Building a Strong Security Posture: Safeguarding Your Business

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Canada are increasingly becoming targets of cybercrime. Cybercriminals see SMBs as easy targets because they often lack the resources and expertise to defend against attacks. This makes it essential for your business to have a solid security posture that can protect their data and networks from cyber threats. In this quick article, I will discuss some key elements that can help you to start protecting your data, your brand and your employees.

1. Develop a security plan: The first step in building a security posture is to develop a security plan. This plan should outline the security policies and procedures that the company will follow to protect its data and networks. The plan should also identify potential security risks and provide guidelines for managing those risks.
2. Train employees on security best practices: Employees are often the weakest link in a company's security posture. They may inadvertently click on phishing links, use weak passwords, or fail to follow other security best practices. You should train their employees on security best practices, including how to identify and avoid phishing attacks, how to create strong passwords, and how to secure their devices.?
3. Implement access controls: Access controls are essential to ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive data and systems. Your IT team should implement access controls that restrict access to data and systems based on the principle of least privilege. This means that employees should only be given access to the data and systems that they need to perform their job functions.?
4. Use up-to-date security tools: As the owner of your business, you should use up-to-date security tools, such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and intrusion detection systems. When was the last time you did an audit of your hardware or software and their support licenses? These tools can help to identify and block potential security threats before they can cause damage to the company's networks and data.?
5. Back up data regularly: Regular data backups can help to ensure that the company can quickly recover from a security breach or other data loss event. You should back up their data regularly and store backups offsite to protect against disasters such as fires or floods. A prolonged outage can be crimpling to your brand, reputation, and operating cash flows.

Direct Tec follows the CIS (Centre for Internet Security) 20 Controls, which is a framework that provides a prioritized set of security controls for organizations in our community. We implement these to improve your cyber security posture, as they are designed to address common attack vectors and mitigate known security risks.

Ask us about our cyber security assessment process if you have questions about the risks your SMB may be facing, as we encourage all our community members to stay up to date with the latest versions and guidance provided by the Center for Internet Security. ?

In conclusion, you need to prioritize your security posture to prevent cyber threats. A comprehensive security posture that includes developing a security plan, training employees, implementing access controls, using up-to-date security tools, and backing up data regularly can go a long way in protecting SMBs from cyber threat actors here in Canada and around the globe.

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