Cybersecurity policy matters now more than ever. Here's how to stay safe

Where there’s a crisis, there are those malicious enough to exploit others. With so many businesses still shifting to remote working, cybersecurity continues to be a huge concern – for businesses large and small. It’s even more critical during COVID-19 related lockdown and businesses preparing for the proliferation of staff working from home, yet needing to be connected.

While services like VPNs, firewalls, and single-sign-on go a long way to keeping users safe, a detailed cyber security policy needs to be at an all-time high here and now. In this article we will be talking about the importance of a comprehensive cyber security policy.

Why is it important to have a cyber security policy

As breaches become the new norm, having a cybersecurity policy becomes not just a matter of saving face, but of saving money, data, and valuable employee resources. Each year, thousands of breaches take place around the world, resulting in the theft of over 1 billion records of personal identifiable information.

What is a comprehensive cyber security policy

A comprehensive cybersecurity policy is essentially a battle plan that guides your organization, ensuring that your data and network is guarded from potential security threats. Think of it as a link between your people, processes, and technology.

What should your cybersecurity policy include 

• Which security programs will be implemented For example; antivirus, firewall, anti-malware, and anti-exploit software.
• How updates and patches will be applied in order to limit the attack surface and plug up application vulnerabilities.
• How data will be backed up. For example multi-factor authentication.

Everyone in the company must take ownership in protecting employer data, and by having an established policy in place, all employees — remote-working or not — will be on the same page as to what the expectations are. All employees should be discouraged to use personal device or else follow protocols.

The policy document should cover the reasoning behind having a policy in the first place, as well as details outlining all of the various security protocols employees are expected to comply with, how the company will support them in complying (i.e., which tools and resources they will provide), and a place for the employee to sign their commitment to following the policy.

Are you prepared to handle cyber attacks?

Does your organization have a comprehensive IT security policy to effectively protect your data and network from potential cyberattacks? Have you considered what security measures you currently have in place, and whether or not they’re sufficient to protect your organization from advanced threats, like ransomware?

What does a cyber security policy mean for your business?

• A comprehensive IT security policy will help you to effectively protect your business data, ensuring that you don’t end up a victim.
• A comprehensive IT security policy is essentially a battle plan that guides your organization, ensuring that your data and network is guarded from potential security threats.
• It's a link between your people, processes, and technology. When a security breach happens, it’s likely because one of these links has failed.
• The best place to begin is by establishing a cybersecurity policy. Require all new and existing employees to review and sign the policy, regardless of whether they work remotely or not.
• Having IT security policy in place, therefore, should tell your employees what’s expected of them, and helps to educate them on safe and secure procedures they should be following.
• Such a policy should encompass a variety of activities, like how your organization’s workstations will be configured, how your employees will log in, building access procedures to be aware of, and how your employees should be trained – after all, security breaches at the end-user level can often be prevented if the end-users are aware of safe practices.

Do not assume, ensure everyone signs the policy

Employees may assume if they are not working directly with customer data, or if they are not operating at an upper level within the company hierarchy, then they simply don’t need to worry about data security. Organizations cannot assume their employees know anything about cybersecurity or their role in it.

The most critical step in establishing a successful cybersecurity policy is documenting and distributing the acceptable use conditions for employees. No matter how strong defenses are, users can introduce threats to your company’s networks by falling for phishing scams, posting secure information on social media, or giving away credentials. 

Are you ready to work remotely? Do you have a comprehensive CyberSecurity policy for your business? Let's talk discuss your business requirements. Book a FREE consultation today.