Nearly 70% of companies are not prepared for cyberattacks, and companies without protection can risk major security breaches if the problem is left unsolved. By the year 2021, the annual cost of cyberattacks is expected to cost businesses over $6 trillion altogether. An unprepared business can risk more than just monetary loss, as well. They could lose important data and intellectual property, have user and client information stolen, and face devastating fallout that could even drive businesses under.
Although cybercrime might be on the rise, there are steps you can take to help increase your protection and help keep your company safe. Managed IT services can help protect your company and keep its sensitive data out of prying hands. Here are a couple of ways IT services can enable you to prevent and thwart cyberattacks.
1. Integrating a Prevention System
IT services often employ two types of detection systems to help detect and prevent attacks. IDS — intrusion detection systems — work as a passive method for monitoring for incoming information within your network. This system is great for alerting the right personnel should something trigger it, as well as creating a record of the incident that can be analyzed at a later time. However, this system alone cannot address an attack directly. For this, IT services use IPS — intrusion prevention systems — which monitor the data entering your network and address threatening situations by neutralizing the source. However, IPS can only detect intrusions once they are in the network, making the use of a detection system — such as IDS — all the more important. Because they are able to work in conjunction with one another, many services will employ both of these safeguards to help keep your system safer.
2. An Attack Response Plan
Secondly, you need to come up with a response plan allowing you to take control of the situation away from attackers. This can include creating a list of employees who can be kept on hand to help handle the situation. However, this will require your business to have some IT personnel on staff. Additionally, your human resources department should also have a plan to help address the situation should a breach end up occurring. A comprehensive plan should include details of who you need to contact, what parts of the network need to be shut down, and how the data is addressed. You should also have an outline of any liability and legal issues that you may need to handle, including how you will report the incident to law enforcement and your insurance company.
3. Employee Training
Preventing attacks can also come in the form of employee training. Since hackers can place malware and viruses in emails, downloads, and links, it’s important to train employees to double-check sender information, forgo downloads if they’re not from a reputable source, and confirm link addresses before clicking URLs.
4. Monitoring
While monitoring can be done on-site, this will require in-house IT personal 24/7. Because of this, many companies employ professional managed IT services to provide round the clock monitoring. For many businesses, this is the more feasible option, and it frees up the staff you do have to focus on other areas. Managed IT services offer an easy way to outsource this burden while also giving you the benefit of professional protection and response. Services like this can additionally be more cost-effective than hiring your own staff and needed to pay for their additional benefits.
Cybercrime is a serious and growing threat. To prevent it, you need to ensure that your company has the newest and most up-to-date cybersecurity software. While some aspects can be handled on-site, such as integrating IDS and IPS systems and coming up with a plan, it can also be helpful to have a professional team on your side.
If you’re worried about your companies security, reach out to a managed IT service today and take back control of your cybersecurity.
