The threats on information networks have become very worrying for most business executives. New hacking techniques, network breaches and risky behaviour of the employees can lead to serious losses of data. How can the firms protect their work effectively and what are the right methods to prevent intrusion? In front of to the top network security threats, what are the main advices you should follow?
Know your own computer park and manage access rights
Knowing your own structure is a good start to better face attacks or intrusions. To ensure that all your employees – especially the IT department – have a complete knowledge of what must be protected, think about defining the perimeter of your IT structure in your ITSM Software. What tools, software and OS do you use? You can also create an IT charter that will sum up this structure and remind everyone of their obligations and the best practices for your web security.
Another prominent point is the good management of all access rights. Keep a precise track of who can access your computer park and your files. This will prevent important data from leaking via one of your employees and put your identity and access management software at the heart of your security priorities.
Who can break into your network?
The internet and wi-fi networks are ideal for hackers or malwares who want to enter your computer park, sometimes with the involuntary help of employees: by navigating on risky websites, they make it easier to get in. To better protect your data, you will have to use a firewall, and thus restrict the number of websites that people can visit from work. The Wi-Fi access itself must also be controlled. The more access points you have, the easiest it will be for intruders to use them. Using a proxy will help filter malwares, but you can also choose a VPN (Virtual Private Network): this will help reducing the number of access points and consequently the number of potential intrusions.
Keep your protection software up-to-date
It seems that hackers are always one step ahead, but still, an anti-virus or an anti-spam is useful. They may not prevent all attacks from happening, but they will at least stop some of them. The only condition is to keep all your software’s up-to-date. They will deal with the main threats: phishing, cookie stealing or even the Advanced Persistent Threats, which are cyber-attacks on the long term.
Another important point is to unify your operating systems as much as possible. A relevant and harmonious computer park will help you apply all security measures globally. You will also spare time and ensure that there is no breach left in your park.
Have a backup at all times
We hear more and more about ransomwares and their devastating effects on small and medium businesses’ data. The best way to hedge against the destruction of your data is to keep a current backup at all times. Have this backup saved on external servers so they cannot be corrupted in case you get hacked. Quick data restoration will be the key to resuming your activity in no time if any ransomware affects you.
Save some time: security management tools
All of those measures can seem too much work, but they are necessary to protect your data. However, if you lack time you should think about security management tools. A single platform will help you manage the activity on your servers or the access rights and keep an overview of all the events on your computer park. This kind of solution has a cost and it requires training for your IT employees but can help you save a lot of time in the end.
