Business Focus: Security solutions
We show what to look for when choosing a security solution, and test four options.
Data security is a major concern for every business. For smaller organisations, a breach can be catastrophic. Aside from the damage to your brand reputation, you could face legal sanctions for failing to protect confidential information. The fines can be steep enough to push you into insolvency.
Don’t assume that your business will escape the cyber criminals’ notice. A report by IT services provider Beaming found that, during 2016, UK businesses were hit by almost 230,000 cyber-attacks. The threat is real – and it’s growing ( pcpro.link/273cyber).
At the same time, the regulatory environment is getting stricter. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which SMEs are broadly expected to comply with, comes into force on 25 May 2018. A business that falls foul of its requirements could be faced with a fine of up to €20 million, or 4% of its annual turnover - whichever is higher.
Clearly, the smart way forward is to invest in security – both in terms of general infrastructure, and at the endpoint. The good news is, this doesn’t have to be costly; this month we put four very affordable solutions to the test.
More than a firewall
A firewall is your first line of defence. It prevents intruders from probing past the perimeter of your network, and ensures that only the ports you need to use are open. If you’re currently using a consumer firewall, consider upgrading to a business-class model. This will provide better protection and performance – plus more options to control what traffic gets in or out of your network.
Unified threat management (UTM) appliances are even better, because they supplement firewall duties with other security services, such as malware detection, intrusion prevention services (IPS) and web-content filtering. They may also support IPsec and SSL VPNs. A solution like this is ideal for SMEs with limited IT expertise. It brings everything into a single unit, so it’s cheaper and easier to manage than a multi-level approach. Deployment is also simpler and, as all internet traffic goes through a single point on the network perimeter, it’s easy to apply security policies to all your users. If you’re not sure what services you need, look for an appliance that lets you add additional licences down the line.
Once you’ve installed your firewall or appliance, don’t