How secure are your network and data? High profile incidents continually remind businesses that cybersecurity is anything but guaranteed. One attack on your network can cause dramatic setbacks for your company and potentially make you liable for losses suffered by your customers.
So, as a business owner or manager, you should make cybersecurity a top priority. Get started by reviewing the current state of your network. Afterward, you should start employing the following security measures.
Focus on Risk
Many companies spend their time and money complying with the laws and regulations that apply to their data. Although compliance is necessary, it doesn’t imply security. You need a thorough risk assessment.
As part of your evaluation, be sure to identify and prioritize all your assets. This will help you to prioritize your activities in ways that secure your most valuable resources first. As a result, you can maximize the benefits gained from the money that you spend.
Secure Endpoints
Beyond their in-house workstations and equipment, businesses have to worry about the mobile devices used by their employees. As part of your security effort, you must identify and secure all your network endpoints. Remember, hackers always look for the biggest vulnerabilities.
You can get professional endpoint protection solutions from firms such as Carbon Black (carbonblack.com/products/). These services can dramatically simplify operations for your business while enhancing network security.
Create a Policy
Every company should have policies in place that define acceptable use of corporate network resources and connectivity. Additionally, security policies should govern the creation and use of passwords, physical access to systems, and how to identify, report, and respond to security threats.
After creating your cybersecurity policy, require that every employee adheres to it as a condition of employment. You also need to ensure that your team receives adequate training, so they properly understand and adhere to published security policies.
Backup Data
In addition to compromising your data, malicious attacks can also destroy it. Regardless of whether your network gets shut down by ransomware or by a virus, you need a way to recover. This means that you should have a backup regime in place.
Carefully consider all your options for backing up your data. These may include on-site and cloud-based backups. Remember to periodically verify your backups so that you know that you can quickly recover should you lose access to your business resources.
Restrict Access
User-level access controls can help you control what data your team members can access. This can protect you from internal threats that include snooping, accidents and malicious behavior. So, rather than allowing your employees full access to all your data, limit them by granting them only the access level needed to do their job.
Admittedly, keeping tight controls on user privileges can require extra time, but doing so can dramatically reduce cybersecurity threats. Meanwhile, remember to proactively manage user-access privileges to your cloud-based applications.
In conclusion, you can take practical steps right now to start employing the best cybersecurity measures. As you implement the above steps, remember that help is never far away. In the end, your serious approach to network and data security can pave the way for a successful business and prosperous future.
