With multinational corporations investing more resources into improving their cyber security systems, cybercriminals are diverting more of their attention towards SMEs, as they are generally easier targets.

As such, it’s crucial to understand and mitigate your IT security risks before your company’s data is compromised. If not, it may become an issue for investors, banks and insurers.

Despite being aware of why managing cyber risk matters, how do you reduce the odds of falling prey to a cyber attack that could potentially cripple your business? While it may be challenging, there are certain strategies that your business could implement to reduce IT security risks.

In this blog, our experts at Redpalm have put together a list of five strategies that can assist your business to strengthen its defences against cyber attacks without breaking the bank!

1) Identify and Log Your Asset Vulnerabilities

When dealing with IT security risks, a risk assessment should be your first step in identifying what makes your organisation vulnerable to cyber-attacks and which commodities are at risk.
You can begin with questions like:

• What data do you gather?
• How do you store your files and other critical documents?
• Who has full access to it?
• Do you offer user training to your employees?
• Do you have data erasure procedures to ensure all your crucial business data is securely erased, to prevent data leaks?
• Do you require multi-factor authentication to restrict access to your network?

Once you have all the information you need, analyse the current IT solutions you have in place and how they assist in securing your network, emails, computers, and other endpoints from a potential cyber threat.

As an experienced managed services provider (MSP), Redpalm has all the necessary tools to identify potential IT security risks and minimise the risk of a data breach. This means your IT team can focus on other business-critical functions while we take care of your technical requirements and update your disaster recovery plans.

2) Identify Both Internal and External Threats

It is important to do your research and familiarise yourself with the different types of cyber-attacks and how they are executed. However, don’t make the mistake of simply focusing on potential external threats.

Whilst the term “hacker” might conjure images of shady figures on the internet or malevolent teenagers, a disgruntled employee can compromise your sensitive business data just as, if not more, easily.

As a dedicated IT service provider, Redpalm is equipped to tackle these threats so you don’t have to worry about the security of your IT infrastructure.

When you partner with us, you can rest assured that your network and business data are monitored and guarded 24/7, with immediate reporting systems in place if a vulnerability is detected.

3) Assess Your Business’ Resilience

There are several security risk management tools that you can leverage to scan your data and networks, to identify whether all your systems are up to date and to vigilantly monitor them for potential threats.

You can also leverage tools that enable your in-house IT team to conduct pre-defined stability tests on your existing systems and networks.

However, by working with a seasoned MSP like Redpalm, you gain complete access to all the IT software and equipment you need to assess your business’ resilience and ensure your business is up and running at all times as you stay ahead of the curve.

4) Conduct Business Impact Analysis

When it comes to tackling IT security risks, you need to conduct a business impact analysis to determine the consequences or effects – reputational, financial or operational – of a cyber attack on your business.

If you have a resilient business continuity plan in place, you’ll already have a clear vision of the expenses linked to business interruption or IT failures.

If you haven’t recently updated or stress-tested your strategy, get in touch with our experts and they’ll work with you to update your recovery plan.  That way, if you ever need it, your business operations are stalled for as little time as possible.

5) Prioritise Your IT Security Risk Response

Once you have identified the potential impact of a cyber attack on your organisation, start prioritising your IT security response and resolve any flaws you find in it.

If you’re modifying your business recovery plan, ensure you test it as that ensures you’ve not only resolved any flaws but that the changes won’t negatively impact your network and systems.

Additionally, make sure you’ve laid out strict rules and are conducting regular staff training sessions on potential cyber security risks for effective risk management in cyber security.

Since there’s no impervious way to secure your business from a cyber-attack, you need to be prepared at all times. That said, if you’ve already fallen victim to a network breach and need to know what to do after a cyber attack, click here!

Get in Touch with Redpalm To Level Up Your IT Security

IT security risks are not going away. If anything, they’re simply becoming more intricate and damaging.

Therefore, it’s important that organisations start taking active steps towards securing their networks and data via holistic security measures anchored by a solid security risk management plan. That’s where we can help you!

At Redpalm, we assist organisations in deploying an array of IT security measures including cloud storage security, firewalls, unified endpoint management, and more while making their cyber security procedures as intuitive as possible.

We offer our managed IT services to clients across the UK, primarily focusing on Northampton and London.

For effective risk management in cyber security and to ensure that the IT infrastructure of your business remains safe and secure at all times, get in touch with our team today!