The Complete Business Network Security Checklist

Since over 80% of American companies have been victims of data breaches, the odds of people trying to steal your information are high. Luckily, there are actionable steps that you can take to keep hackers and malware from accessing your business networks.

Read on for a network security checklist that can effectively stop your business technology from falling prey to unauthorized activity.

Take Preventative Action Against Breaches

Multi-factor authentication systems and high-quality firewalls are proactive. They combat hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities before they even attempt to penetrate your network.

This means that cybercriminals will be kicked off the network and denied access before they can steal anything. If you have a strong enough security system, it's going to be more difficult to penetrate your barriers. Hackers want easy marks and will move elsewhere.

It's important that you remain up to date on recent threats against company networks. Cybercriminals are always finding new ways to circumvent modern security. You need to understand what systems and methods they're using.

Track recent threats and breaches. See what software hackers are using and figure out what technologies can protect against this software.

Upgrade your preventative security measures as you see fit.

Understand Patch Management

Every program on your network has patches. Patches are pieces of coding that improve the functionality of a pre-existing computer system.

Whenever a managed IT professional finds an error on one of your programs or applications, they create a patch and apply it as a sort of digital band-aid. This is a good alternative to fully replacing an otherwise healthy program.

Managing patches means determining whether system patches are necessary. The expert looking into things can ensure that patch implementation is smooth.

Doing so eliminates the vulnerability of hackers exploiting your system through a vulnerability that requires patching.

Find and Resolve Vulnerabilities

"Vulnerabilities" are basically holes in your network. They serve as entry points for hackers to get their malware into. Once the malware penetrates your network at a vulnerability, it can snake through your entire system. It can access all devices connected to that network, get into applications stored within it, and steal data from your business technology.

Finding and eradicating these vulnerabilities is a critical step toward eliminating the risk of security breaches.

This usually happens through a process called ethical hacking. An IT professional will take a harmless piece of software that imitates malware. With your consent and knowledge, they will attempt to penetrate your network at multiple points.

The idea is that the IT professional can see where the software enters your network (or comes close to doing so). They can then inform you of these entry points so that you can determine how to proceed. Managed IT support experts will patch up the vulnerabilities they find to ensure that hackers don't enter your system in the same way they could.

Monitor System Trends

Once your security system is set up, you'll need to keep an eye on your network. Luckily, managed IT providers are well-versed in securing a company even beyond loss prevention. They have professional tools that track trends in your network and find abnormal activity.

Experts are trained in looking for blips and malfunctions on your network. They also know what different kinds of abnormalities mean. This lets them figure out what steps to take to stop a blip from becoming a disaster.

By monitoring system trends, you and the IT team you outsource to can stop breaches in real-time. You'll see what the malware is attempting to do and can secure entry points in dangerous areas.

This means stopping breaches even after a cybercriminal has already chosen to target your network.

Back Up Your Information

Preventing breaches is an important part of securing your system, but disasters happen even to those who are prepared. This is always going to have detrimental effects like data theft. Having your information sold to third parties or held for payment is devastating and expensive.

However, backing up your data is a way that you can minimize these harms.

When you lose information in a data breach, trying to recover it is extremely costly. Breaches can cost companies well over $4 million. Having a backup of the data on the managed IT cloud means that you won't need to pay to get it back or recreate it.

There are several different types of backups, and at least one full backup that copies all files from your server to the cloud is essential. However, your Eagle Point IT provider will also perform incremental backups periodically to safeguard new data as well.

Consider Cloud Management

While there are ways to safeguard data on physical servers, the cloud tends to be more secure. This is because the cloud comes with pre-installed application security measures.

Providers are constantly updating and upgrading cloud security systems, and they don't even need your help to do so. It's an automatic process.

In addition to securing your cloud network as a whole, providers can secure specific files, folders, and applications. This makes the process of network management and security simple.

Enlist a Managed IT Professional

Server and online security measures would be difficult to implement on your own. That's why using quality managed IT services is an essential part of securing business technology. Outsourced IT professionals have the experience and tools needed to effectively secure all parts of your network and eliminate vulnerabilities.

You won't need to stress and can redirect your efforts toward improving core business services. Plus, you'll save money on IT asset management because you won't need to pay for in-house professionals. It's a win-win that can ensure updates in real time.

You can streamline your security better with expert assistance and business-wide support.

Implement Your Network Security Checklist

Now that you have a comprehensive network security checklist, it's time to actively safeguard your data against unauthorized users.

Our team is committed to providing you with the support, tools, and services you need to prevent breaches and financial loss. Contact Eagle Point Technology's experts to learn more about how we can keep you secure.