IT Security

Every business has different requirements and places different value on their IT relationship. We have developed simple to understand service plans that work with you throughout your businesses technology evolution.

IT Security for Business

Cybersecurity is an interesting topic. It is something that a lot of large government entities and corporations have resigned themselves to being constantly targeted, and recognising such threats allowed these organisations to be more prepared in defending themselves against such attacks.

It is a different story altogether when it comes to small to medium sized businesses. A lot of business owners do not have IT security in their priority list when they talk about stability, not because they don’t think it’s important, but mostly due to a mix of budget constraints and focus. Although there are also some who think that it is not a worthwhile investment. What most of us don’t realise is that when we fail to prioritise data security, we become easy targets to cyber predators who are just waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

At Qamba IT, we take a practical approach to security. You do not need to have the best, you just need to be a costly target for those malicious actors that are hacking for financial gain. In other words, decrease hackers ROI.

Understanding the Need

In 2020, The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner received a whopping 1,051 data breach notifications, 5% more than the reports they received the previous year. Sectors negatively impacted by these attacks include Health Service, Finance, Education, Legal, Accounting, Management, and the Australian Government itself. These data breaches compromised the personal information of millions of Australians, such as their contact, identity and health information, financial details, tax file number and other sensitive data. While it is difficult to exactly say how much the Australian economy lost due to cybercrimes, the estimate has been placed as high as $29 billion every year.

Sources of Data Breach

Malicious or Criminal Attack

Malicious or Criminal Attack is the leading source of data breaches, comprising 58% of the total notifications OAIC received. These include actions that are deliberately crafted to exploit vulnerable individuals and companies for financial or other gains. The most common cybersecurity threat we see are stolen credentials, phishing, ransomware, hacking, brute-force and malware. Out of all these malicious attacks, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has reported a loss of $1,689,406 from phishing alone in 2020.

Human Error

People make mistakes. And because of this, human error is the second largest source of compromised IT security, making up 38% of all data breach notifications. Common examples of this are sending personal information to the wrong recipient, unintended release of personal information, and failing to use BCC when sending group emails.

System Fault

System Fault is the least source of data security breach. This includes unintended release and access of personal information due to business and process errors that aren’t results of direct human error.

Addressing the Problem

Understanding that there’s a need for better cybersecurity is a good first step in creating a system that works and gives protection to your company, employee and client data. Here are seven things you can do to promote awareness and vigilance among your employees.

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor Authentication is an authentication method that adds a layer of protection to your sign-in process. This requires the user to provide two or more verification factors, such as entering a code or scanning a fingerprint, when accessing accounts or applications. Most services require you to set this up. But if the service you’re using right now doesn’t, you need to choose a different one that actually cares about your security.

Not sure where to start? Try Authy.

Strong Passwords and Password Managers

Make sure that all your accounts have a unique, alphanumeric password that is at least eight characters long. You can make this even stronger by including special characters. If this feels a bit too complicated for you, you can opt for password generators that create random 16+ digit passwords. Once you have a strong password, store it in a password manager that can save and autofill your credentials when you need to login. And voila! You have strong secured passwords for all your accounts without having to worry about forgetting them.

Security Awareness Training

Malicious attacks and Human Error, the two major causes of data breach, both have a huge human factor in it. Some people take advantage of weak IT security, while some just don’t know what a system security threat looks like even when it’s staring at them right in the face. Make sure to invest in getting all your team members trained to identify such threats, so your business avoids getting caught in the schemes of cyber criminals.

Download our free IT Security Awareness 101 Presentation

Qamba Secure is the Gold Standard

Updates for your OS and Applications

The constant notification pop up can be annoying but those reminders keep popping up for a reason. Always make sure to follow through with operating system and application updates for all your devices. This helps ensure that you and your team members get the latest protection from security holes as they get discovered, preventing malicious hackers to take advantage of those flaws.

Advanced Endpoint Security

Endpoint security systems protect endpoints such as mobile devices, desktops and computers, along with the network they are on, against malicious cybersecurity attacks. These solutions prevent loss of data by examining files as they enter the network, and identifying malware and other threats. This also allows for a more flexible and faster response time because of its continuous monitoring of all files and applications.

Secure Remote Access or VPN

Virtual Private Network or VPN is a great tool that provides two key benefits: privacy and security. This keeps your personal data private and safe by masking your IP address, location and search history to prevent websites, search engines, internet service providers and other companies to track and store your information.

Data Backup

Backing up data is a crucial part of data protection. Important data can be lost through different situations such as hard drive corruption, system crash, malware infection, human error and more. Performing regular backups ensures that business operation won’t be affected in case you find yourself in any of those situations.

Getting Professional Help

Those are the basic things that every organisation must adhere to to protect sensitive company and client information. At the same time, all of those things can be too much to think of and handle when you’re already too busy managing your business. That is why tapping the expertise of professionals in the IT security field is the best thing to do to make sure that your business is 100% protected 24/7. To help you decide, here are five things that only an expert cybersecurity specialist can provide.

Identifying Valuables and Threats

The first step to a comprehensive network security is Identification. Your cybersecurity firm will come and audit every nook and cranny of your business to understand the things that your company values such as trade secrets, employee and client information, and more. After that, they will identify potential risks and threats in order to create a plan that focuses on protecting those details and plugging those security holes to strengthen your network. This usually includes:

Security Assessment
Dark Web Monitoring
Security Awareness Training for your employees

Detecting Threats

This is where security weaknesses and attacks can be detected even before they happen. Your IT expert does this by anticipating threats, continuously and routinely monitoring processes within your network and keeping an eye on irregularities. They also perform detailed scanning for viruses and malware to see if new ones have wormed their way into your system. If they find something, they can get rid of the issue and restore your infrastructure without any disruption in your operations. Your security provider must have these in place:

Endpoint Protection
Identity Monitoring
Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM)

Protecting Your Business

Your cybersecurity provider’s main task is to protect your business from all sorts of malicious threats and attacks. Their expertise revolves around actively keeping your defenses updated, and monitoring your infrastructure to make sure that nothing gets past their watch. This ensures that your data doesn’t get lost, stolen or compromised, and in turn will result in increased client trust, sales and reputation. Your IT guy should be able to setup the follow in place for maximum protection:

Data Encryption
Physical, Mobile, Email, and Web and Domain Security
Identify Protection
Password Management

Responding to Threats

If and when a cyber-attack gets through the security infrastructure, your security provider will know what to do and will do it fast. They can immediately employ solutions that will target those situations in order to prevent any real damage to your business. Your partner IT firm must have the following:

Incident Response
Managed Threat Response
Policies, Procedures, Processes

Data Recovery

After every cybersecurity incident, it is important that you get to recover from it quickly and with as minimal loss as possible. Your IT provider will be there to make sure that you recover important data so your business can go back to operations, and continue providing quality services to your clients. To be completely ready to bounce back, there should be:

Backup
Disaster Recovery
Business Continuity Plan

Download a Free Cyber Security Plan

The True Value of IT Security

A trusted IT security specialist can do a lot for your business. The true value of having a partner firm is the peace of mind that you get knowing that your business is getting protected by an expert. You can also sleep better knowing that you, your team members and clients can work and interact safely. In the long run, this will increase the quality of your services, your productivity, brand reputation, and eventually building client trust and making sure that your business continues to grow.