Top 10 Economical IT Security Tips

Protecting digital infrastructure can be costly. Here are the top 10 tips to make the most of your IT security budget.

1 – Contract IT experts to Help Plan

Use an IT professional’s expertise to identify potential areas of vulnerability in your system. The contractor can also make recommendations that fit within your budget, test those options and be sure you are sourcing the best digital security system for your company.

2 – Emphasize Employee Data Security

Many employees do not realize how valuable your company data is. Training on data security can help bring attention to any gaps in awareness.

3 - Establish Data Security Policies

Documenting your data security expectations for employees adds an additional layer of security to your system and provides a structure on which to build future policies.

4 – Install a Firewall

A firewall that is built for industrial applications is a necessity outside of the basic software that might come with a new computer. Unified Threat Management (UTM) is a business-class security system that provides antivirus, antispyware and content filtering among other things to increase company security.

5 – Require Strong Passwords

Password management tools are available to create company-wide standards that generate internal users secure passwords and serve as an additional deterrent to hackers.

6 – Remote Backups

Corrupted or missing data can cripple a business. Regular encrypted backups to an outside server or the cloud can help you recover should something go awry. Aside from cyber-attacks, an external backup is also a good idea in case of a fire or other disaster.

7 – Install Anti-Malware

Antivirus and Anti-malware may be used in combination for maximum protection. An anti-malware system will scan your entire system regularly for suspect programs that may have been accidentally downloaded by web surfing or email scams.

8 - Beef up Antivirus Programs

Computer viruses become more and more sophisticated every year in their ability to circumvent security programs. Affordable business-class antivirus software is available and continual updates will help your company stay on top of any newly identified viruses.

9 – Update all your Software

Software and firmware updates may be introduced when a threat is detected by the developer. Install these updates promptly to further increase your level of protection. Periodic visits to the websites of the product’s developer may be necessary because not every product or system makes automatic updates available.

10 – Outsource IT

Cloud services have made outsourcing IT much more cost effective in recent years. Take advantage of economies of scale offered by these companies who employ a staff of specialists to monitor and update your security for a portion of what it costs to do it in-house.