Companies that suffer security breaches almost always have one of these IT security problems. Is your company guilty of any of them?
No Backups.
A shocking number of businesses are not backing up their data properly. According to market research company Clutch, 60 percent of businesses who suffer a data loss shut down within six months. 60 Percent of Small Companies Close Within 6 Months of Being Hacked (cybersecurityventures.com)
Not only should every business be fully backing up their data, but their backups should be regularly tested to work too. It is a step that businesses miss surprisingly often. Many businesses do not find out that their backup cannot be used until it is already too late.
Reactive and not proactive
The world is constantly changing. The IT world doubly so. Attackers are always figuring out new ways to break into businesses, hardware evolves faster than most can keep up, and old systems fail due to wear and tear far quicker than we would like. A vast number of businesses wait until these issues impact them directly before they respond. The result is higher costs, longer downtime, and harder hitting impacts.
By responding to hardware warnings before it fails, fixing security holes before they are exploited, and upgrading systems before they are out of date: IT can be done the right way. Being proactive about your IT needs means systems do not have to break or compromised before they are fixed. The result for your business is less downtime, fewer losses, and lower IT costs.
Weak Passwords.
I know, I know, not again! However, password security issues are not going away until the importance of strong, unique password creation is engrained into our subconsciousness.
A surprising number of people will use the password “password” to secure some of their most important accounts. Even more still will write their own password on a post-it note next to their computer. In some cases, many will even use no password at all. Strong passwords act, not only as a barrier to prevent unwanted entry, but as a vital accountability tool too. When system changes are made it is often essential that the account that made changes is secured to the right person.
With an insecure password or worse; none at all, tracking the individual responsible for reports or accountability becomes impossible. This can result in both auditing disasters on top of technical ones.
Insufficient Staff Training.
Some companies can take an ad-hoc, fast and loose approach to storing professional data. Often crucial parts can be spread across many devices, copied needlessly, and sometimes even left unsecured. Client data can be found regularly on employee laptops, mobile phones, and tablet devices. These are famously prone to being misplaced or stolen out in the field along with vital client and security data.
It can be easy for both employees and companies to focus on the costs of devices and hardware purchased for the business. The reality is that the data held on devices is almost always worth many times more than the device that holds it. For many companies, their approach to data has not been changed since they were first founded. Critical data is often held on single machines that have not been updated precisely because they hold critical data. Such machines are clearly vulnerable, outdated, and prone to failure.
Common problems with simple solutions
Each of these common issues have simple solutions to secure against IT failure. With a professional eye and expertise in the field, every business should be defended against IT issues that risk the company.
Contact us at www.norfolkcs.co.uk or 01953 857980 for a free audit and friendly discussion on how we can help.