Cyber Security

Protect Your Business

You invest time and money to keep your business thriving. You buy insurance and install a security system and fire alarms to protect your premises. Have you made cybersecurity the same priority? Perhaps the most critical foundational asset for successful businesses is trust.  Employees need to trust that their employer focused onwill secure their personal information, such as their Social Security number. Customers need to trust that companies they do business with are keeping their personal and financial information out of the hands of unauthorized users.

A cybersecurity breach would diminish the trust that your employees and customers have in your business.  Cybersecurity practices are about more than protecting your network; they are about protecting your business and livelihood. Strengthening your company against cyber threats is critical to protecting your valuable information from falling into the wrong hands.  You would never leave your office unlocked when you are not there, so you must take the same precautions with your computer system. Protecting your business requires you to educate yourself and your employees about safe cybersecurity practices.

Protecting your business starts with three critical tasks:

1) Assess Your Risk

The risks that your company’s computer network faces depends on a variety of factors, including the information that you gather, the size of your network and the number of employees who access your network.  The first step is a comprehensive risk assessment to identify the ways in which you are most vulnerable to online threats.

When done with a computer security expert, a risk assessment will allow you to measure the probability of an array of threats as well as the financial and reputational impact of each.  The statistical-based risk assessment will allow you to prioritize your network’s vulnerabilities and identify the solutions that you need to employ.  Risk assessments should always be in line with your business strategy.

A variety of online self-assessment guides and checklists are available on the Internet.  Some of the most widely used resources are:

• Homeland Security U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) Cyber Security Tips
• NIST Security Guides and Bulletins
  • NIST MEP e-scan security assessment tool
  • NIST Small Business Corner
  • FBI InfraGard Program
• US Secret Service
  • Information on threats, vulnerabilities, and protections
  • Local cooperative chapters for businesses, academia, law enforcement
• NSA Security Checklists
  • Configuration checklists for better securing Windows NT/2000, Routers, Servers, and other components
• Small Business Administration – ProNet
• Information sharing and expertise contacts  

2) Monitor Threats To Your Business

While you do not need to be a cybersecurity expert to ensure that your business is protected, it is critical that you understand the online threats to your company’s network.  Awareness of key threats will enable you to employ practices and behaviors that limit your company’s risk.

Today’s businesses face several major online threats:

• Spam
• Phishing
• Viruses and Spyware

3) Draft and Implement Cyber Security Plan

A computer network assessment will help you begin a cyber security plan to mitigate the largest risks to your business.  A cyber security plan needs to be developed by an employee or a contractor that has a basic understanding of cyber security.

A comprehensive cyber security plan needs to focus on three key areas:

• Prevention.  Solutions, policies and procedures need to be identified to reduce the risk of attacks. 
• Resolution.  In the event of a computer security breach, plans and procedures need to be in place to determine the resources that will be used to remedy a threat.
• Restitution.  Companies need to be prepared to address the repercussions of a security threat with their employees and customers to ensure that any loss of trust or business is minimal and short-lived.

 

For more information on protecting your business contact, Armour National Security Group, LLC