Who poses the biggest cyber security threat to your business?

When it comes to cyber security, most people tend to associate the risks with the image of someone sat in their basement on the other side of the world. Whilst it is true that there are plenty of international hackers who have the capability to get into your network from thousands of miles away, the biggest threat that you actually face is sitting in your office.

Your employees

Although you might not realise it, the employees in your office pose the greatest threat to your IT security. Although most of the time it’s entirely unintentional, employees can create chaos when it comes to data, email security, networks and programs. Thankfully, more and more companies are beginning to understand the threat they face, and are beginning to establish more layers of security at ground level.

Restricting access

To start protecting your business, you could follow the lead of other companies by restricting access. Although it might seem harsh, it remains a fact that the fewer people you allow to access sensitive data, the less chance you have of seeing that data get stolen. Ultimately, if somebody doesn’t need access to a particular database to perform any functions of their job, then there is no reason for them to see it.

Training

Cybersecurity training is also a good idea to make sure that all of your employees are trained in IT security basics. They will need to know that by performing certain actions, they could unintentionally be exposing the company to risk, and what actions are preferred. If your company has a policy in place that allows your employees to bring their own devices, you should begin conversations to clearly outline what information can be accessed from them.

Passwords

This may seem like an obvious one, but even in 2017, it remains true that hackers can find their way into your network simply by typing in a username along with a password. By strengthening passwords, you can mitigate the risk to your company. Encouraging employees to have diverse passwords full of different case letters along with symbols and numbers is a good start, but you should also require your employees to change their passwords once a month.

Outsourcing

To give you the best chance of maintaining cyber security, you could take things a step further by outsourcing your security. Although there are costs involved, it may end up saving you money in the long run, particularly if it prevents an attack. Consider who would be exposed and the risk to your reputation should an attack take place. If you don’t have effective in-house tools to stop it, then getting help from outside your organisation could prove to be a smart move.

CARA Technology can help you with a multitude of IT aspects.  Read more about our IT security services and get in touch with our team today.