4 IT Goals Every Business Should Set for 2023

In 2022, many businesses faced a variety of technology-related challenges involving data security, automation (i.e., finding the right automation tools), and keeping a hybrid workforce well supported, to name a few.

As 2023 begins, it’s important to take a proactive approach when managing technology tools to ensure uninterrupted productivity while meeting the unique challenges posed by current market conditions. This involves putting in place an IT strategy that will address the technology challenges of the past year and prepare your business in Salt Lake City for the year ahead.

Here are some IT goals to consider integrating into your strategy this year.

1. Strengthen security protocols

In 2023, businesses should make it one of their IT goals to strengthen their cyber risk protocols to better secure customer and company information. IT threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and businesses need to be proactive with their cybersecurity.

A recent report by Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that global cybercrime damages costs will keep rising exponentially — from $3 trillion in 2015 to $10.5 trillion in 2025. And the current global economic landscape isn’t helping, with inflation and supply chain disruptions taking their toll on businesses. Cybercrime has simply become more expensive for companies due to the rising cost of preventing and remedying attacks.

Worse, many technology companies even had to reduce IT staff or freeze hiring, leaving security teams struggling against limited resources. To adequately protect organizations from threats, it’s crucial to ensure that budgets increase alongside inflation or risk being unable to build up a strong enough defense.

2. Review your backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan

This year, it is essential to inspect your company’s BDR capabilities and make any necessary improvements. Regularly assessing the effectiveness of your BDR plan will help ensure that your organization can cope with a range of issues that may arise, such as natural disasters or other technical difficulties.

The lack of a strong BDR strategy could lead to financial losses due to lost revenue, decreased productivity, and delays in delivery times. Thus, one of your 2023 tech goals should be to implement comprehensive BDR solutions tailored to your specific needs.

It also pays to stay abreast of new backup technologies and data storage trends, which can make data backup more efficient and offer more robust safeguards against cyberthreats.

3. Increase efficiency with automation

Another worthwhile IT goal is to achieve operational efficiency with automation. Automation has the potential to reduce business costs, increase accuracy, and speed up processes, making it an invaluable asset for any company looking to maximize its operations.

Automation can eliminate the need to manually perform repetitive tasks, enabling organizations to reduce their operating costs. It can also streamline processes so tasks can be completed faster and more accurately. Automation can also improve customer service and engagement with AI-enabled processes, allowing businesses to respond quickly and accurately to customer inquiries.

4. Link technology with profitability goals

Finally, if you’re purchasing new tech or undertaking a major IT project, remember that technology adoption should always link back to a business goal or need. Research shows that businesses that use tech strategically are likely to earn twice as much revenue per employee compared to those that don’t.

Carefully consider the expenses involved. When formulating the annual IT budget for your business, account for all technology-related costs, including application usage (i.e., how many employees will use a particular software program) and availability of other, less costly tools.

By including these four goals in your overall IT strategy, your business can stay ahead of the competition and position itself for success in the years to come. Get started today by setting some achievable IT goals for your Salt Lake City/Utah business in 2023 with the help of NetWize’s IT professionals. Call us today.

Why you should kick-start 2023 with an IT audit

The new year is a time for reflection and resolutions. It’s also the perfect time to conduct an audit of your business IT. Many business owners put off this important task, but there are many benefits to be gained by doing an IT audit at the start of the year. For one, it is a great way to ensure that your business is in its best shape heading into 2023, and it can help you gain an edge even before Q1 ends.

Scheduling one now for your Salt Lake City business, and having it done either by your IT team or outsourced IT consultant, means having more time to tackle challenges as they come up throughout the year ahead. In this article, we will discuss what an IT audit is, its purpose, and the benefits of conducting one.

What is an IT audit?

An IT audit is an assessment of the security, compliance, and efficiency of a company’s IT systems and infrastructure. It helps businesses identify weaknesses in their cybersecurity or data protection measures and any potential risks that could arise from these vulnerabilities. Some of the main purposes of a technology audit is reducing the risk of data loss or theft, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and industry standards, and improving overall organizational performance.

There are many different types of IT audits that a business can perform, but these are the most common ones:

General control review – involves assessing the effectiveness and accuracy of existing policies and procedures
Application control review – done to spot issues related to software applications such as viruses or other malicious code
System integrity review – focuses on detecting any problems with an organization’s operating systems
Vulnerability assessment – used to discover any known vulnerabilities in the system that attackers could potentially exploit
Penetration test – entails simulating an attack on the system in order to further examine its security posture
Configuration review – aims to ensure that user accounts follow best practices for authentication and authorization according to organizational policy

Benefits of an IT audit

Conducting an IT audit right at the start of the year can benefit your business in the following ways:

Improved security

An IT audit can help your company detect and mitigate threats early in the year. By being proactive, you can identify weaknesses in your data protection measures, as well as any potential risks associated with these vulnerabilities, before operations get busy. It’s interesting to note that the beginning of the year is when retail businesses, in particular, traditionally experience a slump, with sales and foot traffic usually dropping.

Increased efficiency

By conducting an IT audit, you can identify areas where your business’s processes are inefficient or outdated. This helps to reduce costs and improve overall organizational performance by streamlining operations and enhancing user experience. Clients feel valued and respected when a company swiftly tackles areas of improvement and addresses them early in the year.

Strengthened reputation

There’s also no better way to build trust with customers and business partners than by conducting an IT audit at the start of the year. This is a good way for your company to demonstrate your commitment to cybersecurity and data protection and showcase your dedication to compliance with legal requirements and industry standards. In highly regulated industries such as legal, healthcare, and finance, this is crucial.

Greater efficiency

A thorough IT audit enhances your team’s workflow efficiency by streamlining processes. The audit should be tailored to your organization’s specific needs, size, industry type, and geographic location so that it provides meaningful insights into operational risks while creating minimal disruption during the process.

If your business in Utah is facing IT security and data risks, invest in an auditing service custom-made to your business’s needs. Doing so will ensure that all of your company’s assets remain secure and uncompromised. Get in touch with NetWize’s team of IT professionals to get started. Call us today.

Your cybersecurity architecture needs to have these 6 critical components

With cybercriminals employing a wide array of methods to steal your business’s confidential information nowadays, your IT team should always be fully alert to any cyberattack that may occur. But they can’t do it alone. People, tools, and processes must work in sync in safeguarding your organization’s IT infrastructure. In this article, we’ll discuss the vital elements of any cybersecurity infrastructure so you can maintain a strong cybersecurity posture.

Cybersecurity architecture and its essential components

Cybersecurity architecture is a framework of policies and processes for securing an organization’s IT infrastructure. This combines all the technologies, tools, and security measures that work together to protect computers, networks, and data from internal and external attacks. If done correctly, your security architecture can help ensure that any sensitive information stored in your organization’s in-house databases or cloud-based systems remains safe.

Make sure you incorporate the following critical components into your cybersecurity architecture to boost your IT systems, anticipate potential cyberthreats, and block them before they do any damage.

1. Firewall

Firewalls allow you to control the type of traffic that can access your network and block anything that does not meet your established policies. They also let you segment access to all areas of your network and restrict access to certain users.

Furthermore, firewalls help protect against malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks by inspecting incoming and outgoing data packets. They may use port and protocol filtering to monitor inbound and outbound traffic on ports commonly used by cybercriminals, thus preventing malicious traffic from getting through your network’s defenses. Additionally, firewalls can be configured to detect suspicious activity such as large file transfers that could indicate an ongoing attack or one that’s about to take place.

2. Intrusion prevention systems (IPS)

Intrusion prevention systems work hand in hand with firewalls by monitoring all data packets entering or leaving the network for signs of malicious activity. If it detects any suspicious behavior, the IPS will alert the system administrator to take the appropriate action, such as blocking or quarantining a connection before it does serious damage.

3. Endpoint protection

The primary goal of endpoint protection is to detect and prevent malicious activity from occurring in your network, which can be done by monitoring endpoints like computers, mobile gadgets, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices for signs of suspicious behavior. Endpoint protection solutions can be hardware, software, or a combination of the two and are designed to detect advanced threats such as zero-day attacks and malware that can bypass traditional security measures.

4. Web filtering

Web filtering helps protect against malicious threats that can come from accessing malicious websites. A web filter analyzes and categorizes web traffic to identify potentially malicious sites, and then blocks access to those sites.

In addition to providing protection from malicious content, web filtering can also be used to enforce acceptable use policies within an organization, such as prohibiting access to certain types of content like pornography or gambling sites.

5. Access control systems

Access control systems allow organizations to protect sensitive information by restricting who has access to the system and what they can do within it. They do this by monitoring user activity, determining which users have access to which network resources, and providing authentication so that only authorized users are allowed in.

Access control systems usually include user authentication, role-based access control (RBAC), and multifactor authentication protocols.

User authentication requires users to provide a username and password before they can access the network.
Role-based access control is a mechanism that grants privileges and restricts access based on the user’s specific role in the organization.
Multifactor authentication protocols require users to enter multiple pieces of information (e.g., a password and biometric data) before they can gain access.

6. Cyber resiliency assessment

Cyber resiliency assessment provides a comprehensive overview of the organization’s current cybersecurity posture. It evaluates the effectiveness of existing measures, identifies any potential gaps, and helps to develop an actionable plan for improvement.

A cyber resiliency assessment should include an in-depth review of the organization’s security policies, procedures, and tools used to protect against cyberattacks. This includes identifying any potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited (such as weak authentication or inadequate encryption) and determining the risk associated with each threat. The assessment should also consider internal factors such as employee training and awareness programs, patch management policies, and the organization’s response plan in the event of a breach.

NetWize’s IT experts help businesses in Salt Lake City and across Utah stay on top of their cybersecurity infrastructure and make sure it is up to date with the latest security measures and protocols. Call us today at 801-747-3200 or leave us a message to get started.

New year, new IT resolutions: What your business should do to improve its technology

The new year is here, and with it comes the chance for a fresh start. For businesses, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on the past year and set resolutions to help them improve in the coming one. This includes making resolutions for their IT department. Technology evolves rapidly, and it’s vital to keep up so your business can run as efficiently as possible.

As we move into 2023, there are some critical IT resolutions your business should make to ensure a successful year.

Avoid a disastrous 2023 — have a backup and disaster recovery plan

If a natural disaster strikes, you don’t want your business to be without a plan. This is why in 2023, your business should put in place a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan, if it doesn’t already have one. This means having a backup of all your data, as well as a plan for how you will recover if your system goes down.

It can be daunting to develop a BDR plan, but there are numerous resources that can help you get started. And with managed backup solutions widely available to businesses of all sizes, there’s no reason not to implement a backup solution that can help your business survive natural or human-made disasters in the coming year.

Understand where your business tech is headed by creating an IT roadmap

A technology roadmap is a plan that outlines your enterprise’s IT goals, such as improving workflows and collaboration and strategies for achieving them. Having a roadmap will help you stay on track and keep your IT investments aligned with your business objectives.

The new year is an opportune time to create an IT roadmap because it gives you a chance to reflect on the direction you took in the past year and think about where you want your business to go in the future. It’s also a time when budgets are fresh and it makes sense to start new initiatives.

Prioritize having strong passwords

Creating strong passwords is one of the best ways to defend your online accounts in 2023 and beyond. This is why effective password management should be included in your IT resolutions, and it should cover best practices like using strong passwords, changing them regularly, and using different passwords for different accounts. Password management can be tricky, but there are many password managers available that can ease the process.

Keep your devices up to date

This means keeping all the software and hardware of your devices up to date to help protect them from vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. It also helps ensure that your devices are running at optimum performance. Depending on the type of device, there are a few different ways you can go about updating it. For step-by-step instructions on how to update your device, visit the manufacturer’s website.

Rethink your business phones

Businesses should seriously consider switching to a Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, phone system in 2023 because old systems like landlines have become less reliable and are not as feature-rich. Unlike traditional landlines, for example, VoIP systems can be set up to work with your computer, allowing you to make and receive calls from your desktop or laptop. They can also be set up to work with your cell phone and other mobile gadgets, thereby letting you make and receive calls regardless of your location.

Consider work-life balance or work-life integration

When employees are burned out, they are less productive and more likely to commit errors. This can also be costly for businesses — exhausted employees cost US businesses billions of dollars in health-related lost productivity. On the other hand, work-life balance or work-life integration can lead to happier and more satisfied employees. When employees are happy, they are more engaged and productive, and businesses see better results.

There are many ways for businesses to promote work-life balance or integration. Some companies allow employees to work from home occasionally, while others have flexible hours or policies that allow employees to take time off for personal reasons. Whatever your strategy may be to achieve work-life balance, the key is to provide the resources your employees need to function well, whether they’re working in the office, at home, or doing hybrid work. There are applications, programs, and devices that employees can use that are instrumental to promoting work-life balance or integration.

Having a dependable IT team that can handle all your technical issues can also do wonders for productivity. NetWize offers best-in-class technology solutions to businesses in Salt Lake City and across Utah. Partner with us to see your business soar in 2023. Request a free consultation from us today.

Should your business invest in a password manager?

If your company is like most companies today, you probably have a lot of passwords — and it has probably gotten to the point where you can’t keep track of them all. This can be troublesome and it’s why a password manager is vital for businesses like yours.

What is a password manager?

A password manager is a program that stores and generates passwords for all of your accounts. It functions like a digital wallet in that it keeps your passwords in a secure place and allows you to access them with a single master password. A good password manager will also include other features, such as password breach notifications, password resets, password syncing across devices, and more.

Why do I need a password manager?

If you have passwords for emails, online bank accounts, project management applications, etc., it can be difficult to keep track of them all, especially if you have unique passwords for dozens of accounts. Using a password manager removes the risk of you forgetting or leaking your passwords.

Also, a password manager can help you generate strong, unique passcodes for each of your accounts. This will make it nearly impossible for hackers to gain unauthorized access to your accounts and confidential data.

Is a password manager safe?

Yes, a password manager is safe, and it’s a lot safer to use one than to try to remember all of your passwords, list them on a spreadsheet, or note them down on paper. When you use a password manager, your passwords are encrypted and stored in a secure location that only you can access.

Additionally, most password managers like Keeper, Dashlane, 1Password, and a few others include two-factor authentication and encryption. Most password managers use AES encryption, which is the industry standard. AES 256, in particular, is the strongest level of encryption that is indecipherable to third parties.

Why should you invest in a quality password manager?

Here are several reasons your business should ditch password spreadsheets and start using a password manager:

It is simple to use and can be accessed from any internet-connected device.
It is infinitely more secure than your “Passwords” Excel file, which is easily hackable and not as handy as a password manager.
It can save you a lot of time because instead of having to remember or look up multiple passcodes or passphrases, you can simply use a single master password to log in to an account or app. Additionally, a password manager can autofill online forms, so you don’t have to enter usernames and passwords every time you log in.
It’s affordable. There are free and paid password managers, and for the security they give you, investing in one will eventually save you money in the long run.
Some password managers enable you to share passwords with coworkers, which makes it easier to keep your team’s or organization’s information safe.

Some caveats

A password manager can offer you a lot of advantages, but you should also keep in mind certain things when using one.

Make sure you never forget your master password! If you do forget your master password, you won’t be able to access your passwords. You could get into a lot of trouble if you do, and your password manager cannot help you if you forget the master password. It’s still necessary to choose a difficult-to-guess password, but it should be one that you will remember.
A hacked password manager could be catastrophic. If for any reason, hackers get their hands on your master password, they’ll have access to your other accounts as well. But as long as you choose a strong, unique master password and enable two-factor authentication, you can rest assured that your passwords are safe.

If you’re looking for an affordable way to improve your business’s security, a password manager is a great option. And if you’re interested in other cybersecurity solutions to boost the security of your company’s data, talk to our IT professionals today.

5 Ways to stay cyber-secure during the holiday season

The holiday season is a great time to reconnect with family and friends, but it’s also a prime time for scammers to prey on unwitting victims. Whether you’re planning a party, shopping for gifts online, or making travel arrangements, the festive season is not the time to let your guard down, especially since cybercriminals are working doubly hard during the holidays.

In fact, like you, cyber scammers are very busy during the season. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, highly impactful ransomware attacks occur during holidays and weekends because it is when people tend to be less vigilant against threats.

Here are some ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from holiday scams:

1. Be aware of common scams

Common holiday scams include fake charity solicitations, free vacation offers, and fake delivery notifications. If you’re unfamiliar with a particular offer or solicitation, research it before responding.

Scammers will take advantage of people’s generosity during the festive season and pretend to be a charitable foundation soliciting donations for the needy. To make sure you are giving to legitimate organizations, use online resources that verify charity foundations and provide detailed information about where their donations go.

Scammers will take advantage of people’s generosity during the festive season and pretend to be a charitable foundation soliciting donations for the needy.

You might also receive fake vacation prizes during the holidays. Scammers might send an unsolicited email or give you a call to tell you that you won a free getaway to a popular vacation destination. If you’re asked to pay fees or taxes, you should ignore the message or alert the authorities, as it’s likely fraudsters looking to steal your sensitive information and make money off of you.

Scammers are also aware that many people are expecting packages during the holidays, so be careful when receiving package delivery notices, whether via email, text, or phone call. These may be phishing attempts designed to steal your personal data.

2. Don’t give out personal information

This includes your complete name, contact details, Social Security number, or financial information like credit card or debit card number. Scammers can acquire these details to commit a variety of scams including identity theft or fraud.

3. Be cautious about online shopping

When shopping online, only visit or purchase from secure websites. Around the holidays, cybercriminals create fraudulent sites that look like real ones. To entice prospective customers, they might offer products and services at very low prices for a limited period.

Follow these tips for a secure online shopping experience:

Shop only from established online retailers whose websites’ URL starts with “https,” and look for a padlock icon. This means that a site uses SSL protection and is therefore safe to submit your payment details to.
Read reviews about the seller’s site and products, including those found on its social media pages. These could tell you whether a site is trustworthy.
Use a credit card or prepaid debit card when making a purchase online rather than a a debit card linked to your bank account. Credit cards are less risky to use, as most credit card providers provide fraud liability protections.
As much as possible, connect to a secure Wi-Fi network when shopping online. Public Wi-Fi connections like those in airports and cafés may be free but aren’t 100% safe.

4. Use strong passwords and enable multifactor authentication (MFA)

Use a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters when creating passwords for online accounts. Better yet, create long passphrases. Avoid using easy-to-guess words or phrases such as your name, address, or birthdate.

For added security, enable MFA whenever possible. MFA is an additional layer of security that requires you to provide another piece of information beyond your password when logging in. This can be in the form of a code that’s sent to your phone or generated by an app, or a biometric factor like your fingerprint or facial recognition.

5. Monitor your bank activity

Keep an eye on your bank account and credit card statements for any unauthorized charges. The moment you see something suspicious, notify your bank or credit card company immediately.

To learn more about advanced security options that can protect your Salt Lake City company all year round, contact NetWize’s IT experts. Request a free consultation today.

6 Reasons to implement zero trust security in your business

Similar to how castles are protected with moats, networks are traditionally secured using tools and measures, such as firewalls, to create a barrier between the organization and potential threats. Users within the network are considered trustworthy and free to access any resource they please.

However, the castle moat analogy no longer works in today’s interconnected world, where users often access sensitive data from outside the network using their personal devices. To effectively protect your business’s data, you need a more stringent security strategy that doesn’t rely on network perimeter defenses. This is where zero trust security comes in.

What is zero trust?

Zero trust is a security model that treats all users and devices — even those already within the network — as potential threats. Users are given access to just the resources they need to do their tasks and must go through strict authentication and authorization processes. Zero trust usually employs advanced measures like encryption and multifactor authentication to safeguard data.

Why should you implement zero trust security?

There are many reasons to implement zero trust security in your business.

Enhanced security posture

Sophisticated cyberthreats are usually adept at breaching conventional network perimeter defenses. Zero trust acknowledges that breaches have become inevitable in today’s digital landscape and focuses on identifying malicious activity and preventing it from spreading throughout the network. It prevents unauthorized parties from accessing sensitive data, even if they have managed to penetrate the network perimeter.

Greater resistance to insider threats

An insider threat comes from within your organization, such as a current or former employee, contractor, or business partner. These threats can have malicious intent, like when a disgruntled ex-employee purposely leaks sensitive company data. In other cases, an insider threat could be accidental in nature, such as when an employee unwittingly falls for a phishing scam.

Zero trust security can help mitigate insider threats by strictly limiting access to resources, preventing insiders from taking sensitive data they’re not supposed to have access to. In this manner, zero trust also deters hackers who may have stolen your employees’ credentials and are trying to access your network.

More visibility into activity within your network

With zero trust, you can see who is accessing which resources and when. This can help you quickly identify malicious or unauthorized activity, so you can take corrective action before any damage is done. This also helps you develop more effective cybersecurity policies for future use.

Cost savings

Zero trust security can help you save on costs associated with conventional cybersecurity strategies. For example, since zero trust security doesn’t rely on network parameters for user segmentation, a virtual private network becomes optional. What’s more, zero trust can help you avoid the costs associated with data breaches, such as fines, reputation damage, and loss of customer trust.

Improved compliance

Businesses in highly regulated industries like healthcare and finance are required to go beyond basic cybersecurity measures to protect their customers’ data. The extra layer of security zero trust offers can help your business meet stringent industry compliance requirements imposed by frameworks like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Increased productivity

A zero trust security strategy doesn’t rely on network parameters to segment users and devices, so employees can work from anywhere without sacrificing security. This increases productivity, as employees don’t need to be on site to access the resources they need. They can work even in situations when they can’t make it to the office for some reason. This also allows them to work wherever is most comfortable and conducive for them.

Given the rate at which cyberthreats evolve, you need to adopt more advanced cybersecurity strategies like zero trust to effectively defend your business and its data. At [company_short], our IT experts can help you develop policies and identify the tools you need to implement such a strategy. Contact us today.

What are the responsibilities of a cybersecurity consultant?

Up until a few years ago, you could protect your business adequately from cyberthreats by installing a firewall and antivirus software on your work devices. Considering the rapid pace at which new cyberthreats emerge and existing ones evolve, your business needs the expertise of a cybersecurity consultant to ensure that your cyber defenses are always adequate.

What is a cybersecurity consultant?

A cybersecurity consultant is an information security expert who helps businesses determine their cybersecurity risks and the measures they need to take to mitigate those risks. They are also sometimes called information security consultants or cybersecurity advisors.

Cybersecurity consultants are rarely full-time employees. Instead, they are usually hired on a per-project basis to assess a specific cybersecurity concern or to help implement a new cybersecurity strategy. After the project is complete, the consultant may be retained to provide advice and support as needed.

What does a cybersecurity consultant do?

Cybersecurity consultants may specialize in certain requirements or industries. For example, some may be specialists in regulatory compliance. But in general, cybersecurity consultants perform the following tasks:

Analyze threats and system vulnerabilities through routine checks and tests
Develop, implement, and update protocols for detecting and preventing cyber incidents
Train employees in cybersecurity awareness and best practices
Provide supplementary guidance to the client’s in-house IT team
Provide sound IT advice based on the latest cyberthreats and data security trends

Why should you hire a cybersecurity consultant?

Cyberthreats continue to evolve, becoming more and more dangerous to businesses with time. Ransomware, for instance, can now compromise cloud-based systems in what is called a ransomcloud attack. Working with a cybersecurity consultant can help your business stay prepared and equipped to face such changing threats for the following reasons:

1. Consultants possess specialized knowledge and experience

If you already have an internal IT team, you may think hiring a cybersecurity consultant is nothing more than a redundancy, but you’d be wrong. IT professionals specialize in various fields, and those that comprise your in-house team may be well-versed in network administration or software development but lack the necessary cybersecurity expertise. Putting them in charge of your business’s data security could result in a suboptimal cybersecurity infrastructure.

Cybersecurity consultants, on the other hand, specialize in information security. They know the cybersecurity landscape well and are up to date with the latest cybersecurity trends. As such, they can provide your business with a thorough assessment of your cybersecurity posture and make well-informed recommendations for improvement.

2. They offer objective solutions

Because a consultant is technically an outsider to your company, they can provide an objective perspective on cybersecurity issues. Oftentimes, cybersecurity concerns are not immediately apparent to those within the company who are too close to the problem. A consultant can help you identify potential cybersecurity risks that you may have otherwise overlooked.

What’s more, a consultant’s third-party status means they are not as affected by internal company politics as full-time employees are. This allows them to make cybersecurity recommendations that are based solely on what is best for the company, not on what will further the agenda of any particular person or group. For instance, a consultant may recommend the implementation of a new cybersecurity solution even if doing so means replacing an existing system that is championed by a powerful individual within the company.

3. They can help educate your employees

As they perform their daily tasks, employees are exposed to cybersecurity risks through a variety of channels, such as email, the internet, and social media. Oftentimes, these risks are not immediately apparent, and employees may inadvertently put the company at risk by clicking on a malicious link or opening a phishing email.

A cybersecurity consultant can help educate your employees on how to identify cybersecurity threats and how to avoid them. Increasing their awareness transforms your employees from a potential vulnerability into a veritable cybersecurity asset. Doing this also empowers them to take an active role in protecting the company, which can further strengthen your cybersecurity posture.

If you’re looking to improve your cybersecurity posture, hiring a cybersecurity consultant is a step in the right direction. At [company_short], we have cybersecurity specialists who can help you augment your company’s cyber defenses and equip you to face any cybersecurity risk. Contact our IT experts now to get started.

5 Crucial elements your data security strategy should cover

Cyberthreats continue to evolve as cybercriminals refine their methods and tools. Not only are there more ways to launch cyberattacks today, but cyberthreats have also become more dangerous to businesses. Newer ransomware versions, for example, do not just prevent user access to key systems, but also steal victims’ data.

Thus, it’s imperative for businesses in Salt Lake City to develop comprehensive cybersecurity strategies against multiple types of cyberthreats. In order for such strategies to be effective, they need to cover the following key elements of data security:

1. Access control

Some of the biggest threats to your data security come from within your company itself. Insider threats, as they are called, are former and current members of your organization whose negligence, errors, or malicious actions endanger your cybersecurity. They could be disgruntled workers who steal your data to sell to competitors or they could be executives whose compromised work accounts were used to hack company databases.

An effective way to protect your business from insider threats is through access control. It involves granting employees only the access they need to do their respective tasks. For example, the members of your sales team can access customer data but not your company’s financial or employee information.

By limiting employees’ access to information, access control minimizes the amount of company information that insiders can leak. It also makes it easier to determine how a data breach occurred, as well as develop measures to prevent the incident from reoccurring.

2. Authentication

Passwords remain among the most popular methods for securing online business accounts, even though they’re far from the most effective. In fact, 61% of data breaches in 2021 involved credentials, according to Verizon, with 25% of these incidents involving stolen passwords.

Your cybersecurity strategy should, therefore, include more stringent measures for verifying user identities than simple passwords. One such method is multifactor authentication (MFA), which requires users to provide two or more proofs of their identity before they can gain access to an account.

Besides passwords, verification factors can include biometrics (e.g., fingerprint and iris scans), security questions, one-time codes (sent via text or email), and physical items, such as tokens and keycards. MFA makes it much harder for cybercriminals to gain access to your company accounts by increasing the number of verification factors to gain entry.

3. Data encryption

There are several methods cybercriminals can use to access your data. On top of infiltrating your network, they can also capture your data as it is transmitted over the internet. Or they could eavesdrop on your phone or online conversations in order to gain access to sensitive information.

Data encryption protects your data against these threats. It scrambles stored or transmitted data into a code that unauthorized users cannot decipher if they do not have a decryption key. This ensures that even if cybercriminals were to intercept your business’s data, they won’t be able to read, use, or sell it for profit.

4. Mobile management

Smartphones and tablets have become essential tools for business, as they allow employees to work remotely. However, these devices are also a major security risk because they can easily be lost or stolen.

Mobile management involves the use of software to secure and manage mobile devices that are used to access company data. It enables you to locate lost or stolen mobile devices and lock them remotely. You can even use mobile management solutions to remotely wipe all business data stored on these devices in case they’re lost or their owner leaves the company.

5. Data backups

Having backups of crucial business data ensures that after a data loss incident, such as a natural disaster, cyberattack, or hardware failure, you have the files necessary to immediately resume operations. This way, you can prevent extended downtime and its many adverse effects on your company.

When developing a data backup strategy, you should follow the 3-2-1 rule. This rule stipulates that you should create three duplicates of your data, which are stored on two different media types, and with one copy being kept off site. This way, you can be confident that even if your primary and secondary data storage solutions fail, you’ll still have a backup copy to fall back on.

Cybersecurity can play a significant role in your business’s resilience and potential for growth. To ensure that your cybersecurity strategy effectively covers all your bases, consult with the cybersecurity specialists at [company_short]. We will evaluate your company’s cybersecurity infrastructure and help you develop a business plan that addresses all the required elements and helps you meet your data security goals. Talk to our experts today.

These are the negative impacts of IT system failures on your business

Many companies in Salt Lake City would not be able to operate as well as they do without IT. It helps in keeping costs low, improves the security, speed, and consistency of various processes, and generally makes life easier for employees.

How can IT system failure affect businesses?

Because of how crucial technology is, the impacts of IT system failure on businesses can be severe and numerous. Here are some of them:

1. Reduced productivity

When IT systems go down, your employees cannot use or access the equipment and resources they need to do their jobs. This causes longer turnaround times and delayed outputs.

Unexpected outages can also hurt your workers’ states of mind. Some may become stressed, while others may have difficulty regaining their focus after the sudden interruption.

2. Loss of important resources

Your business could lose irreplaceable data during an unplanned IT outage. If your servers were to fail, for instance, the information stored on them become inaccessible. These files could be as crucial as customer information, sales records, financial statements, or trade secrets. If these files were never backed up anytime before the outage, then you may lose them forever.

If system failures happen frequently, your business will become less efficient and competitive, making it harder to sell products and services.

3. Increased risk of human error

You could lose access to tools that automate crucial processes during an IT system failure. This will force your employees to perform these processes manually.

If your workers are already stressed out by the system interruption, then they are likely to make mistakes. This could be as simple as misspelling words or as severe as mixing up numbers on financial reports. Such errors can result in wasted resources and serious delays.

4. Damaged reputation

Trustworthiness is key to attracting and keeping customers. You want to demonstrate to your clients that you can protect their data and consistently deliver expected results within reasonable deadlines. IT system failures can prevent you from fulfilling these promises, which can lead to a significant blow to your company’s reputation. Disgruntled clients may then take their business elsewhere, and you may have a hard time convincing them to come back.

5. Lost revenue

If system failures happen frequently, then you would eventually lose revenue. Your business will become less efficient and competitive, making it harder to sell products and services. What’s more, outages will cause you to incur additional expenses on repairs and replacements.

What can you do to prevent IT system failures?

IT system failure can happen anytime, but you can take these steps to minimize its negative impacts:

Be proactive about maintenance

Instead of following a break-fix approach to IT management, wherein you act only when something goes wrong, take a proactive approach to maintenance. This means regularly checking your devices and software for vulnerabilities and addressing them before they worsen and cause system failures.

Invest in redundancies

Redundancy means having two or more systems in place to support critical processes. Should one system fail, the others can immediately take over, preventing prolonged interruptions. For example, you could invest in extra servers to back up your main one and buy uninterruptible power supply units to keep your devices running during power outages.

Boost your business’s cybersecurity

Outages can occur because of cyberattacks. Augmenting your cybersecurity posture not only reduces the risk of cyberattacks hitting your business, but doing so can also mitigate an incident’s effects when it does occur.

Implement a disaster recovery plan

A disaster recovery plan (DRP) covers everything you need to do to minimize downtime and data loss during an IT system failure. This typically includes steps like backing up data and allocating resources for quick repairs. A DRP is essential if you want to quickly resume your operations following an outage.

Train your employees

Your employees should know what to do during system failures. They should also be familiar with your DRP and other contingency plans. Training them on these can reduce mistakes and ensure that everyone knows their roles in keeping the business running during outages.

IT system failure can have far-reaching effects on your business, so it’s important to take steps to prevent them or mitigate their effects. On top of following the above tips, you can also partner with [company_short]. Our team of IT specialists will proactively lower your risk of experiencing outages by keeping your systems in top condition. We can also help you design and implement strategies to dampen the effects of system failures. Contact us today for more information about our services.