talking technology
IT security is often overlooked in most small businesses, even though surprisingly, small businesses are at the same risk as larger companies.
According to a US based report on cyber security by Keeper Security, 50% of small and medium business have been breached in the past 12 months. In such an interconnected world, geographical location now has little bearing on vulnerability.
Prevention is always better than a cure and some of the methods in defence we recommend can be both simplistic and affordable.
We have compiled a basic checklist to ensure your IT provider is recommending the right advice on security.
Anti-virus software: All notebooks, desktops and servers need Anti-virus software with current subscriptions and up-to-date security definitions. The threat of a virus infection could cause significant down-time, data loss and even data theft.
Patching: Ensure your computers and servers have the latest operating system updates. These updates help prevent security exploits and can also provide additional features to your systems. Are you still using Windows XP or older? These operating systems are no longer supported and do not receive any security updates.
Firewalls: Firewalls help to prevent unauthorised intruders gaining access to your network. Combinations of software and hardware firewalls are recommended for the greatest protection. It may be as easy as ensuring your Windows firewall is turned on and your router has firewall protection built in and enabled.
Passwords: Is your password ‘password’? Or ‘123456’? Often overlooked, passwords are very important to help protect your network. For the best results a password should be changed regularly, be over eight characters and comprise of numerical and uppercase letters at a minimum.
Spam: Do you receive a large amount of
spam emails? Does your network have appropriate spam filters in place? Spam emails are one of the greatest threats to your network and spammers are consistently trying new ways of getting into your inbox. Ensure your network has appropriate spam detection software or that emails are being filtered using first line of defence online services.
Folder and file restrictions: Do all staff have access to all folders and files in the network? Can they access HR or financial information? It’s important access levels are associated with various staff members. This could help prevent a disgruntled employee deleting information or limit effects and data destruction from malware threats.
Education: Do all users know how to keep their information secure. Ensure users can browse the internet safely and understand what they can and cannot do on business computers? The biggest threat to a business network is often the users themselves. Users need to be correctly educated, made aware of company IT procedures and abide by IT policies.
Software: Outdated software can occasionally provide easy access for intruders. Network preventative maintenance should be carried out often.
Maintenance will ensure old software especially remote access programs are removed or updated to their latest version.
Monitoring: Is your network being proactively monitored? How do you know when backups are failing? How long could it take before you are aware of a virus infection? A good IT provider will offer managed services to their clients allowing IT environments to be monitored 24/7. For the best protection look at a managed services option from your trusted IT provider. This will help to ensure security threats are prevented and dealt with swiftly if required.
If you have doubts that your IT network may not be secure, feel free to contact the team at Managed BITS Warragul for an obligation free security audit of your business IT network.