to make sure all sensitive data is protected by data encryption. With properly encrypted data, hackers that get past the firewall will only have access to files they can’t use without the proper encryption keys.
4. Regularly Test Your Security
What is the one sure way to check if something is working right? You test it. This also applies to testing the quality of your IT security. You don’t need to wait for a real threat to expose the gaps in your IT systems. Test the quality of your business IT security yourself. Carry out routine audits and assessments to ensure that your systems are not vulnerable to attacks.
Of course, cybersecurity starts with your place. Look around the office for possible security risks. Keep an eye out for sticky notes with passwords carelessly displayed in the open. See if employees log out of sessions they’re no longer actively using. Testing the quality of your IT security on your own gives you time to make the appropriate measures. (3)
5. Enforce Proper Restrictions For Cloud-Based Tasks
Using cloud-based applications and workflows in business is the order of the day, and with good reason. Cloud computing offers many benefits to businesses, including scalability, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility. However, moving your business workload to the cloud exposes your data to new threats, with human error being one of the most common examples.
A simple misconfiguration can lead to the exposure of your business and customer information to outsiders. The best way to ensure the quality and security of your business IT on the cloud is by enforcing strict permissions and access control. Instead of applying default permissions, ensure that the read and write permissions are strictly controlled or allow read-only access to all but manager-level staff.
Takeaway
Ensuring the quality of your business IT security is crucial to the continuity of your business. Any lapses in security can lead to serious consequences. However, following the five tips in this blog post can help you keep sensitive information safer from cyberattacks and maintain your company’s reputation as a digitally secure business.
References
- “The cyber-threat landscape: The digital rush left many exposed”, Source: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/cybersecurity-privacy-forensics/library/2021-digital-trust-insights/cyber-threat-landscape.html
- “6 REASONS AN IT MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER IS YOUR TICKET TO NETWORK SECURITY”, Source: https://www.swicktech.com/SWICKtech/Resources/Blog/6-Reasons-an-IT-Managed-Services-Provider-is-Your-Ticket-to-Network-Security.htm
- “Testing Cybersecurity Effectiveness: The Importance Of Process Validation”, Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/10/19/testing-cybersecurity-effectiveness-the-importance-of-process-validation/?sh=5117a7566662