Lots of businesses get hacked every day. Hackers are after money, information, and resources. Law firms have these three in abundance, and hackers have taken note. Law offices have seen an increase in cyber attacks in recent years, so it has never before been as important to keep sensitive information out of the hands of the wrong people. There are many steps that business owners can take to make their infrastructure harder to infiltrate. The goal is not necessarily to be impenetrable – truthfully, that would take extremely large amounts of money that not everyone can spend on cyber defense. The goal is to be secure enough that a hacker will move on to another target instead of spending time on your business. This article aims to set businesses on the right path so the statistics are not so bleak.
Hardening Your Firm
Below, in no particular order, are some great practices that every business should implement, or at the very least thought about:
- Spend money on training. Focus on informing all staff on safe practices to ensure that a small internal mistake does not become a cyber-security nightmare.
- Choose the right backup system. Backups should be kept on-site and off-site and should be automatic. Backups should be routinely checked to ensure they are working as intended. Also consider your company’s recovery time objective (RTO) in the event of a disaster. Some backup systems help you recover much faster than others.
- Install updates in a timely manner. Apply security updates as soon as they are deemed to be safe.
- Set up permissions. Determine which users need access to which files. Be as strict as you can be without disturbing workflow.
- Update software. These patches apply vital security changes each time. This is just as important as updating the OS.
- Block “.exe” or “.zip” files. These indicate a program that can be run on your machine. Also, be informed on what is running on your computers.
- If using any sort of cloud service, like storage, talk to the service provider about controlling the encryption key. Make sure this is kept safe and securely accessible when needed.
- Develop a cybersecurity program that meets the required degree of safety. Too much security is only an issue if it makes work harder for users.
- Establish clear rules on mobile devices and remote access to the network. This can range from allowing everything to allowing nothing. Find the balance for your organization.
- Ensure your machines are capturing logs and have strong audit policies in the event that a threat is realized. This can speed up the process of researching the cause after a cyber-attack.
- Share threats back and forth with other firms and organizations. Information is power in the world of technology.
- Do not share passwords, and do not store them insecurely. If they need to be stored, make sure the file or service is encrypted.
This list is not the only guide to be followed. Secure networks are ever changing and constantly managed by dedicated IT professionals.
I hope you find these tips helpful. For more details on how to apply these tips to your business, please contact me, your strategic technology planner, at SecurityFirst@BrickTechIT.com or at (407) 244-4494.
BrickTech provides IT Support, IT Consulting, Managed IT Services and offers VoIP phone systems in Orange County and Seminole County including Orlando, Winter Park, Oviedo, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford and surrounding areas.
