Having a secure IT system is extremely important as you not only protect your business, but also your customers, their data, and your reputation.
You would be surprised at how vulnerable the IT system of even a small business could be. Just imagine the damage that could be caused if you lost your data or someone discovered all your passwords!
Here are five points to consider when thinking about how secure your IT system IS:
- Do I have a backup and if not, why not?
You may have your data stored on your computer hard drive or in the cloud, however, do you have a backup of this data? We do not mean a copy on a USB stick or external hard drive that you carry around with you but a backup at a different location on a secure server.
If you do not, then your data could be at risk. It could be easily lost or, at worst, if you store it on an external drive someone could easily steal it and just think about the access they could have!
- Do I know who is accessing your data (including old employees)?
You may be surprised at who has access to your data. Have you perhaps shared your logins with a contractor, or even have an ex-employee who is still able to access your systems?
You should be extremely careful about who has access to your data and systems. This access should be carefully managed and tightly controlled.
- Who has the keys to my palace?
What we mean by this is whether all every employee needs to get access to the data they have access to. For example, if you use OneDrive, does someone working as a receptionist have access to financial management information?
You should always have levels of access set up for each user to protect your data and ensure that people only have access to the data they need to carry out their job.
- Am I open to attack?
The last question is about your firewall and antivirus. Do you have one and if so, is it kept up to date? With nearly one million new malware threats released each day, you must be secure.
If you are open to attack, hackers can not only access your data, but potentially your systems, sensitive customer data, and even cause you to be fined for breach of General Data Protection Regulations.