With 2022 upon us, it is time to make those resolution lists. I want to share a list of IT resolutions that your business should consider if you have not already prepared your I.T. infrastructure for the growth and risk that the new year will bring.
1. Security Awareness Training
Most businesses utilize some form of I.T. protection via their hardware and software. Even if just a basic firewall and anti-virus, the ease of pushing through unnoticed and malicious scripts gets increasingly difficult…unless there is a person on the inside making it happen. The problem is that, much of the time, the inside person is an unwitting victim. The human element is the easiest level of cyber defense to penetrate. As such, Security Awareness Training is number one on our I.T. resolutions list. We prefer to partner with KnowBe4 for our security awareness training, but there are many other solutions available.
2. Better BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy
The IoT (Internet of Things) is growing. Everything is connected, it seems. It is rare that folks have a phone that is not “smart” and capable of connecting to a company’s I.T. in some way. In most cases, our phones are small computers capable of most things that desktop computers can do. For a company to remain vigilant against I.T. security failures, there must be controls and policies in place that do not allow unsecured devices into areas with sensitive data.
As such, push to update BYOD policies so that your business is not compromised by an unsuspecting phone full of malware. (If you’re not sure where to start, you don’t have to be a client to get in touch with us.)
3. Business Continuity Planning
The third entry on our I.T. resolutions list is Business Continuity planning. This is admittedly a wide net of items: plans for RPO/RTO, data recovery, communications, and cyber incidents among many other pieces. It was not so long ago that a proper business continuity plan was primarily a data storage offsite, but no longer. Cybercriminals are exploiting outdated modes of thinking when it comes to business continuity and encrypting files for ransom. With no alternative, many businesses pay the ransom or fold.
If your business does not have adequate backups and a plan for when—not if—data gets lost, encrypted, or compromised, what are you waiting for? 2022 is your year to get prepared!
4. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
One of the easiest and least expensive solutions of our recommended 2022 I.T. resolutions list is MFA. Increasingly required by cyber insurance due to its effectiveness, the value a company gets for the cost of a cup of coffee per month is effectively an exponential security increase to passwords. While it comes with a slight inconvenience and some basic policy training, MFA is absolutely one of the “can’t do without” security items of 2022. While not perfect, MFA gets close.
If you are unsure where to start with your business’s IT, please pick up the phone and give us a call or fill out this form and we will be in touch! Let’s work together to make 2022 a prosperous and safe year!
