Human beings and companies are more digitally connected than ever before. Both have important data they wish to safeguard from misuse and cyberthreats. Thus, developing a security policy for a firm to secure information technology has become ever more important.
Developing a solid security policy that secures company data can be made with a systematic approach.
Follow the below-mentioned steps to develop a comprehensive plan for technological security.
Carry Out a Thorough Risk Assessment
With digitalization being a primary objective of most firms in the 21st century, the number of security risks has increased exponentially. Therefore, the first and perhaps the most crucial step is to carefully identify EVERY SINGLE TECHNOLOGICAL RISK to the firm.
Any single point that is used to gather, transfer, convert, and store data is a good place to start. Create a list of all the IT assets in the firm, from software to hardware. Segregate them based on types of threats it can face and its vulnerabilities.
Next, assess the impact a security breach to the specific asset would have on business operations. A staff level employee losing a laptop is a low severity security issue because the device is password protected and only contains non-critical company data. However, a large-scale attack that releases significant data on personal health or finances is a major hindrance. With this, the areas that require most protection are identified.
Establish Measures to Control Data Access and Handling
Access to data should only be provided to the relevant personnel. In order to retrieve the data, they must complete the necessary and multi-factored authentication procedures. Additionally, it must be accessed through official and pre-authorized company accounts.
Data should be encrypted at every step to safeguard sensitive company and client information. It is critical to maintain regular backups and recovery mechanisms of data. In the event of loss of data, it can be safely and securely restored.
Using this information, develop an Incident Response Plan (IRP). This plan will highlight clear steps to take from identification of the breach, minimizing the spread, eliminating the breach, and finally recovering and reinforcing the systems.
Properly Train Your Employees
The IRP falls short without the cooperation of all staff. This is only possible if they have been made aware of and are properly trained. This involves workshops and courses on security training. The curriculum should focus on the specific type of company data the employee is in contact with.
Raising awareness is not a one-time activity. It must be done regularly so that employees are periodically reminded of the cyberthreats they face. Similarly, data breaches can occur internally due to malicious intent from an employee. So, the disciplinary and legal action that would be taken against them should be well-known to all employees.
