- March 4, 2019
-
Matthew F. Fox
- 3 min
No business is immune to security threats, particularly small businesses with limited IT staff and resources. The idea of a business being too small to be seen as a target is dangerous, and in many cases is a reason that they are targeted.
There are measures that all small businesses can take to reduce the threat of attacks, designed to proactively address potential vulnerabilities and train employees to reduce the likelihood of a breach taking place.
Security Best Practices Training
According to the SANS institute, 95% of all attacks on enterprise networks are the result of phishing attacks. The number of robocalls made, designed to gain information much like phishing emails, increased from about 30% to 50% between 2017 and 2018.
Providing security best practices training to your staff arms them with ways to both identify and avoid threats found on the Internet. Common topics include password best practices and the use of multi-factor authentication, ways to identify phishing attempts, and how to securely transmit proprietary business data.
Valiant Technology provides security best practices training to all of our MSP clients, and we view it as a form of proactive support. A staff that is properly educated on best practices and is able to identify and avoid online threats is less likely to encounter issues that require active support, enabling clients to be aware of the threats that exist and are a legitimate risk to their business.
Mobile Device Management
Devices, particularly mobile phones and tablets are vulnerable to not only cyberattacks, but theft. Bring your own device (BYOD) has become commonplace within businesses, often complicating matters. The solution to these risks is mobile device management.
Mobile device management allows businesses to keep data on phones and tablets secure, enforce security settings, and apply other policies to protect data. Policies can be designed to require specific types of authentication in order to access the devices, or even perform a full wipe of the data contained within them in the event they are stolen.
All major messaging platforms, including Office365 and Google’s G Suite, include mobile device management policies which can be configured to suit your business’s needs.
It’s important to make staff fully aware of the implications of mobile device management policies. Many have the ability to completely wipe the contents of a device, so there is a risk of personal information being lost. We suggest creating an HR policy in parallel to MDM policies to clearly communicate both the advantages and risks associated with their use.
Security Threat Assessments
Even the most securely designed network is likely to have vulnerabilities, and security threat assessments locate and remediate identified problems before they can be used to gain access to sensitive information and systems.
All business networks should undergo security threat assessments on a regular basis. Successful businesses have the ability to adapt to demand, adjusting resources and partnerships to meet customer needs, and these changes can lead to security issues if they are not properly reviewed as they take place.
Third party access is a common attack vector used against businesses. According to a Bomgar survey, nearly 75% of businesses observed an increase in third-party access – with nearly 70% of respondents having likely suffered a security breach related to a third-party.
A proper assessment will review your network for vulnerabilities, determine user-based threats that may exist, and most importantly revel any vulnerabilities related to third-parties. Looking for other ways to help keep your small business secure? Be sure to check out our top 10 Computer Security tips or contact our sales team to learn how Valiant can improve your network’s stability and security with our managed services.
