Three Practices to a More Secure Network

The past year has been tough on businesses, if only because of how unpredictable everything has been. As far as network security goes, however, most of the threats that were plaguing companies before the pandemic are the same ones that IT administrators are dealing with today. Curiously, it seems that a week can’t go by without a major data breach. Why is this happening? Simply put, the fundamentals of security management are being neglected. Let’s take a look at three practices that need to be followed in order to keep your organization from being a victim of a scam or cyberattack.

Embrace Automation

Automation doesn’t just make things more efficient, it can be used to effectively ward off danger. When an organization automates as much of its cybersecurity strategy as it can, it effectively takes humans out of processes where they can do more harm than good. According to Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, 40 percent of all the breaches that companies endured were directly or indirectly caused by human-made misconfigurations. If you could cut two-fifths of the risk out simply by letting advanced automation tools do work, wouldn’t you? 

Seems like a win-win, right?  

With automation, organizations can see streamlined processes, fewer redundant actions, and a reduction in overall complexity. What business wouldn’t love to have a secure network and infrastructure without the problems humans can often bring? Automation is the key to this reality. 

Know Your Network

One of the major challenges IT administrators face is a lack of transparency in software utilization. In fact, with many people working remotely on their own devices, sometimes devices and applications that aren’t known to IT administrators present major holes in a network security strategy. You can’t protect what you don’t know exists, so ensuring that you know exactly what hardware and software your team is using will go a long way toward keeping your network and data safe. Being able to see everything on your computing networks, including data and applications that are hosted in cloud-based environments can go a long way toward being able to properly protect those resources. 

Keep Resources Monitored

The best way to ensure your security platform is performing the way you need it to is to consistently monitor it. Every day there are new threats that need to be considered, and many of them come from inside your business. If you are able to successfully monitor your network and infrastructure you can ensure that your security tools are working as expected, that your network consumption and other metrics are steady, and that your security tools are holding up against all the threats out there. 

By committing to around-the-clock monitoring you not only stand a chance against the ever shifting cybersecurity landscape, you are more equipped to meet regulatory and compliance requirements, enhance your data security, and even give yourself a chance to respond quickly when, inevitably threats do make their way onto your network. Having a comprehensive monitoring platform in place is the only way to ensure that someone/something is tracking the ebbs and flows of your network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Security isn’t something you just buy, it’s something that you need to work at. With the IT professionals at Computerware on your side, you can get the coverage and tools you need to keep threats from repelling revenue. Give our team a call today at (703) 821-8200 to learn more.