Managed IT services help businesses to create an IT strategy that meets their employees’ and customers’ needs. But managed IT isn’t just about creating a well-oiled machine operationally. Managed IT can boost your cybersecurity strategy as well.
Every other day a security breach scrolls across the news. It happens so often it feels as though we’ve been desensitized to it. Many people consider a cybersecurity breach an inevitable scenario that will happen to their company eventually. But the risk can be drastically reduced. A managed IT provider is a good investment to boost your business’s cybersecurity and turn the inevitability of cyber damage into a “hopefully never” scenario.
Here’s how.
Remote Monitoring for Abnormalities
The best managed service providers offer 24/7 365 monitoring of your network. This means that outages, cybersecurity attacks, and any abnormal activities are noticed as soon as they occur. In situations involving a security breach, early action is everything. The earlier a security breach is noticed the faster files can be guarded and lockdown action can be taken. Even something as simple as a password change needs to happen quickly in the event of a cybersecurity emergency.
The only way to have a quick, efficient response, however, is to have a plan. An incident response plan relies on good data to formulate an effective defense against an attacker. Remote monitoring by a managed IT services provider gives your cybersecurity team the data that they need to create an effective defensive strategy and communicate clearly with all necessary departments. Your business’s senior management will need clear and accurate information in order to make the best decisions regarding sensitive data on your IT network.
Logs kept by your managed IT provider offer your C-suite the ability to make educated decisions in a stressful time period. Not only do they have the data to make the decisions, but a dedicated and trustworthy team to help interpret it.
Consistent Backups Guard Data
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This old idiom is especially true when it comes to ransomware attacks. If you find your IT network locked by a hacker asking for a ransom for your sensitive data, then you’re often stuck paying what is asked – unless you have backups.
Backups are crucial when your data is held hostage.
A managed IT services provider can create regular backups that protect you from having to negotiate with hackers. There are several different types of backups available. A remote data backup can be done from afar on a regularly maintained schedule. Most often done through the cloud, this allows you to store your data in two or more places. Commonly, sensitive data is stored on both the cloud and locally.
Education and Training
Have you ever had an employee click on a phishing email? How about download a suspicious pdf file? Open an unknown link? Far too often cybersecurity breaches occur due to a lack of employee education and training. When your employees are unaware of how to conduct themselves safely on your network, they open up your entire organization to unwanted security issues.
Your IT provider can offer education and training for all of your staff on cybersecurity safety. Regular training by your dedicated technician can prevent your organization from spending thousands of dollars correcting damages from a cybersecurity attack at a later date. On this note, it’s a good idea to discuss the use of personal devices in your workplace with a managed IT services team. Poor safety practices on a cell phone can lead to a network-wide security breach if precautions aren’t in place.
Secure Server Infrastructure
Your office server is the heartbeat of your office. It provides your employees with the hardware they need to function throughout the day. But a secure server infrastructure has an essential cybersecurity role to fill as well. A well-maintained and regularly updated server can provide a strong defense against cybersecurity breaches and give your overall strategy a boost.
If your server is located on-site, ask yourself these questions: When was the last time a third-party reviewed your server for compliance? How often is your server backed up? Can anyone (as in, anyone) in your building access the server room?
It’s important to keep your server well-secured to prevent issues. Disgruntled staff members can cause big problems by tampering with hardware. Backups should occur on a regular basis, especially if your company is at risk of a ransomware attack.
While software updates are often regularly scheduled, hardware updates need to be a high priority as well. Outdated cables, old servers, or even loose connections can lead to power outages that put your IT network at risk.
A secure data center is climate-controlled and well-secured, with high-intensity access control measures that prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing the room. Regular updates keep servers on the cutting-edge and ensure that your cybersecurity protocols are up to date.
Regular Maintenance and Updates
When was the last time you updated your computer? Do you ever ignore updates and continue to hit “Remind me tomorrow” indefinitely? Updates are a key aspect of a healthy cybersecurity strategy.
Updates patch holes in software security that may have been recently realized by researchers. For example, a hole in video conferencing platform Zoom’s security allowed hackers to eavesdrop on your call. A patch fixed the issue, but if you didn’t update your software then you’re still at risk of eavesdroppers.
A managed IT services provider can ensure that regular updates take place on all of your hardware and software. This boosts your cybersecurity by ensuring that recent patches are installed on your computer and keeping you abreast of the latest cybersecurity issues.
At the end of the day, your managed IT team provides you with the updates, infrastructure, education, and monitoring you need to keep your network safe. If you want to give your cybersecurity strategy a boost, check out our managed IT offering for your small business in Frederick.