Will COVID-19 impact your IT security? Absolutely. The world is, justifiably, distracted by everything going on and the bad actors are fully aware of it. While creating your business’ response plan, factor in both administrative and physical security to minimize impact to your business to keep the bad guys out.
Physical security is often neglected due to the complexity of addressing well known issues. For example, the key to the business’ door that went missing last year. Did you ever find it? Did you rekey the lock? How about adding a security camera to the exterior entrances to see if anyone is checking doors late at night hoping that someone forgot to lock the door on the way out? How about a security camera to catch the TP thief in action?
When it comes to administrative security, this requires a special skillset as it’s mostly items that aren’t tangible. The big three items are: firewall, endpoint protection, and backup. Let’s go into more detail on each:
Your firewall is the most important piece of security equipment for your business. A firewall manages the Internet traffic coming and going. This is the easiest way for individuals to remotely access your computer systems without you even realizing it. Determining the best firewall for your business is like purchasing a vehicle. You would never buy a Honda Civic if you wanted to pull a horse trailer. Similarly, you wouldn’t purchase a bulldozer to take that cross-country vacation you’ve always dreamed about. When it comes to firewalls and firewall monitoring, you get what you pay for and never expect your Internet Service Provider’s router to be enough.
Endpoint security is just as important as a firewall. In the past, all you needed was good Antivirus to keep you safe. Unfortunately, threats have evolved into multiple categories that requires different tools. Viruses, malware, cryptolockers, etc. – these are the most common threats out there today and you should never trust just one solution to protect you properly – Jack of all trades, master of none. A multiple layered approach is what works best to have a narrow focus. All it takes is one wrong click and your IT environment can be crippled without proper endpoint security.
Everyone thinks they have backups, but when was the last time you tested it? Is your backup encrypted? How do you recover? Who is monitoring your backup performance? Would you be able to stay in business if your server crashed and your backup didn’t work? Each backup solution is unique to the data being backed up and the speed of needed recovery. The backup 3-2-1 rule is the best way to plan your backup: 3 data copies (Server, local backup, off-site backup), 2 media types (hard drive, cloud storage), and 1 off-site copy (cloud). This will ensure that you can recovery from any disaster.
At Kota Technology, we specialize in security. Reach out today and we can create a security plan that’s rightsized for your business.