Nowadays, most entrepreneurs or people in business are ignoring a serious threat that is happening around the world. With the growing technologies, many businesses are experiencing an expansive increase in cyber crimes and data breaches worldwide.
Business IT security is not just about protecting your network from malicious hackers. It’s about hardening your defenses against natural disasters (think fire, flood, and storms) and other potential threats in the real world that could impact your business. As a result, many businesses that did not even know about IT security are now applying certain measures to be safe from these threats.
This article will discuss some mistakes you should avoid regarding how your business can improve IT security. These tips will help you avoid trouble and stay ahead of your competitors.
1. Failure To Educate Employees
One of the biggest mistakes companies make in IT security is failing to educate employees on what they should be doing. For example, apps such as WhatsApp (which encrypts messages sent between users) are used by criminals as part of phishing scams. Most users would only know this if they heard about it from someone in authority within their company.
Employees who do not understand how to protect company data can put your business at risk. Train your employees on best cyber security practices to know what to do if there is an attack or other security incident.
Also, ensure they know about your company’s policies for responding to phishing emails or other attacks that compromise sensitive information like credit cards or social security numbers.
2. Not Securing Devices and Apps Properly
Do you know how many devices and apps connect to your network? Every device attached to your network has the potential to introduce security risks. These may include:
- Mobile devices, such as laptops and tablets. These can be lost, stolen, or used by unauthorized people to access sensitive data or perform malicious actions on your network.
- Endpoints, such as printers and fax machines. These have introduced malicious software into networks through simple USB drives plugged into them for maintenance purposes.
- Applications, such as email and web-based applications used by employees in the office or remotely from their homes. Such applications are often overlooked when securing networks. However, they can put sensitive information at risk of exposure and compromise if not properly secured.
It’s, therefore, easy for an employee to download an app or use a device and think that they’re safe because they’ve done everything right. However, these days hackers will find all kinds of ways into devices and apps to steal information or cause damage.
To avoid this, you must ensure all your devices and apps are properly secured. This includes ensuring they’re up-to-date with the latest operating systems and security updates. Also, install antivirus software on all devices so they don’t become infected with malware or viruses that could potentially cause damage or allow hackers access to your network.
3. Failing To Utilize 2FA
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the best ways to protect yourself from hackers trying to access your accounts by stealing passwords. With 2FA enabled, when someone logs in from an unfamiliar device or location, they’ll need the second piece of information before gaining access to their account.
This second information can be an SMS message sent to their phone with a code. They must enter it before gaining access or a one-time use code generated by an app like Google Authenticator on their smartphone.
4. Weak Access Control Mechanisms
One of the biggest threats to your business is cybercriminals. They are constantly looking for ways to gain access to your systems. You need strong access control mechanisms to prevent this from happening.
Access controls keep unauthorized users out of sensitive areas within your network environment. They’re vital in preventing hackers from gaining access to sensitive information and data and protecting your entire network from potential threats.
However, many companies need to pay more attention to this important aspect when implementing security measures. As a result, they leave them vulnerable to data breaches, malware infections, and other security incidents that they could easily avoid by implementing stronger access control mechanisms into their operation.
5. Lack of Proper Firewalls
A strong firewall prevents hackers from getting into your system and stealing data or disrupting your operations. Still, it helps prevent employees from accidentally leaking sensitive information or sending confidential emails to unintended recipients.
A good firewall also allows you to monitor traffic to spot suspicious activity that might indicate someone’s trying to hack into your system.
If a firewall is not properly configured, it can be exploited by hackers or malware. As such, you can use the following tips to avoid the wrong approach:
- Keep your firewall up to date. Most firewalls run on an operating system that needs to be updated regularly. This ensures you have the latest patches and fixes to keep your system secure.
- Monitor traffic carefully. By monitoring traffic going in and out of your network, it will be easy for you to identify any suspicious activity that may indicate an attack is underway. This can help you take appropriate action before damage to your business assets.
6. Not Having Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Tools in Place
Data loss prevention (DLP) tools help prevent unwanted access to sensitive information like customer credit card numbers or personal health information. They can also prevent accidental leaks of sensitive information such as social security numbers or email addresses from being sent in an email attachment or included in an Excel spreadsheet.
You can use this tools on email servers, Web gateways, file servers, and other systems within an organization. They work by analyzing the content sent across the network and flagging any content flagged by corporate policy as sensitive or confidential information.
If you don’t have DLP tools in place and someone were to accidentally share private information with a third party through email or an external document, it could spell disaster for your company.
It would risk a lawsuit and potentially damage your reputation with customers who have shared their private details with you in good faith, thinking they were protected.
Ensure Your Business Is Protected!
While not every business is a target, many businesses are. Cybercriminals will always seek out the weakest link in the chain. By applying appropriate safeguards to your business’s network and data, you can protect your company from cyber threats and reduce the probability of cyber risk to your company to acceptable levels.