Align Your Cybersecurity & Business Goals

The cybersecurity question is certainly a top boardroom concern this year following a challenging 2021. As businesses define their cybersecurity goals, it’s important to note that the bad guys have gotten smarter in their quest to steal crucial business data. We are seeing more sophisticated methods at play, such as triple extortion ransomware, which simultaneously targets multiple businesses disrupting entire supply chains.

Therefore, as you plan your business objectives, cybersecurity should always be on your priority list. In case of a cyberattack in your organization, you will not only lose essential data, but you’ll also face other consequences such as financial penalties, reputational damage, or even business shut down in some worse scenarios. So, what’s the best way to approach cybersecurity and business goals? Read on for more insights.

Aligning Security with Business Objectives

No matter the products or services you offer, the ultimate goal is to earn profits. You can achieve this objective by ensuring that you deliver the products to clients within promised timelines and offer them quality services. This way, you remain competitive and increase your customer base.

Security also plays a significant part in keeping you ahead of the pack. Note that customers also value cybersecurity, especially for businesses in the financial sector. Data has become a key consideration in today’s business world, but customers also expect you to keep their information securely. In fact, some customers will want proof of the measure you have in place to protect customers’ data from theft. As a result, companies are looking into ways to embed security in the essential processes without slowing things down.

Why Should You Be Proactive in Your Cybersecurity Strategy?

As US companies navigate a surge in cyberattacks, it’s a good idea to have a proactive approach to your cybersecurity strategy. However, cybercriminals are getting better every day, making it difficult for some businesses to manage the new threats. You can stay proactive in your cybersecurity strategy by working with experienced IT professionals like Technijian, who can guarantee the security of your systems. When you employ a proactive approach, you will always be ahead of the cyberattackers and maintain regulatory compliance. Moreover, being proactive helps you improve detection, prevention, and responses to possible attacks.

How to Implement a Cybersecurity Strategy

Here are the steps that can help you implement the best security practices.

Beware of Possible Threats

Start by understanding the possible threats that can affect your business. These threats can include malware, malicious software that can harm your networks or computers. Note that malware can come with other issues like viruses in different devices. Also, watch out for ransomware, which cybercriminals use to restrict access to data they have stolen from your company for a ransom.

Another major threat includes phishing, which involves collecting customers’ personal details to steal identities. Cybercriminals use phishing scams primarily through text or email messages to encourage employees to click on them since they look legitimate.

Evaluate Your Risks

The next step is to ensure that you are aware of the risks of encountering attacks. You can do a risk evaluation through reviews to show you how best to operate your system when facing certain cyber threats. You can also use resilience reviews to understand the areas you need to make improvements.

You can also utilize offensive-minded approaches such as penetration testing and hacking simulation to identify your organization’s vulnerabilities and weak spots. This will show you how deep cybercriminals can get into your systems, databases, and networks in case they manage to find any loopholes. Make a habit of scanning your system every week for potential threats. This way, you can respond to suspicious activity quickly.

Adopt a Regular Maintenance Schedule

You may find it difficult to adopt a proactive cybersecurity approach, especially in the early stages of your business. However, security measures can go a long way in keeping your system secure. Therefore, ensure that you keep all company devices updated and install antivirus software. You can also partner with an IT professional to help automate your software updates, just in case you forget.

You can also improve security levels by regularly updating passwords and using different passwords for every account. Also, use strong passwords to make it harder for cybercriminals to gain access to your accounts by mixing random letters or numbers and using a minimum of 12 characters.

Backup Your Data

Ensure that you back up all your essential documents that contain sensitive account, financial, and human resource details. Automating backups also ensure that you never forget to store your data safely. You can preserve data by creating separate user accounts for specific employees, restricting access to a certain level of employees, or storing data in a private cloud.

Train Your Employees

Don’t forget to schedule regular training sessions for your employees. Even if your employees are currently working remotely, have specific days to have a video call session on cybersecurity training. Depending on the threat level, you can have weekly or monthly sessions to harness the skills of your staff on security. Also, give updates on any suspicious activity to alert everyone on the possible vulnerabilities to watch out for.

Get a Suitable Cybersecurity Strategy from Technijian

Generating profits and increasing your customer base is a priority for every company. However, you may not achieve these goals without an effective cybersecurity strategy. Regardless of your business size, cybercriminals always look for loopholes to steal your sensitive data. If they manage to steal your data, it can result in loss of customer trust, a bad reputation, huge losses from legal actions and fines, and more.

At Technijian, we offer world-class security solutions that keep your data secure from cybercriminals. We’ll evaluate your infrastructure develop ideal solutions to lock down your sensitive data and provide the best ways to back up your data. Our cybersecurity experts also stay updated with cybersecurity trends to ensure we deliver the best protection for your business. Get in touch with our professionals to start a conversation on your cybersecurity requirements and business objectives.

Thanks to our colleagues at Orion Networks in the Washington DC area for their help with this research.