Do you know those horror stories you catch every so often where a huge business has their network hacked and millions of their customers and employees have their personal and financial information leaked onto the Dark Web? Your organization isn’t likely as big as theirs, but regardless of how much money, people, and diverse revenue streams an organization has, having its network breached and its customers’, or its employees’, information strewn about over the Dark Web is not an ideal scenario.
The problem is that you, like these enterprise businesses, spend huge percentages of your available IT budget on security. So why is everyone dealing with this problem? It’s simple: It only takes one mistake to put everything at risk. More precisely, all it takes is one person falling for a phishing scam or one person that has a too-easy-to-guess password to make big problems for your business. That’s why it is important that you give each employee the knowledge and tools necessary to keep your business secure. Let’s take a look at some tips you can use to do so.
Include Everyone
The first thing you should do is understand that anyone can be the weak link in your business’ security chain. Hackers have strategies that aim to target any level of your business, from your custodian to the CEO, and in order to stay secure, everyone has to receive the same knowledge and complete the same training. The only way to gain any confidence that you aren’t going to be the next business dealing with ransomware or a top-to-bottom data breach is if you know that you’ve prepared your people properly.
The security culture is not all that difficult to implement, in theory, but as we stated above, all it takes is one. This means that in order to put together a security training platform that works for everyone, you need to include everyone in it, and keep at it. Many times, an organization that falls victim to an attack has a thorough cybersecurity strategy in place, but complacency takes over. In order for people to work diligently to keep your company’s data safe, you need to make everyone aware that it is always under attack.
Meet Potential Problems with Solutions
Many times decision makers make the mistake that they can control everything. When it comes to security, however, there are almost assuredly people that know better. These security professionals, like the ones at North Central Technologies, deal with IT security every single day. As a result, they know exactly what needs to happen to keep your business secure. They know what training materials work, they know what antivirus and firewall to use, and they know a lot more than you do about how to keep business IT free of downtime and secure.
These professionals will ensure that all software systems are patched and up-to-date. They have worked with business-class software that is priced in a matter commensurate with its effectiveness. By hiring someone to come in and handle your in-house security infrastructure, you will be giving your employees all the tools needed to keep your business secure and working efficiently.
Create Policies that Eliminate Risk
In order to promote a secure network and infrastructure, the way that employees interact with their technology needs oversight. You need to put in policies and procedures that actively address the security needs of your company. This does two things: First, it gives your staff a set of very clear dos and don’ts. This way, if a threat is present, individual judgment is eliminated, and there is a unified response. You can’t be afraid of adequately preparing for security problems.
Some policies you will want to confront include:
- Acceptable use
- Phishing and spam
- Passwords and access control
- Multi-factor/Two-factor authentication
- Mobile device management
- Internet of Things monitoring
- Remote access
- Incident response
- Business continuity
- File and media destruction
- Physical security
…and more.
Moreover, physical security is a big part of keeping your business free from outside threats. A business needs to have a good physical security system that includes security cameras and end-to-end access control to ensure that all onsite assets are looked after.
Finally, there has to be an understanding that even if you’ve implemented a strong training system that actively keeps users engaged in the security of the company, there is always the threat that someone that already has access will use it nefariously. That’s why some businesses are considering security right from the first interview. If your new hire isn’t genuine enough to gain the interviewer’s trust, then he/she may not be a good fit at an organization where it only takes one lapse to ruin things.
If you would like to talk about your business’ security strategy, or if you want to put in a strong training platform and don’t know where to start, contact the IT professionals at North Central Technologies today at 978-798-6805.
