Small and mid-sized business owners have so much on their plate that being proactive about cybersecurity often gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Unfortunately, it takes a breach or hack to bring this issue to the forefront of many organizations, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some key ways to digitally fortify your business before cybercriminals attack.
Step 1: Assess present and potential threats
The first step in strengthening your defenses is to pinpoint current threats. Whether using in-house IT personnel or a managed services partner, research what types of cyberattacks typically affect your industry. Hackers are constantly finding new ways to steal sensitive information, so it’s best to review these practices every quarter or so to ensure your fortifications are strong.
Step 2: Audit your existing protection
Once you are aware of the types of breaches that pose the greatest risk to your organization, consider how each threat could infiltrate the various parts of your network. Look at what company devices connect to the Internet, what services are protecting those devices, and what types of data might be exposed. Mapping out your network and endpoints will help you see how each device can expose other connections within your network.
Step 3: Define a baseline cybersecurity strategy
By staying up-to-date on current cybersecurity trends and auditing your current technology framework, you can identify what gaps may need to be filled. Developing your cybersecurity strategy begins with defining a baseline. Brainstorm a variety of situations that could occur and perform a network penetration test to identify weak spots in your current framework. For businesses without robust internal IT resources, working with a managed services provider can be a simple and cost-effective way to run these tests.
Step 4: Finalize your plan
A complete plan should cover staff security awareness, hardware firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems, routine checkups for software updates, licenses and patches, web-filtering services and updated software. Consulting with an experienced technology partner is a great way to ensure your cybersecurity strategy is comprehensive.
Need assistance with your cybersecurity strategy? Contact the experts at Roebuck Technologies today.
