Cybersecurity Takes Effort at 3 Levels

The way people talk about cybersecurity, it’s as if it is something like a television or a new phone: something you can just buy. That’s not the truth. When you are seriously looking at how you can keep unwanted entities off your network, while having control over what you do with your technology, you need to look at it as three levels of security.

Protecting Home Base

Physical security is one of those elements of business that you either love or hate. The people who love it tend to be deliberate, patient people. The people who don’t tend to want access right now and without hindrances. First, it is a balancing act. Secondly, it’s ants vs. elephants. You need to protect your investments, your staff, your data, and your physical technology. 

There are all types of things that you can do to increase your level of physical security. 

• Get an access control system - This option is probably the most prudent physical security investment you can make. There are all types of solutions: key fob, ID card, smartphone, even biometric. The idea is simply to get a read on when people come and go, what they need access to, and to protect company assets with the use of technology.
• Get some security swag - When people feel like they’re being watched they don’t tend to be as foolish as when they know they aren’t. Getting some digital security cameras can provide you with eyes (and ears) all over your business, and they serve as a pretty good deterrent, too.
• Security! - If you don’t mind spending some money, one of the very best ways to promote security at your place of business is to, in fact, hire some. Albeit, expensive, if you have personnel on duty, not many physical security problems will come your business’ way.

Protecting your place of business is extremely important and, on some level, has to be a priority. Problems of physical security don’t just extend to peddlers and madmen; they can more often result in more subdued problems such as cybercrime. To that end...

The Battle Against Cybercrime

Cybersecurity can be a problem from inside your office, but more often it comes from outside your network, even if (as we’ll talk about later) it’s often triggered by someone on your side. In order to sufficiently protect your Internet-facing systems, you’ll need a plan that includes the following routine actions:

• Software patching - In order to keep the software your business relies on from being a direct avenue to your data, you will need to ensure that each piece of software is routinely patched and updated regularly. 
• Spam blocking - Your organization gets literally hundreds or thousands of messages per day coming in from senders you didn’t request anything from. In order to separate the legitimate mail from all the other rubbish, you will need to have a spam blocker in place.
• Firewalls - You will want to make sure that firewalls are set up on all applicable spots on your network. A well-updated enterprise firewall will catch most malicious software that is thrown at it. 
• Multi-Factor Authentication - Where you can, you should be using two-factor authentication. It may take a few moments longer to get into your account (more if you left your smartphone in the car), but it will be worth it when you don’t see a data breach. 
• Use of security tools for work outside of the office - Today’s business is a remote business. Making your team utilize secure connections--whether it be through a password-protected remote access software or with the use of a virtual private network--is a great strategy to keep business data safe. Mobile management is also extremely important as many people are now working on their mobile devices. 
• Get tested - Once you think you’ve created the comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, get it tested. You need to be sure that it is effective at stopping today’s most powerful threats. Call SMART Services today and our team can help you set up a test of your organization’s cybersecurity.

Now that you have all the tools in place, you have everything updated and you have eyes (actual or virtual) on your access points, you then come to the most difficult part of creating a three-level security plan that will protect your business’ digital and physical assets: training the assets themselves. 

Keep Beating the Dead Horse

It’s true that you need to have a plan to train your employees on solid security practices. The problem becomes when you have taken all the steps that you were supposed to, invested heavily in the training and testing of each employee only to have someone make a mistake and cause major problems for your organization. 

Most of the threats your business faces come into your network from cybercriminals and scammers of all types through your communications platforms. Each day, literally billions of phishing emails are sent, and you can only imagine how many scam calls someone may get per year. The point is that these problems are coming at your business from all directions and it would be a shame if someone on your team was the reason that your business is dealing with a major data leak or other digital disaster. So, if you aren’t actively training your staff about phishing and other cyberthreats, you have to start today. Some points of emphasis include:

• Password Hygiene
• Data Security Practices
• Secure Processes
• Access Control Standards
• Social Media Use
• Conformity to Policies

Don’t let your business get hacked. The IT security experts at SMART Services can help implement the cybersecurity policy (and the tools) needed to ward off cyberattacks and keep your business’ data secure. Call us today at 586 258-0650 .