How to Keep Your Business IT Secure with Policies, Procedures, and Audits

Whenever a business is handling customer data, money, or any other confidential information, it is essentially advertising to the world that it is a prime target for cybercriminals. That’s why it’s essential to ensure that your business IT security is top-notch, or you might find yourself in the middle of an expensive and potentially damaging cybersecurity incident.

The good news is that you don’t have to be a cybersecurity guru to keep your business secure. By setting security policies, procedures, and audits you can go a long way in ensuring the digital safety of your company.

Policies, procedures, and audits can help you stay ahead of the curve!

What are IT Policies?

When considering security, policies are very important. IT policies are essentially a set of rules and regulations that govern how IT resources are utilized. These policies define acceptable behavior and what employees should and shouldn’t do when using their IT systems. And, more importantly, they set the tone for how IT resources should be managed as a whole and how security solutions will be implemented.

It’s important to keep your IT policies up to date and relevant—businesses change over time, and so should your policies.

There exist many different types of policies, ranging from access and authentication policies to email and data security policies. As your business evolves, you should evaluate your policies and make sure they are still relevant and up-to-date.

Some of the more prevalent kinds of policies revolve around:

• Authentication: This includes setting up rules and regulations around user authentication and password security. Points of entry to the company systems should be secure and account credentials should follow standard cybersecurity practices. This is especially important when it comes to privileged accounts.
• Data Security and Integrity: This includes setting criteria for how data should be managed and stored. This should include encryption standards and other measures to protect data from unauthorized access. Data is crucial to every business’s success and it should be treated as such.
• Network Access: This involves creating rules around which users are allowed to access certain parts of the network. This should help to prevent unauthorized access to the servers and other sensitive data, as well as stop users from accessing data they are not authorized to view.

It is also important to define how policies should be enforced. The enforcement process should be transparent and consistent, and employees should be aware of the consequences of violating the policies.

What are IT Procedures?

Procedures are to policies as actions are to words. Policies ensure that everyone is playing by the same set of rules. Procedures, on the other hand, are the processes and systems that are designed to help ensure those policies are enforced. Without procedures, those policies can become nothing more than good ideas that never get put into practice.

Putting procedures in place for IT security helps in the following ways:

• Improved Efficiency: When you have well-developed procedures, you can quickly and easily determine the steps needed to achieve a specific goal or perform a task. This saves time and reduces errors, and your staff can be better prepared for the tasks they have to complete.
• Standardized Processes: With everyone following standard procedures, it helps prevent common errors and ensures that the outcome is consistent within your cybersecurity implementation.
• Enforced Accountability: It’s easier to trace who was responsible for any errors or missteps. This helps to encourage accountability and keeps everyone on the same page.
• Improved Security: By having well-defined procedures, it’s overall much easier to see that the security rules established in your policies are being followed accurately and consistently. This consistency makes for a much more solid security foundation.

As with policies, it’s important to keep your IT procedures up-to-date and relevant. Technology and the workplace are ever-evolving, and procedures that worked in the past might not be relevant or effective for today’s IT landscape.

What are Audits?

The final piece of the puzzle, and arguably the most important, is the audit. Audits are a vital part of an effective IT security policy and help to ensure that the policies are enforced. Audits are checks put in place to ensure that key security policies are being adhered to and procedures are being followed.

The purpose of the audit is twofold:

• Verify Compliance: Audits verify that the policies and procedures outlined above are being followed and enforced. It’s important to have a baseline in place to make sure everyone is following the same set of rules.
• Identifying Security Mishaps: In addition to verifying compliance, audits can be used to identify any potential security gaps that can lead to a cybersecurity incident. By regularly auditing your IT security, you can identify any weak spots or flaws and make sure they are addressed quickly and effectively.

The most important thing to remember is that any security policy or procedure should be regularly audited to ensure it is effective and working as intended. Audits should be conducted regularly, depending on the type of business and its security needs.

Saving Your Company Time And Money

Keeping your business IT security in great shape is an ever-evolving challenge, and it starts with having the right policies, procedures, and audits in place. By taking the time to ensure that your IT security is in order, you can save yourself time, money, and headaches down the road. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Are you ready to get your IT security under control?

Here at Vudu Consulting, we provide all of the support you need. With years of experience, our expert team can help you get on your way to the perfect IT solutions.

We also offer exceptional IT services that help you keep your business ahead of your competitors.

You can visit our website to get started or email us at contact@vuduconsulting.com.

‍