IT has transformed the way we do business – life without it quickly becomes difficult. Even short disruptions such as an internet outage have us twiddling our thumbs. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
We enjoy the new toys and flashy features but often neglect the boring stuff, such as keeping our systems safe and secure. It is false economy. If we want to enjoy the rewards offered by IT, we have to manage the risks.
It need not be an expensive or onerous task though. Even putting in place some relatively simple steps can make a significant difference. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) advises that the key to effective security is a layered approach. There is no single product that will provide a 100% guarantee. The following 8 themes form a useful checklist:
- Physical security – protect and back-up your devices
- Anti-virus and anti-malware – keep it up-to-date and don’t forget phones and tablets
- Intrusion defence – use a well configured firewall
- Access controls – use strong passwords and restrict user access
- Employee awareness and training – help staff recognise threats such as phishing
- Segmentation – limit access between your network components e.g. separate your web & file servers
- Policies – address the risks in a consistent manner
- Device hardening – remove unused and unsupported software
For more information about how to ‘health check’ your IT security, please get in touch via enquiry@w-l-p.co.uk