9 CYBERSECURITY BEST PRACTICES FOR YOUR IT TEAM
A global shift toward remote working environments has created an open-season for cyber crime.
No business—regardless of size or industry—is out of the cross hairs. Small and medium businesses
(SMBs) are particularly at risk, so make sure your IT team is prepared and have implemented cybersecurity best practices!
Nine tips to help your IT team
There are ways to protect business data against ransomware attacks. Here are nine tips
to help your IT team boost your business’ resilience to cyber attacks:
- Renew your security risk assessment.
Things change over time. If it’s been a while
since your IT team has thoroughly assessed
your information security posture, be sure to
clear up some time on your schedule to get
that taken care of! - Train your employees. Because cyber
security threats are constantly evolving, an
ongoing training plan should be implemented for all employees. Your IT provider or internal team should be able to arrange such training. - Get password hygiene under control.
Implement a password policy that requires
strong passwords and check for leaked
employee accounts through dark web
monitoring. For more comprehensive security, consider mandatory multi-factor
authentication, ongoing network monitoring,
and hard drive encryption. - Keep all devices updated. Your IT team
should already be taking care of patching and updating the devices — but that may not
include all of your staff’s personal devices,
laptops, phones, or even smart devices in the
office. Be vigilant about patch management
for these devices, and speak to your IT team
about adding coverage as needed.
- Create straightforward cybersecurity
policies. If your IT team hasn’t created
internal information security policies, doing so should become a priority. Strict, documented policies are a critical part of an overall security strategy. - Consider your data backup policies.
You should already be running a data backup
solution as part of your IT strategy. (If not, now would be a good time to start!)
Review how your data needs may have
changed since first implementing this solution and determine if you need more frequent backups or other recovery options. - Conduct a cybersecurity practice restore. The best way
to know if you have the right Backup and Data Recovery solution in place is to test it in a real-world scenario. If your IT team hasn’t
conducted a practice restore to get a complete picture of what lies ahead in times
of disaster, make it a priority. - Know where your data resides. The more
places data exists, the more likely it is that
unauthorized individuals will be able to access it. Your IT team should help you use data discovery tools to find and appropriately
secure data and implement Software-as-a Service (SaaS) applications that allow for
corporate control of data.
9. Control access to computers. Use key cards or similar security measures
to control access to facilities, ensure that employees use strong passwords for
laptops and desktops. Administrative privileges should only be given to trusted
staff.
Your IT department or IT provider should be your source of up-to-date,
reliable cybersecurity information and cybersecurity best practices. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and always
err on the side of caution.
