How to Make Sure your Security is Protecting your Technology
It’s important to know if your security is keeping up with technology. This includes knowing what security will be most effective for your business needs.
Keeping up with advancing technology while protecting data and computer systems is an evolving challenge for most businesses. There are several questions a company needs to ask when determining if their security is keeping up with their technology.
What are the Newest Cyber Threats?
Some of the newest cyber threats are not technically new, but new and more dangerous versions of previous problems. The following are several security concerns business owners need to watch out for.
- Sophisticated Phishing Attacks – Phishing attacks have evolved and now include machine learning to fool employees into opening malware. These messages are crafted to more effectively convince individuals to provide logins and other types of credentials.
- IoT Attacks – More devices are interconnected than ever before. Smart devices that are connected provide businesses with more effective ways to communicate. Unfortunately, they also provide more avenues for hackers to gain entrance if not adequately protected.
- Ransomware – Ransomware has been around for years, but is becoming more sophisticated and occurring more often. Security Boulevard states that by 2021, a ransomware attack will be expected to take place every 11 seconds.
What are Your Specific Business Needs?
It’s necessary to pinpoint a business’s particular needs before security can be addressed. For example, a medical practice will likely have greater cybersecurity needs than a construction company. The regulations that a particular business must adhere to should be considered when evaluating security needs. According to Forbes, a business should also consider the frequency of patching and software updates when determining how well their technology is protected.
What Security Measures Will Be Most Effective?
What type of security a business needs will depend on a variety of factors. Does the organization store sensitive medical data? Do they handle business transactions that include connections to customers’ banks? These are just a few questions a business will need to answer when crafting a security to plan. There are several security measures a company will want to consider.
- Firewalls – Firewalls include software or hardware that blocks malicious attacks and unwanted programs from gaining entrance. This is a security measure that virtually every organization needs. According to Inc., 60 percent of all small companies will shut down within 6 months after experiencing a cyber attack.
- Password Management – Passwords are the lock that thieves often try to pick first. Passwords should not only be changed at least every 90 days, but should be changed completely so they’re not similar versions of the old password. Multi-factor authentication should also be considered when making passwords as secure as possible.
- Encrypting Data – Data encryption is effective because even if data is stolen, it’s still unlikely that it can be accessed. Organizations that have any type of patient or medical information should encrypt this information to provide the highest security possible.
- Employee Education – Like firewalls, providing ongoing training and education for each employee is necessary for companies of all sizes and types. Phishing attacks are continually becoming more sophisticated while spear-phishing attacks are increasingly personalized and can be extremely deceiving.
What Can a Managed IT Service Do for You?
Matthew Doan states in Harvard Business Review, “We’re now beyond cybersecurity’s “whack-a-mole” past of addressing one-off vulnerabilities.” This means finding the right IT service is crucial to creating a successful security plan.
A managed IT service can help a company define specific cyber threats unique to their business and understand exactly what type of security measures will work for them. BC Networks provides IT services for a variety of industries including engineering services, financial institutions, healthcare, and manufacturing. They have the experience and expertise to help each organization develop and carry out an individualized security plan that includes data backup and disaster recovery. Schedule a free consultation to see how BC Networks can work with you to make sure your security is keeping up with your technology needs.
Experience and strategy are what set us apart from other San Jose, Silicon Valley & South Bay IT companies. We deliver consistently optimal results following our carefully developed and mature set of IT practices and procedures.
