Five Steps to Better Basic Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity needs to be one of any business’ primary considerations. More than it ever has been before, cybersecurity is one of the biggest day-to-day issues that a business needs to deal with; and, this need is only exacerbated by the shortage of cybersecurity talent and loyalty to outdated security strategies have put many businesses in an unenviable, and vulnerable, position.

One crucial component of any successful cybersecurity practices is the active effort to eliminate risk wherever possible. Here, we’ve compiled five practices that will contribute to your business’ capability to recognize where its threats come from. While these aren’t exactly policies to help protect your data, they can help you collect the data you need to form these policies.

1. Inventory All of Your Assets

When you resolve to protect everything, as many business owners do, it helps to know what exactly “everything” includes. Maintaining a comprehensive inventory of all of your technology-- each wire, additional peripheral, and software title your business has acquired--makes managing your technology far simpler and more efficient.

2. Push Cybersecurity Best Practices

Your staff, being the ones with their hands on your business technology, need to be trained on how to maintain its security. As it happens, this training should transcend just security and cover their cyber hygiene as well. The more they know about how to better secure their use of your technology and identify threats and issues, the more secure your business will be.

3. Address Shadow IT Head-On

Shadow IT is an insidious problem that many don’t even consider an issue. The phrase “shadow IT” basically serves as a blanket term for any software that an end user has downloaded without the knowledge and approval of the IT administrator. While there are many potential issues with shadow IT, the worst of them likely comes from the vulnerabilities that unapproved and unpatched software can bring into the network. By enforcing a policy of utilizing only the solutions that IT has vetted and approved, you can protect your business from one of the least expected threats there is: the employee who was just trying to do their job.

4. Ensure the Proper Tools are Implemented

Cybersecurity, on paper, isn’t such a difficult process. The issues come from the fact that everyone involved needs to understand the threats facing them and why the practices and tools they are expected to utilize are so crucial to security. Unfortunately, if the reasoning behind using antivirus and anti-malware, firewalls, spam blocking and content filtering (among other security tools) is never addressed, their use is more likely to be taken for granted, and ultimately neglected. Not only should these tools be in place, there needs to be an organizational commitment to using them… otherwise, threats are more likely to be an issue.

5. Keep IT Refreshed

As a general rule, the older your technology gets, the less effective it is at serving its intended purpose. This can be resolved by making a point of systematically and strategically patching, updating, and upgrading the technology you rely on to operate. More up-to-date solutions have better security and can better keep your assets safe, threats less of a consideration (but still one to be consideration).

k_Street Consulting, LLC can help you put these practices in place for the betterment of your business and its security. Reach out to our team for improved cybersecurity by calling (202) 640-2737 today.