In the wake of skyrocketing data breaches, an increasing number of organizations have chosen to make cyber security services their top IT priority. Businesses are wary of having their data compromised, their reputations tarnished, and their budgets obliterated by regulatory fines, customer losses, and legal fees. It’s not difficult to see why.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect your business privacy and avoid a highly-damaging cyber breach – one surefire step is by finding a managed cyber security services partner. It’s time to harden your business against rampant security threats.

Poor employee training

Invariably, human error and lack of knowledge pose one of the biggest threats to cyber security. When employees are unaware of effective security practices, especially in the wake of the remote work transition, your business faces risks on a wide variety of fronts.

How to respond: Educate your team about security threats and best practices

It’s critical to consistently train your staff on the right cyber security procedures and explain why it is essential. Make sure they understand what happens if they are the inadvertent cause of a security breach. Maintain best practices, and demonstrate how vital they are to company success. Further, you can also partner with a managed cyber security services firm that offers consistent employee training.

Outdated software

Software updates are necessary as cyber threats continue to evolve. Moreover, new system vulnerabilities are discovered every day. Unfortunately, updating software takes time and is often considered inconvenient. If the updates are put off, serious breaches can occur.

How to respond: Update your software

Work with a cyber security services partner who can relieve the burden of manual updates by offering automated updates in the cloud. As a result, you never have to worry about whether you have the latest software patches deployed.

Bad passwords

The problem with poor passwords is they are quickly resolved, but persist as a never-ending issue for many organizations. It’s almost unbelievable how many end users choose passwords that are easy to guess, even for novice hackers. Besides, bad passwords are one of the most common ways cyber criminals breach systems.

How to respond: Facilitate two-factor authentication

If you work with the right managed cyber security services partner, they will implement two-factor authentication and more to ensure you are protected with multiple layers of adequate cyber security.

Data access on mobile and personal devices

Remote work is here to stay, and more employees are accessing work data from their mobile and personal devices. It’s one thing to have security protocols for your in-office equipment. However, now that employees are working remotely, what happens when your data is accessed from a remote device? There isn’t any question that staff accessing company data from insecure networks leads to security breaches.

How to respond: Create a mobile and personal device policy

With this type of IT security threat, you can either provide employees with company-approved laptops and mobile devices or require that employees harden their mobile and personal devices.

Files downloaded from insecure sources

There are so many files that can seem legitimate but wreak havoc on business systems. An email may send a malware-infected file that comes from a seemingly trustworthy source. Time after time, it’s the file download that causes all the cyber security issues.

How to respond: Use a firewall

A firewall is designed to block downloads from anywhere but trusted sources. Firewalls can also restrict access to insecure websites or limit access to only those on an approved list.

Your cyber security services partner will implement firewalls to block downloads from every source outside of those that are trusted. Firewalls can also limit access to sites that are on a list of approved portals.

Malware

Malware has a funny way of getting through many systems because there are so many ways cyber criminals experience sending viruses. Businesses are overwhelmed with security threats; they don’t know what to do or where to get help.

How to respond: Get anti-malware help

A managed cyber security services firm can apply five layers of security that can identify and remove malware. Further, your anti-malware software will also be up to date with adequate protection.

Left without a warning

Many cyber security breaches go undetected for days to years. Often, end users have no idea their data is being monitored as they tap. Malware works best when it’s hidden. So, don’t expect your computers and devices to flash a loud alarm system when a security breach occurs.

How to Respond: Use cyber security services to monitor your systems

In the digital era, you will need additional protection for your systems. For instance, you will need a firewall, but you also need anti-malware software, and you’ll need 24/7 monitoring. Having a partner who will monitor your systems 24/7 leaves you with more time to focus on what you do best: Serving your customers.

The Internet of Things

It’s great to live in a “smart” world where every device and appliance is connected. Much like the Jetsons’ cartoon, everything is automated, you have a robot butler, and your refrigerator can order groceries on your behalf. With so much time on your hands, what will you do? On the other hand, as every device is connected to the Internet, it gives cyber criminals more endpoints to target. The Mirai botnet attack targeted IoT devices such as security cameras and routers. Therefore, the IoT has a great purpose, but it can only be fulfilled successfully if your endpoints are protected.

How to respond: Utilize cyber security services

It’s time to discover the real value of IT managed services. The world is always-on and increasingly connected. You can’t always rely on an in-house IT team who are probably already overwhelmed and overworked. You must put up as many defenses as you can and rely on experts who can address your issues 24/7.

Open access to controlled information

If everyone in your company has access to sensitive and non-sensitive data, hackers will have several entry points.

How to respond: Restrict access to sensitive data

Implement a privileged access system to compartmentalize data breaches—secure data in the cloud, away from your office locations. Only allow specific end users access to sensitive data.

Have a plan and a reliable partner

By following the steps above, you can do much to mitigate cyber security threats. To continually protect your systems, it is essential to have a plan and a reliable cyber security services partner in place. If you need assistance, contact SSI today. We can work with you to understand your pain points, create a plan to help harden your systems, and protect your entire infrastructure against cyber security threats.