Insights
Insights
Your IT security is vital to your business’s physical locks and security implementations. It must be considered in any part of your organisation, especially when moving to the cloud.
After all, while the cloud offers many benefits for any forward-thinking company, you’ll still need to consider the security implications of making the move.
This blog will discuss five considerations when migrating your IT systems to the cloud. These will help reinforce your organisation’s security and keep your data safe.
Data encryption is a security process where data is cyphered when transferred on the web, jumbling it into an assortment of letters, numbers, and characters that can’t be read without a decryption key.
Encryption is built into every aspect of modern technology, from browsers and mobile applications protected by HTTPS and passwords to data being stored in an encrypted manner to stop attackers from intercepting data packets and obtaining a host of possibly destructive data.
Your data is one of your most valuable assets, and encrypting it is the last bastion of defence to ensure that even if anyone does gain access to it, the information cannot be deciphered. After all, this could spell disaster for your whole organisation, and you do not want to risk it.
By using a modern encryption system, nobody without the encryption key will be able to access said data, meaning that it essentially becomes unusable even in the event of a breach or attack. In the worst case, you won’t end up in a situation where your most sensitive data is leaked or utilised to harm you or your customers.
Like any modern business that uses lanyards and keys to prevent unauthorised access to its premises, access control tools protect your organisation from anyone trying to use your IT systems and access data without the proper authorisation.
Firstly, ensuring employees and stakeholders only have access to the files and applications they need is essential. This is known as the principle of least privilege and will ensure that everyone only has access to the data they need, to prevent internal or external access to unauthorised data. It’s too familiar for businesses to give all employees blanket access to the entire organisation’s files. This increases the risk of an insider attack, where someone with genuine access to your systems may leak or tamper with data.
Access control can help mitigate other attacks, such as social engineering or phishing. By utilising access control tools (along with multi-factor authentication), you can limit the damage an attacker may be able to inflict if they get access to someone’s user account.
Compliance is essential today, with regulators cracking down on businesses that flaunt compliance rules. It is necessary to ensure that you stay compliant and have no reason for regulators to act against you.
However, compliance also allows you to secure your organisation effectively. Compliance regulations enforce the standards your organisation needs to meet to benefit your customers, community, and employees.
By following compliance regulations, you can ensure that your organisation is secure and that no aspect of your business is let down.
In a disaster, the procedure for what happens next is just as crucial as the preventative measures to stop it. After all, sometimes things slip under the cracks, or new attacks that haven’t been prepared yet happen, and you need to be ready.
Backups and disaster recovery plans will help you ensure that your business can get back up and running in the event of a disaster. Both are vital, as backups provide alternative access to your critical data if it is not accessible during a disaster. A disaster recovery plan will ensure you have a path back to full functionality.
Monitoring is essential to ensure that you’re keeping an eye on anything suspicious within your organisation.
By effectively tracking and monitoring everything within your organisation, you can have a holistic view of everything happening and stamp out any malicious activity before it can hurt you.
Cloud platforms like Microsoft 365 have several monitoring tools built in. These will help you stay ahead of attackers and prepare for any potential threats and actions you may need to take.
Different monitoring and detection tools can be used, such as continuous monitoring and intrusion detection solutions, all of which can alert you in the event of any malicious activity.
Furthermore, the use of AI in these tools makes them even more effective at monitoring, analysing, and predicting attacks before they occur. It can protect your organisation against more powerful attacks that otherwise may fly under the radar to other detection methods.
Your organisation’s security is critical; solid IT security implementation will go a long way toward protecting it.
These steps are your organisation’s five most important security considerations and are practically essential for any modern business.
If you want to improve your organisation’s security but need help, contact us today. Our experts can guide you through the process and provide you with the support your organisation needs.