During the pandemic, how we handled business IT got flipped upside down. We witnessed a decline in standards across various aspects, encompassing internal business networks, backend firewall safety measures, computer availability, and on-site domain controls and policies. After the scramble to enable a remote workforce, changing how we work has left new challenges requiring us to rethink our approach to maintaining and securing our technology.
Here are five areas to prioritize:
1. Protect the Edge
Historically, users typically function behind a business-class firewall – a solution that provides standard controls (implemented through group policies), access controls, and domain rules to keep things safe. With a broader distributed workforce, slow adoption of Azure AD, an abundance of cloud-based services, and some insight from the Insurance industry, the time to adjust from this traditional model is now!
What was once considered advanced security measures are now being recommended as fundamental implementations – especially by cyber insurance providers. Malicious actors have long used compromised email accounts to gain access to networks and the critical information users create and interact with daily. Multifactor Authentication (MFA) is one of the lowest barrier-to-entry changes organizations can implement to protect their users from being hijacked.
Protecting VPN back to HQ with MFA also provides this layer of protection to stop a compromised user and a savvy hacker from accessing internal networks. Protecting administrative accounts on LAN is also crucial in preventing internal movement and limiting access and abilities during a compromise, keeping hackers from gaining full access to the network and data.
2. Protect the Outside
Without a Business Class Firewall inspecting and protecting traffic to and from your remote users’ machines, your out-of-network workforce loses a vital safety net from day-to-day protection. DNS Protection Software can enhance the security measures for your mobile workforce, picking up where firewalls leave off. These innovative security solutions leverage databases of known malicious websites, providing real-time warnings against potential threats and granting you some control over the content accessed on work devices. Furthermore, they can block existing malware from connecting to Command-and-Control sites operated by cybercriminals. Due to these servers’ dynamic nature, it can be challenging to eliminate the risk with definitions-based protections entirely.
3. Protect the Endpoint
Endpoints are like doors; if you don’t lock them properly, you end up with unwanted guests who usually don’t have the best intentions. Unsecured endpoints lead to unwanted access and exploitation. Similar to DNS filters and protections, the efficacy is based on Known-bad sites and definitions-based classification. A key growth sector in endpoint security is an evolution away from exclusively “known bad” definitions to the analysis of actions and activities on endpoints driven by heuristics-driven AI.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) AV provides this more agile layer of protection by observing activity that could be malicious and correlating this to unusual end user behavior, which has been a strong step in protecting endpoints and servers. EDR, or the especially powerful Managed Detection and Response (MDR), elevates the capabilities of standard AV with the power of AI-driven analytics, and in the case of MDR, a dedicated detail of Security Specialists to analyze and interpret the information and incidents that can occur in enterprise environments, and take action to secure the endpoint.
4. Protect the Data
Maintaining a healthy backup strategy is key to compliance and fundamental to security. From historical email retention policies to fully enabled disaster recovery and business continuity planning – a strong backup practice allows organizations to retain long-term information from cloud services with resilient and rapid recovery in the event of a catastrophic compromise like Ransomware. Defining a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is key to minimizing your organization’s downtime and data loss. Utilizing this to inform the plan of a credible backup software provider and a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan can offer significant protection if major issues surface. Some backup solutions even provide a Cloud-based restore location of critical components in case of a hardware failure or a severe site-down scenario.
5. Protect the People
The highest threat vector to most organizations is the human element. Social engineering and sophisticated Phishing campaigns have become high art, focusing on the most probable method of infiltrating companies: the users. Targeted Phishing or broad blast campaigns are commonly used to access a user’s device, information and email. From there, they can move deeper into your network or sit dormant to observe and learn your organizational processes to later exploit for financial gain. Training end users to recognize these techniques is your first line of defense. The ability to identify suspicious emails requesting confidential passwords or account information is paramount to your security. There are several solutions to help train your users, but one in particular that we use and recommend is KnowBe4.
You can read more about KnowBe4 in our blog on How to Train Users About Phishing Attacks.
Typically, training involves a baseline campaign, followed by short and informative training sessions to quickly identify typical social engineering exploits. These campaigns help inform your organization how “Phish-prone” your users are and how best to train them going forward.
IT security is a crucial aspect of any business, big or small. Taking proactive measures to protect your company’s sensitive information and assets from cyber threats is essential. By implementing the security protocols outlined in this blog, you can ensure that your business remains safe and secure.
Remember, prevention is always better than dealing with the aftermath and investing in IT security can protect your company from loss of productivity, intellectual property, and the ability to recover in the event of a disaster.
With CCB Technology as your partner, you don’t have to do it alone. We believe effective IT security should be accessible to everyone – that’s why we have customizable solutions. We partner with small and medium-sized businesses to provide high-level security solutions that protect your valuable data and fit seamlessly into your budget. You can cover as little or as much as you’d like! You can have all the tools required to fortify your defenses and mitigate risks effectively with CCB Security Services.
Talk to us and find out how we can help you!
