12th July, 2017
The increase in the number and frequency of hacking attacks in the recent years has led many to organizations to strengthen their cyber security. Having a well-formulated IT security program is not only essential to safeguard sensitive data and conform to legal requirements, it helps to boost employee productivity as well as reduce bandwidth consumption.
Given below are some tips that will help you in building a successful IT security program in your organization:
Establish A Core Team
First and foremost, it is important to formulate a core team to handle the information security of your business firm. The team should have complete knowledge of different aspects of network security such as managing IT assets, minimizing threats and vulnerabilities, establishing policies and regulations, conducting regular audits, training the employees etc. Make sure that you include employees from all levels, instead of assigning the job solely to the IT department.
Create An Inventory Of Organizational Assets
In order to be able to identify and manage potential risks, you should have a clear idea of what all you need to protect. Therefore, you must create a detailed inventory of all the hardware, applications, FTP sites, network drives, databases etc. Categorize these assets according to their level of importance and confidentiality. This will help you to apply security controls in a better way, making sure that the more sensitive assets are safeguarded on priority.
Assess Threats And Vulnerabilities
The next step involves identifying all the threats and vulnerabilities in the organizational assets. Make a list of all the risks, classify them and assign a rank on the basis of the potential damage they can cause to the company. You should also note down all the back doors in the software programs, applications and network that may be exploited to initiate a security breach against the organization.
Implement Security Controls
Access control mechanisms also need to be put in place to minimize risks arising out of unwanted and unauthorized use of data. Set strict guidelines regarding the use of computer systems, hardware, software etc. Forbid the employees from connecting removable storage devices to the organization’s computer systems. Downloading unwanted software or applications should also be prohibited.
We, at Centex Technologies, can help to create and implement an IT security program in your Central Texas based organization. For more information, feel free to call us at (855) 375 – 9654.