Are You Utilising an Effective IT Security Approach?
Australian companies can improve their cybersecurity strategies when they pay more attention to a human-centric approach. Most businesses have focused on improving the resilience of their IT security infrastructure. While this is necessary, it’s equally important to know how people interact with network infrastructure. Remember that your employees should act as the first line of defence against potential threats.
An Integrated Approach to Data Protection
Some industry experts believe that business owners should take a closer look at integrating cybersecurity infrastructure with their staff’s behaviour. If you think it’s unnecessary because hackers aren’t interested in a small business owner’s data, think again. This is a common misconception among owners of small companies, who assume that cybercriminals only target big corporations.
By investing more on the human side of online security, your business becomes more competitive from a defensive standpoint. For instance, you should understand the context behind your employees’ actions to access data. It can be counterproductive when your security policies prohibit any form of data extraction, even when it’s not harmful. These extreme blockages can force your employees to look for alternative ways that will be problematic for your network security.
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Analyse Predictive Behaviour
Data protection can be quite confusing when you need to strike a balance between restricted access and employee productivity, although there are ways to solve this problem. Start by personalising cybersecurity controls that apply to authorised users of confidential business information. Once you determine a pattern for their behaviour, it will be easier to identify when something unusual takes place.
As an example, hackers may have compromised a person’s log-in credentials when the affected user suddenly downloads a large amount of information with a USB device. You can easily confirm the authenticity of an unexpected behaviour if it veers away from a person’s so-called baseline risk score.
Keep a Record of Risk Scores
Baseline risk scores refer to a user’s behavioural pattern for accessing company data. It happens when you enforce a risk-adaptive approach to cybersecurity, which evaluates the level of risk for employees. Some positions in a company obviously require a higher score than others. Chief information officers will have a bigger risk score than an entry-level IT staff member.
These numbers can vary over time as roles evolve within an organisation. A risk-adaptive security system must be able to cope with these changes. If you can’t afford to set up a unique risk score for each user, an IT support group can handle this for you.
The Final Word
An effective cybersecurity strategy requires more than just investing in modern infrastructure to prevent online criminals from hacking into your system. Traditional security measures alone will no longer be enough to deter hackers. Schedule an IT audit today to find out how you can integrate a human-centric approach with your digital infrastructure.
Contact a CHB Leader in Managed IT Support to learn more about IT outsourcing and other IT security solutions for your business.
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