We’ve created a cyber security checklist for businesses in San Luis Obispo and the wider Central Coast that breaks down the key defenses that a business should have in place to greatly increase their security against cyber threats. With these defenses in place, your business will have a greatly strengthened business continuity and cyber protection, much lower cyber risks and associated costs, and will be able to demonstrate a solid commitment to cybersecurity for clients and partners alike.
In our last blog we explained why cybersecurity is essential for businesses today to ensure sustained success, continuity, and customer trust. In this piece, our checklist provides an explainer and starting point for each of the key defenses across the pillars of perimeter defense, device protection, access management, and data protection and recovery.
1. Perimeter Defense: Securing Your Digital Premises.
Businesses have a digital premises as well as a physical one, this digital premises is your network, which contains your data and systems. Ensuring that only trusted and permitted traffic enters your network is essential for keeping your IT services and business secure. If untrustworthy actors do enter your network, you will also need to have ways to identify and deal with these actors, which is another key aspect to this pillar.
There are a number of core measures that you can take to secure your digital premises:
Network Firewall
Imagine a virtual bouncer at your digital premises doorway, that only allows authorized traffic into your network, keeping unwanted guests out. This in essence is what a firewall does for your business, but it also can regulate what outbound traffic is allowed, such as limiting what websites can be accessed by your users. The core role a network firewall plays is regulating the traffic that enters your network, making it a crucial part of your perimeter defenses.
Getting started: Network firewall solutions can be hardware and software based, or a blend of both, depending on the context of the business and its IT environment. To get started, engage with an IT support provider to determine the solutions that are most appropriate for your business.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems
While a network firewall is a boundary protection, what happens if an unwanted intruder does gain access into your network? This is where intrusion detection and prevention systems add an additional layer of security, as these systems are able to act as early warners and responders to these threats.
Getting Started: Like firewalls, there are software-based solutions that are straightforward enough to implement in the case of relatively simple IT environments. However, for more complex environments, it’s advisable to engage with an IT service provider to find, configure and apply these systems so that they can provide full coverage for your network.
VPNs & Secure Storage
A VPN or Virtual Private Network is like a secure, private tunnel that your network’s data can travel through, shielded from prying eyes. These solutions are particularly relevant to businesses that have remote or travelling workers who may be connecting to your network from less secure home routers and public WiFi spots for instance.
VPNs, however, can be potentially slow or become slower as a business grows. Another solution that is also easier to implement, is secure cloud file storage solutions such as Egnyte, which enable users to access and work on files in real time on a secure platform without requiring a VPN. Egnyte can work with Microsoft documents, and likewise if your business has a cloud-based environment such as Microsoft 365, a VPN will be able to offer secure access to it.
Getting started: Both VPNs and secure cloud storage solutions such as Egnyte are possible to implement for less technical business owners and directors, but as with many cyber security measures, it’s advisable to work with an IT support provider to ensure they are optimally configured and apply the fullest scope of protection for your business.
2. Device Protection: Keeping Your Hardware Secure
Devices are known as endpoints, which are essentially entry points into your network. These devices include routers, laptops, phones, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. If a device can connect to the internet, it is a possible entry point for malicious actors. By implementing the device protection pillar, you field a layer of protection that prevents these entry points from being exploited.
Antivirus & Antimalware:
Viruses and malware can wreak havoc on a business if they gain access to a device and the wider network that they connect to. For example, ransomware, a type of malware that encrypts and locks down devices and systems in order to gain a ransom payment from a business, can spread across a network and effectively shut a business’s operations down. Out of no where, an intangible threat can concretely bring the operations of a local San Luis Obispo or Central Coast businesses to a grinding halt.
Antivirus software are like guards stationed in your devices, actively patrolling them to ensure that these entry points remain safe from cyber threats.
Getting started: Assemble an inventory of devices that can be secured by antivirus solutions, and install these solutions onto those devices, and take care to securely configure them to offer the fullest protection. In particular, ensure they are configured to update automatically with the latest security updates.
Crucially, your servers are also susceptible to malware just like any other devices, so they should also be protected by antivirus solutions, which can be a little trickier to install and configure. If you need support with securing your servers, get in touch with an IT support provider for assistance.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
As discussed, endpoints are essentially devices that communicate with your network. An Endpoint Detection and Response solution provides an umbrella of oversight of these devices, with these solutions being able to monitor device behaviors and alert you about unusual or suspicious activity.
Getting started: There are EDR solutions that can be implemented ‘off the shelf’ for small businesses in San Luis Obispo and beyond with less complex requirements. These solutions offer a user-friendly installation and management process, but for more complicated and vast IT environments, working with an IT service provider to deploy these solutions is highly recommended.
Patch Management
Patch management solutions are a holistic way of ensuring that the range of your devices and applications are up to date with the latest security and software fixes. In effect, they repair chinks and gaps in the digital armor of your operating systems and software.
Getting started: There are patch management solutions that are software based and fairly easy to implement for smaller businesses. For larger businesses this can also be more complex, especially if the IT environment is not thoroughly documented. In these cases, like the other key measures, its advisable to work with an IT support provider.
3. Access Management: Managing Your Digital Keys.
For any local business in San Luis Obispo, they don’t just need to secure their physical doors, but also their digital doors! Like the keys to a home, access management is about ensuring that only the right people, for the right reasons, can access certain parts of your network. It also entails securing user accounts and ensuring that only your team can access your network using them.
An obvious example of applying this pillar, would be administrator privileges, not everyone should have them! Access management is about ensuring that your teams can access the data, files and features of your network on a ‘need to know’ basis, which limits the potential damage that a data breach can cause. On the other hand, implementing steps such as multi-factor authentication, can help to prevent breaches in the first place, making this a core pillar to implement in your business.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA is a highly common feature across the range of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions on the market today, such as Microsoft 365. MFA is a security feature that gets users to verify their login credentials using two different methods. For example, a user may input their email and password to login to a software, and then receive a code on their mobile device to verify that it’s them, offering an extra layer of access security.
Getting started: Applying MFA is relatively straightforward for most businesses. Take an inventory of the software that you use in your organization and try to enforce MFA using the administrative settings on them.
Implement Access Controls
Access controls give authorization to defined users and types of users to access certain files, data and settings. This should be implemented on a ‘need to know’ basis, with clearly defined roles and access permissions for your users to structure your access controls around.
A clear example of where access controls can be applied is in Microsoft 365 environments. There will be a range of settings as well as files within the 365 environment, that can be configured to ensure that users do not have access to IT assets and settings that are not needed to undertake their work, thereby limiting the potential damage of a cyber breach if these accounts are compromised.
Getting Started: Create an inventory of software that your business uses, review user profiles across them, and create appropriate access permissions for user groups on a ‘need to know’ basis.
4. Data Protection & Recovery: Ensuring Business Continuity
It’s likely that your business relies on large amounts of different types of data to operate, so ensuring that it is both protected and recoverable is essential for success in today’s world. The growing array of cyber threats, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations in a fast-paced digital world, has made data protection a key priority.
Backup Solutions
Backup solutions act as your safety net. If you lose your data because of an unexpected cyber-attack or hardware malfunction, you will be able to restore the lost data rapidly using these solutions, by using copies of the data there are stored securely elsewhere. There are a number of ways to implement a backup solution, with many today being conducted via Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions.
This said, implementing a full, comprehensive backup and recovery solution is often not straightforward for businesses. From configuring backups to testing recovery processes across a range of different use cases, these can require some technical expertise to make sure they are giving a full and reliable solution for your business.
Getting Started: For smaller businesses in particular, a SaaS backup solution could be used and implemented to offer a good data backup solution. However, to ensure it is comprehensive, configured compliantly and will work in a range of scenarios, we would recommend contacting an IT support provider for assistance with implementing a full backup and recovery solution.
Data Encryption
Data encryption prevents prying eyes from seeing the contents of files that are in storage or transit in your network by making them unreadable and very hard to decipher. Encryption is quite like wrapping your data with a secret language that only you and trusted parties can understand.
Encryption comes as a default with the vast majority of cloud solutions today. For example, a business using Microsoft 365 will have its data stored there encrypted by Microsoft. However, every business is unique, and may operate software that is not encrypted on them, which is where an encryption solution can be of use.
Getting started: Firstly, survey your applications and systems to find out if they offer encryption as a default. You can also consult with an IT support provider to assess if an encryption solution can be of help in your business.
Data Loss Prevention Solutions
DLP stands for Data Loss Prevention, it refers to a set of technologies and strategies that are designed to prevent sensitive or confidential data from being lost or exposed to unauthorized actors. In a nutshell, DLP solutions can scan data flows in your network and see how sensitive data is moving through it, picking up unusual or suspicious signs of activity and reporting them.
While each DLP solution is different, in general they can monitor the flow of sensitive data on devices, emails, cloud storage environments, and more. They can also be configured with policies and controls that can be used to limit unauthorized activity that breaks your compliance and IT policies for example.
Getting Started: There are SaaS DLP solutions that make it considerably easier for businesses to implement and configure this useful solution via online software, which can be set up relatively quickly. As with most security tools, we recommend implementing DLP in partnership with an IT support provider to ensure it is being used to its full potential without any gaps.
Conclusion: Ensuring Business Cybersecurity across San Luis Obispo and the Central Coast
Cyber security has never been more important in today’s world including for businesses in San Luis Obispo. By implementing these four pillars, you can greatly increase the security and resilience of your business, while minimizing risks and the costs associated with them. We hope this checklist has given you a helpful starting point for implementing these pillars. Because cyber threats operate globally using the web, they can target businesses across the world, and businesses in San Luis Obispo are no exception.
While many of these solutions are accessible without technical expertise and will help your business to cover important ground, it is important to bear in mind that to implement them to their full potential, a business will likely require the assistance of an IT support provider. By setting up a cyber-secure foundation using these four pillars, you can safeguard your digital assets, gain peace of mind and focus your efforts on delivering for its customers and enjoying secure and sustainable growth.
Accqua IT Solutions – Elevating Central Coast Businesses with Tailored IT Services in San Luis Obispo
Nestled in the heart of San Luis Obispo, Accqua IT Solutions extends its expertise in IT management, support, and cutting-edge solutions to businesses throughout California’s picturesque Central Coast Region, including the stunning landscapes of California’s coastal jewel, San Luis Obispo. Proudly serving as a beacon of innovation, we specialize in enhancing the productivity and fortifying the cybersecurity of businesses across this scenic stretch of coastline.
Let Accqua be your partner in unlocking the true potential of IT as a driving force for growth within your enterprise, right here on the captivating Central Coast of California. Reach out to us today and discover how our friendly and seasoned team can tailor tech solutions to meet your unique needs. We’re excited to connect and contribute to the success of your business amidst the scenic beauty of California’s Central Coast.
