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Last updated on November 8th, 2023 at 07:54 pm

How to Ensure Your Organization’s Cybersecurity Strategy is Up to Date

Cyberattacks are on the rise. Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t have the budget to hire full-time cybersecurity experts or consultants to help keep their data safe. 

But without a strong cybersecurity strategy, it’s a lot easier for hackers to compromise your company’s security measures and either take your intellectual property or kidnap it for an expensive ransom. The financial losses and other consequences can be devastating.

You may be worried about keeping your company safe from cyber attacks. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do even without a cybersecurity expert on hand. Follow these five steps to keep your organization’s cybersecurity strategy up to date. 

1) Have reliable back-ups in case of disaster 

Disaster can strike any company, even if they’ve taken a lot of security measures, at any time. Reliable backups will keep your business functioning even in an extreme event.

For example, you organization gets attacked by ransomware, an event where the hackers encrypt your data and request a large ransom to give you the key to get your data back.  If you have reliable backups, you would ignore their demands, restore your files from a good check point, and save thousands of dollars.

Organizational backups is one of the least expensive yet most important steps you can take.  While not the most exciting technology, it’s the most foundational element to protecting your data.

2) Set aside regular time to learn about new cybersecurity threats 

To protect your team from hackers, you need to understand something about how they operate and what types of attacks they tend to launch. It’s critical that you know what dangers your business faces, and how hackers are likely to go about compromising your company’s data. 

Learn about cybersecurity threats as much as you can. If you’re not sure where to start, you can read recent news reports on cybercrimes. News reports should help demystify common hacking methods and malware families that could put your business at risk. 

3) Use current cybersecurity tools 

cybersecurity

Information security tools help prevent problems before they arise. Look for tools that integrate with your existing systems and processes. If you’re currently using disparate security solutions, look into how they can be integrated into a single framework. 

A good place to start is a vulnerability management solution. These solutions are designed to keep your IT environment’s software, hardware, and networks free of vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches or business disruptions. 

4) Set up regular IT training for employees 

Regular IT training will help your employees keep your organization’s cybersecurity strategies up-to-date. While you don’t need or want most employees to know every technical detail, it makes sense for them to know how cybercriminals try to attack organizations like yours, and how they can help guard against these attacks. 

Your employee education and security awareness program should be updated on a periodic basis. Cybersecurity challenges and protocols change fast, and you need to ensure their skills stay current with today’s rapidly changing cybersecurity threats. 

5) Know what data you have, where it’s stored, and who can access it

The first step in understanding your data security vulnerabilities — and how to fix them — is knowing what kinds of data your company has collected. You need to know what you have, where it’s stored, and who can access it. 

If a vulnerability leaves sensitive data vulnerable, or if someone (intentionally or unintentionally) misuses that data, it could expose your organization to major liability concerns. It’s also possible that some of your information isn’t as secure as you might think. 

Need Help With Cybersecurity Strategy?

Simple Helix is a Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) that helps businesses keep their IT systems connected, supported, and secure. We provide outsourced support for all the items mentioned above along with a complete suite of security-related IT services, including data center services, private backup services, and CMMC compliance services for government contractors. We also partner with Managed Security Services Providers (MSSPs) to help customers get more in-depth cybersecurity solutions.

Contact us today to learn more about our services.

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