Computer and network security: everyone knows they should be doing it better, but we can all agree on the single-most effective way to keep your computer safe in our digital era is to not turn it on!

Unfortunately, that’s not really practical for most people.  So instead, here are the top four security measures you should implement in your business.

Take online security seriously and respond quickly

Almost not a day goes by, it seems, where a company has been found to have been breached and customers’ data exposed to the highest bidder, increasing the risk of identity fraud. Whether you’re talking in terms of data security, loss of productivity, or even public relations, there’s never been a more important time to take digital security seriously.  You wouldn’t leave your car unlocked and running in a parking lot while you went inside to shop for a half an hour, so don’t leave your (and potentially your customers’) data vulnerable online.

Update your software — NOW, not later!

How often do we all click the “Remind me Later” option when some program wants to update.  There’s a reason the software is updating: It’s team of dedicated, expert programmers have patched something. Many times, it’s a security loophole or some part of the program that allows a vulnerability into your system.

With that said, do something you might never have done — read the release notes. Figure out exactly what the update intends to fix, and then head to the forums. See what other people are saying about the risks involved with the update. If you’re already behind a version, then take a moment to weigh whether or not to update to, yes, yet, another version that might also have holes. That’s what the pros do.

It may be hard to believe that one of the most important lessons of online and network security is performing software updates as soon as possible, but it’s one of the best ways to keep your computer and network safe. It’s almost always a hassle, but it’s definitely always worth it.

Be miserly with your permissions!

One of the fundamental rules of network security is called “The Principle of Least Privilege”, which basically asks “how few permissions can you give each user so they can still do their job fast and effectively?”  Everyone knows that being restricted is incredibly annoying, but by keeping everyone’s permissions as restricted as possible on your network, you minimize potential problems and security concerns, including your own.

Imagine your network like a house and a hack like a break-in.

Example 1: You have valuables in every room of the house, but there are no doors to those rooms. Whether a thief breaks in through the window, the garage, or by picking the front door, they can get at everything by breaking in once.

Example 2: Every room in the house has a locked door, and all valuables are placed inside safes. If our thief gets into one room, they can’t get to the hallway and into another room, and they might not even get anything out of that room.

Obviously, it seems a little paranoid to live that way, but you should administer your network with multiple user permission levels and restrict accesses to files/drives carefully, based on how few permissions can be doled out.

Prepare for the worst: Do your backups

You know what the scariest part of working in 2018 is? It’s entirely possible that next time you turn on your computer, every file on it could be lost. There are hacks that hold your hard drive irretrievably hostage, there are environmental disasters that ruin your servers… even a simple burglary can make accessing your data impossible. Are you prepared for that?

Performing a backup of essential files and storing that backup somewhere geographically different from your hard drive could mitigate most security failures. There’s a lot to learn about how to keep computers and networks safe, but knowing how to retrieve stolen, lost or hacked files could be a lot easier and maybe just as important.

Update software, backup your data, and restrict user accesses – those three steps alone could potentially save you and your company hundreds of hours and millions of dollars. But in all of these examples, what you and your network security team should be asking is, “Do we even know what our company’s policy is?” These tips don’t even scratch the surface of everything there is to learn about computer and network security, but good security starts by asking questions and finding out the answers.

Last tip: With all that said, don’t feel bad if you’re doubting your company or team is doing enough with security measures. When asked, “What do security professionals do to secure their personal computers?,” almost all network security professionals have the same answer: Not enough. You can always do more, so get started today!

 

Want to learn more about how you can secure your organization’s network? Contact us to find out more! You can get a hold of us by calling our main line at 281-858-3498, or fill out our online contact form, our chat agent on our website or we can be reached on Facebook and Twitter.