Strong IT security and compliance have never been more critical from a business and legal perspective. As hacking and security threats to online data and privacy continue to grow and become more sophisticated, robust IT security has become every company’s first line of defense.
IT Security and Data Protection Is More Important Than Ever
In the last few years alone, countless high-profile and seemingly impenetrable companies and organizations have fallen victim to hacking incidents. These security failures have compromised operations and exposed sensitive customer data, resulting in loss of confidence and significant financial penalties. Virtually every industry is at risk, but the threat is especially high for the healthcare and financial services sectors. One catastrophic data breach is all it takes to destroy your company’s reputation and compromise your ability to do business.
According to Industry data collected by IBM, the average cost of a single data breach is close to $9 million. 80 percent of the breaches targeted personally identifiable information (PPI), which is the costliest for companies to recover from. In fact, each stolen record costs your business $150—a number that adds up quickly when hackers steal entire databases of information.
Even the U.S. Government Isn’t Immune to Cybersecurity Breaches
Security breaches at financial giants like Equifax and Capital One (to name a few) in recent years are alarming enough, but even the U.S. government isn’t immune from data breaches. The SolarWinds hack last year exposed several U.S. agencies, from the Office of the President of the United States to The Secret Service, NASA, and the Department of Defense.
How to Protect Your Data and IT Security
That’s the bad news. The good news is that a vigilant IT security approach can lower your risk of experiencing similar breaches. Here’s a general cybersecurity compliance checklist to help you perform regular audits and locate areas where your network and IT processes may be vulnerable:
- Have you invested in and updated your physical security tactics? Where is your data stored, and what are the security protocols in place to access your servers, especially during an emergency or security incident?
- Do you conduct regular software testing, especially for programs that handle sensitive data?
- How strong are your firewalls?
- Are your intrusion prevention and detection programs up to speed and equipped to handle emerging threats?
- Is sensitive data stored separately from other information?
- How strong is your wireless network security?
- Do you regularly monitor access points for unauthorized use?
The best way to protect yourself from a cybersecurity breach is to prepare for it before it happens. If you can give confident, detailed answers to all these questions, you’re in good shape. If you’re unsure about even one, you still have a lot of work to do.
The Right IT Security Partner Can Make All the Difference
Most companies handle more data than they can safely store. In-house data storage and IT security teams are expensive and impractical for mid-sized companies.
We can help. We offer data center security services in Idaho and the surrounding area. We provide the IT equipment and data backup and storage services you need to keep your company’s sensitive information and IT environment safe and compliant, along with some peace of mind in the process.
Contact us today for more information about our services.