Managed IT services experts ask, “How often do you do IT security assessments in your company?”
Think about car maintenance for a moment. How often do you have the oil in your car changed? How about rotating the tires and tuning up the engine? You know that doing routine maintenance on your car is important for keeping it running and in good condition. The same thing applies to the security of your company’s IT assets.
SECURITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
According to the Ponemon Institute, in 2017, 54% of businesses experienced one or more cyber attacks that compromised the company’s data or IT infrastructure. And those are just the incidents that companies were willing to report.
This statistic shows how businesses are under increasing pressure from security threats, and it demonstrates why every company, big and small, must make cybersecurity one of their highest priorities.
According to managed IT services experts, doing periodic security assessments is the answer. Doing periodic security assessments can:
- Demonstrate where security compromises potentially exist
- Keep your company up to speed on current threats
- Emphasize the need for vigilance on every employee’s part
- Increase awareness of potential threats
- Identify priorities when it comes to security enhancements
- Show customers that you care about them and their confidential data
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CONDUCTING A SECURITY ASSESSMENT
Cybersecurity assessments need to touch every part of your company’s IT infrastructure. That way, you can feel some level of security that your organization is protected. However, you have to consider some things, including:
- Potential paths for cyber attacks – What paths can cyber attackers use to infiltrate the company’s IT assets?
- Software patching – Do all devices connected to company IT assets have proper software patches applied?
- Network security architecture – Is the network perimeter properly secured? Is there enough internal segmenting?
- User administration – What is the policy for adding, changing, and deleting users from the system?
- Password policy – How often are passwords changed and what are the password requirements?
- Encryption requirements – Are all data transmissions, internal and external, properly encrypted?
- Virus protection – How well is your current protection software working and is it being updated regularly on all devices?
- Security by role and access required – Are privileges divided by what accesses each employee requires? Is remote access restricted?
- Security staff – Is everyone responsible for security up to date on policies and threats?
- Physical security – Are there adequate physical barriers preventing free access to your company’s IT assets?
- Regulatory requirements – Is your company meeting government and industry security requirements?
One way to ensure compliance with cybersecurity is to have an external auditor come in and do an assessment. Contact us at ION247 to set an appointment. We are the managed IT services provider businesses trust.
