A successful business comes with numerous responsibilities. Most importantly, employees need to have an eye for detail. If they cannot identify cybersecurity risks at the earliest, it can negatively affect both the employees and the organization.
Hence, it’s essential to understand how hacking can be prevented by making company-level changes, internally.
Recent years have seen an increase in cybersecurity threats like phishing and ransomware. Businesses both big and small are vulnerable to these network security lapses. Hence, companies are investing huge amounts of money in setting up the proper cybersecurity infrastructure.
However, the efforts of the companies are met with minimal success. A recent survey shows that around 60% of organizations were subject to cyber risks in the last two years! That’s a big number.
Most companies invested a lot of resources and time in protecting their networks against cyber risks. So what went wrong? The culprit is the disconnect between management and IT. In a survey, one-third of the organizations suggested that top management was unaware of the company software. This explains a significant lapse coming from the top level.
Consistent Ignoring of the Developer Patches
Delayed patching is a situation where developers release a patch for software but patches are never installed on the systems. In such a scenario, hackers get enough time to take advantage of the software vulnerabilities. For example, NotPetya and WannaCry attacks of 2017-18 were a result of delayed systems patching. Organizations ignored the patching process because it seemed like a minor software vulnerability.
How to Improve Your Business IT Security?
There are specific techniques using which you can safeguard your business network.
Incorporate a Patch Management Policy
Have an official patch management policy for your business. Also, you need to set goals and track the effective implementation of the policy. For example, have a formal patch schedule, deploy the patches at the right time, and test for correct patching. Also, allocate the different responsibilities wisely. You should have the best talent to carry out the patching process. Finally, make sure that no old version of your software exists on the system to prevent data exploits.
Regularly Test Your Systems
There are numerous ways to test your patches. Either you can do it via the company’s production environment or use a virtual environment. The virtual environment is one of the easiest ways to carry out patch testing. You don’t need to completely imitate the work environment, but make sure that you include the relevant software components.Â
After satisfactory patch testing, incorporate it into all the patch titles. Do not roll out the patch to all the company devices at once. Rather start with a few devices. If the process is a success, implement the patchwork company-wide.
Patching your solutions is challenging but it is possible with a planned effort. Ensure that you do not deploy and forget about the solution. Keep testing new patches regularly. In case of resource shortage, launch your patch in a phased manner.
Use the Power of Automation
Automation makes your patching process faster. Ensure that you choose a patch management tool with built-in automation capabilities. In this way, you need not invest more in buying standalone automation tools for your business.
Be Calm and Don’t Panic
When you face an imminent threat, do not panic. Else, you might fall into the trap of hackers and expose business vulnerabilities. That’s why you need to be proactive in patching your software before hackers find the problem areas of your software.Â
Proper patch management is crucial in a robust IT security strategy. At MyTek, we can assist you with other security needs for your business, including tools that will help secure your business. Are you worried about your cybersecurity? Give us a ring at 623-312-2440.