Every business needs strong security policies to prevent against cyberattacks. An improperly equipped workforce is a huge risk factor as it relates to cyber security, and one of the best ways to implement controls is through strong security policies which dictate how people should act in a given situation. Yet, it’s not as simple as adding your company name and logo to a standard template you find online. Each organization has its own risks that need to be carefully assessed first. From there, policies must be created to address each specific risk. That’s where we come in.

As experts in cybersecurity, IT ArchiTeks provides businesses with customized business security policies to set standards that help to prevent cyberattacks and data breaches. Considering the rising costs of ransomware and other cyberattacks, their increasing prevalence, and the fact that smaller organizations are now being targeted by hackers, it’s more important than ever for companies to put strong policies in place that stop cybersecurity issues from occurring in the first place.

Your employees are among your best assets for data protection, but you must equip them with the right policies and procedures to defend your business’s information. Oftentimes, company leaders have a general idea of what a cybersecurity policy should look like, but could benefit from a more specialized approach that takes into consideration all the nuances of their business and its operations. By partnering with the right team, it becomes possible to develop and implement an effective cybersecurity policy.

Here’s a closer look into business security policies, as well as the solutions and services IT ArchiTeks can provide.

At the most basic level, cybersecurity protocols encompass four main pillars:

• Controlling who has access to what data
• Authentication to ensure people trying to access data are who they say they are
• Information protection to prevent data from getting into the wrong hands
• Automated monitoring to ensure no breaches take place

This represents a very broad framework upon which a much more structured and comprehensive business security policy can be established. To ensure your teams know exactly how to protect both sensitive company data and the personally identifiable information (PII) of any customers or clientele, it’s important to give them a clear roadmap of what must be done. To that end, a strong business security policy should encompass other, more detailed elements, including:

Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies allow employees to use their personal devices for work-related activities. This could include using email, connecting to the company network, using company apps, or otherwise accessing company data, all from their own personal devices. The BYOD approach has become increasingly common in companies that allow remote work as a convenient solution for employees, and the strategy can help save on the overhead costs that would otherwise come with providing and maintaining devices. Yet, it does introduce certain risks. For instance, there are greater chances of data breaches, or of an employee’s device getting lost or stolen. Fortunately, the right BYOD policy can mitigate these risks.

How long will data be retained for, and when it’s time to destroy it, what will the procedure entail? Many businesses don’t have answers to these questions, but in some industries, regulation is evolving to oversee data management practices. To ensure your organization is compliant and that you have proper protocols in place for data retention, it’s critical to build sound data practices into your security policy.

Upon the event of a data breach or suspected data loss, every second matters. What your teams do immediately after an event will affect the overall outcome of the breach. For this reason, every organization should have protocols that outline the precise steps each employee must take when a security event takes place.

An acceptable use policy (AUP) sets forth stipulations with which a user must agree in order to access a corporate network. Your company should have a rigorous AUP in place to access its cloud drive or other network elements, and should include policies against violating intellectual property, creating, distributing, or accessing harmful content, violating the privacy of the organization or its customers, and violating any laws, among other requirements.

In addition to the elements listed above, security policies should include general requirements and procedures. For example, there may be password requirements, such as having employees update their passwords at regular intervals. Other general security factors to consider are social media use and encryption for email attachments, among other behavioral and technical guidelines.

Finally, your business security policy should outline how all cyber tools and services will be managed on an ongoing basis. In addition to helping you create a strong policy personalized to your business’s specific needs, we can also oversee your business’s full scope of cyber services to ensure a strong, defensible approach against any threats. To find out more about how we can help and to begin discussing your business’s needs, connect with our team here.