The news for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) is clear: Practice good cybersecurity or put your business at risk.
Sneaky hackers are hoping for small businesses to stay in the dark on cybersecurity best practices so they can target them with scams that focus on phishing, spoofing, and using social engineering to break down security barriers.
And their plan is working. Up to two-thirds of small businesses have been successfully breached by hackers in the last year and that number is sure to rise as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic puts more pressure on already strained small business IT departments.
The solution for your Huntsville-based small business? Partner with a Huntsville Alabama Managed IT services provider that can help you get — and stay — up to speed with cybersecurity best practices.
Exploring Cybersecurity Best Practices with a Huntsville, Alabama Managed IT Services Provider
There are many choices when it comes to outsourcing your IT needs, particularly when it comes to ensuring you have the most cutting-edge cybersecurity protocols in place for the highest level of protection against cybercriminals.
If your business is based in Huntsville, Alabama, it’s smart to look into Managed IT services with a local provider to ensure you have a team that understands the local business landscape and vulnerabilities.
Your Huntsville, Alabama Managed IT team can offer the kind of custom solutions and on-the-spot troubleshooting that makes going local the smart choice for cyber-savvy businesses.
Other best practices to employ with your local managed services provider (MSP) include:
Securing Web-Connected Devices
COVID has brought about a work-at-home revolution, with more employees relying on Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) solutions and Internet-of-Things (IoT) access to get their jobs done.
Web-connected devices such as printers, smartphones, tablets, and laptops offer up a host of vulnerabilities to malicious actors such as hackers. These vulnerabilities can expose your data to theft and loss and reduce your ability to comply with various data privacy rules and regulations.
Your Huntsville Managed IT services provider can help secure these devices by making sure the latest updates are completed as soon as they are released and providing guidance in developing a security policy that will educate and protect your workforce.
In addition, your Managed IT team can make sure you and your employees have access to simple, yet often missed solutions, such as password-protecting devices, identifying acceptable devices, requiring anti-virus software, and creating a virtual private network (VPN) will help keep your business — and your critical data — safer.
Developing Employee Education
Employee training and education is an essential cybersecurity measure. Simple as it sounds, the lack of this type of training was flagged as the single biggest weakness for businesses during the recent coronavirus lockdown.
Educational measures can range from an understanding of your company’s cybersecurity policies to simulated attacks and what to do following an incident.
Disaster Recovery Planning
Even the best cybersecurity measures are sometimes outwitted by new hacking techniques, so it’s smart to be prepared.
A Managed IT provider will help you develop a robust disaster recovery plan which may include:
- Defined roles and responsibilities in the event of an attack
- A protocol for employees to follow post-attack
- An asset inventory
- Offsite backups or redundancies
- Anti-spyware software installation
- Planned drills to test system readiness
Of course, your Managed IT partner will develop a comprehensive plan that’s based on the specific needs and risks faced by your business, so it could incorporate other elements on an as-needed basis.
RJ Young: Your Huntsville Cyber Security Experts
At RJ Young, we understand the need for small businesses to have a local expert they can rely upon for state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection.
In the world of cybersecurity, the rules — and players — are constantly changing, making it difficult for most in-house IT teams to keep up.
And some businesses don’t have the luxury of in-house staff, so they often rely on office managers or other staff to keep their systems up to date — a real problem in today’s tech-heavy environment.
“Our team of Managed IT experts have targeted training and knowledge in the areas of cybersecurity and IT management. We can assess your infrastructure, develop a robust cybersecurity plan, and make certain your organization is protected in the event of a breach.”
Lauren Kail, Sales Manager, Huntsville, AL
Don’t leave your data unprotected. Touch base with an RJ Young consultant and let us design a cutting-edge cybersecurity plan to keep your critical information safe — and your business up and running.