The Many Ways Your Office IT Security Can Be Breached and How to Prevent It
Data and security breaches in offices and companies are, unfortunately, far too common. They are mostly all preventable if proper security measures are taken. However, businesses often underestimate the risk of IT security breaches and leave their system unprotected, leading to huge losses and disruption in the workflow. Here are some common causes of IT security breaches and some preemptive steps that you can take to prevent them from happening.
1. Lack of awareness about online security
One of the most common causes of IT security breaches is also one of the most preventable. Employees are often not aware of basic best practices for Internet security, such as having different passwords for different websites and devices, making strong passwords, not giving out personal information, and falling for scam emails. Each year, companies lose thousands due to phishing emails that get clicked on and circulated around the company. At worse, these can introduce malware and viruses into the IT mainframe.
Prevention: The best way to prevent this from happening is to hold regular training sessions for staff in all departments. Passwords should have auto-expiry days, and the IT department should send regular phishing emails to identify potential sources of breach.
2. Viruses and malware
The system can be exposed to viruses and bugs in a multitude of ways. This can be in the form of phishing or direct hacker attacks. One single entry into a system can destroy the whole structure by replicating and transmitting malware throughout, wiping out data and wreaking havoc for the business. They can even be placed maliciously by someone on the inside, though this is far less common.
Prevention: The best way to keep the system protected is to use multiple security features such as encryption, decentralizing the network, and always updating all antivirus and system software. Each update comes with bug fixes and improved security.
3. Poorly managed IT infrastructure
Security breaches are caused by poorly managed IT infrastructures. This can include weak encryption, inexperienced IT workers, a sprawling network, and a lack of documentation of who has access to which keys.
Solutions: If your company is too small to employ a team of professional IT technicians, it is important to outsource this task for maximum security. Hiring a managed IT support service company will ensure that all your tech needs are taken care of by a group of experts who are accountable for any disruptions.
3. Third-party bugs
These security threats are probably the hardest to deal with as they are not caused through the company’s own oversight. Rather, a third-party app or service the company may be using can have a bug or weakness, which is exploited by hackers to steal or leak information and cause other problems. In the past, this caused credit card information to become leaked and resulted in expensive litigation.
Solutions: To deal with this, make sure to wait a few days before updating all the computers in a system. If a company issues a warning of any possible weakness, cease using the product immediately and tell your employees. It is also crucial that all software is updated as soon as a fix comes out.
