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In 2020, about 45% of businesses are planning to increase their budget for tech. As a matter of fact, it has been predicted that the global volume spent on cybersecurity would reach up to $160 billion by the end of 2020. 

With the invasion of cybercrimes in the past few years, the rise of smarter criminals and always evolving organizations, it’s no surprise that companies are upgrading their IT departments.  

Here are some IT upgrades and priorities that are expected to be changed within 2020. 

A study was conducted in 2019 by IDG. It interviewed more than 500 security firms and provided the following stats. 

  • About 60% said that protecting personal information is a top priority.

  • 43% said that awareness should be provided in order to reduce phishing and identity theft.

  • 38% are considering upgrading data security to boost resiliency

  • 25% want to handle analytics and data with responsibility

  • 22% think that complexity should be reduced to secure IT infrastructure. 

Which of the above-mentioned security processes is your priority? Are you sure that your crucial data is secure enough?

Even though you are okay with your security measure, these things need to evolve periodically. Hence, it might just be time to rethink your protection standards. To give you a headstart, here a few cybersecurity practices that you might consider. 

  1. Asset Inventory

If you are planning to build their security program from scratch, IT inventory management is the first step for you. Here is what you need to start out with:

  • List down your assets.

  • Make a list of everyone who has access to your networks. 

  • Make evaluations of your current security plan, updating it if required.

  • Create detailed reports of cybersecurity networks.

  • Evaluate your security budget.

  1. Get access to remote employees

Today, the world is quickly moving towards remote jobs. Workers should now understand the consequences of choosing ease over security. Forfeiting security is not a wise tradeoff. 

To explain this, a survey was conducted of 1000 employees about how they access their office network while on leave. The results were very frightening. About 78% admitted to using free public Wi-Fi. Only 22% said that they would use a secure VPN to access their corporate systems. 

What’s even worse was that 50% of workers weren’t even aware of their remote-work cybersecurity policies. 

If you are one of the managers or a person in charge, you need to make sure that you have out-of-office rules and in-house guidelines as well. If you already have security instructions, make sure that they are being followed. 

  1. Identity and Access Management

IAM (Identity and Access Management) plays a significant role in driving an enterprise security plan for action. It ensures that the right people are given access to the organization’s crucial data at the right time. To signify this, IAM has three main functions. 

  • Identification: Requires users to give a username or an ID.

  • Authentication: Requires users to verify.

  • Authorization: Defines the limitations of a person. 

A good IAM structure helps organizations establish a secure environment and reduce budget spend on security tools. IAM also offers solutions that work with different policies, consents, and compliance regulations. Another way to secure organizations’ data is to use monitoring software to keep track of your employees. According to a survey more than 30% of data breaches were caused by the employees of companies themselves. 

  1. Patch Management 

Primarily, patch management is a process for managing software and patching system with new upgrades. These small patches are able to fix vulnerabilities. Or else your system will face a lot of threats. 

In September of 2017, a company named Equifax had approximately 140 million records breached. This happened because of a vulnerable open-source server. A counter patch was also available but not applied on time. 

To avoid such an incident, it is important to utilize patching and on time. 

  1. Risk Assessment

Risk assessment in the field of cybersecurity can help you identify the areas that are vulnerable to hackers. Here are some of the most common risks that can harm your computers. 

  • Risk of a negative reputation among the public. 

  • Risk of failing internal process.

  • Risk of delivery wrong product or unsatisfactory service. 

  • Risk of violating government regulations. 

  1. Multi-factor authentication

While we are talking about cybersecurity, experts usually list multi-factor authentication in the top three. The reason is MFA offers more than one form of authentication. Let’s talk about how it works. 

Suppose you want access to a system that has an MFA system. You can not just get in with your ID and password. The account server will require a second form of validation before letting you in. 

Just assume it like a bank account. While registering for an account, they will ask for a picture ID along with other forms of validation like your passport or SSN(Social Security Number). That extra coat of security in banks is just how multi-factor authentication works. 

  1. Cyber-sanitations

With companies facing an abnormal number of cyber attacks and phishing, the elementary process needs to go along the way.  Here are some cyber-sanitation habits that can help you build up better security systems. 

  • Make sure your firewalls and routers are completely deployed and configured. 

  • Keep on updating your list of users on a regular basis including white and blacklists. 

  • Make categories of user permissions for authorized users. 

  • Keep your antiviruses up-to-date.

  • Run scans to find out vulnerabilities on a regular basis with updated OS and security patches. 

  • Always keep a backup and encrypted business data.

  • Use strong passwords through 2FA and MFA procedures.

Final words

The above-mentioned security practices will go a long way in helping and securing your business data. It would be beneficial for every business to practice them. In the end, precaution is better than cure. In the world of business, losing sensitivity can cost you a lot more than practicing minor cybersecurity precautions.

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