Is Your IT Department Putting You At Risk? 4 Things to Look For

Your IT department is responsible for many critical functions within your organization. They keep your systems up and running, protect your data, and ensure that your employees can work productively.

However, risks come with having an IT department that is not experienced and needs to be up to date on the latest cybersecurity threats. Here are four ways your IT department could be putting you at risk:

1. They're Not Keeping Up With Cybersecurity Threats

Your IT department should monitor the latest cybersecurity threats and implement strategies to protect your organization from them. If they're not, your organization is at risk of being attacked by a new type of malware or incursion they're unprepared for.

2. They Don't Have a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan

Your IT department should have a plan in place for how to respond to a cybersecurity incident. This plan should be regularly updated and tested to ensure it will work when needed. Without a plan, your IT department will be scrambling to contain the damage if an incident does occur.

?3. They Don't Back Up Your Data

Your IT department is responsible for backing up your organization's data. If they have a robust backup system, your data could be recovered if an incident occurs. This could cause significant disruptions to your business operations.

4. They Don't Train Their Employees in Cybersecurity

Your IT department's employees should be trained on cybersecurity best practices. If they're not, they could unintentionally put your organization at risk. For example, they may click on a phishing email that installs malware on your network.

If your IT department is putting you at risk in any of these ways, it's time to take action. Work with them to implement the necessary changes to keep your organization safe.

What Happens When Your IT Department Fails?

Several things can happen if your IT department fails to protect your organization from cybersecurity threats.

?Data Breaches

While your IT team works hard to protect your data, there are always risks of data breaches. There are a few ways that data breaches can occur:

1. Malicious attacks: Hackers can target your organization to steal sensitive data.

2. Employee mistakes: Your employees may accidentally delete or expose data.

3. Employees are malicious or steal data.

4. Third-party vulnerabilities: If you use any third-party services, they may have vulnerabilities that allow hackers to access your data.

Downtime

Downtime is when your systems are unavailable or not working correctly. This can be a significant business problem, leading to lost productivity and revenue.

There are a few causes of downtime:

1. Maintenance: Your IT team may need to perform maintenance on your systems, which can lead to downtime.

2. Hardware failures: Your hardware may fail, leading to downtime.

3. Software glitches: Your software may have glitches that cause it to stop working correctly, which can lead to downtime.

Employee Productivity Loss

When your systems are down or not working correctly, your employees may not be able to work as efficiently. This can lead to lost productivity and revenue for your business.

There are a few ways to prevent employee productivity loss:

1. Have a Business Continuity Plan: Make sure you plan how your employees will work if there is a system outage.

2. Train your employees: Train your employees on how to use the systems properly so they can work efficiently.

3. Communicate with your employees: Keep your employees up to date on the status of the systems and let them know when they can expect things to be back up and running. Create and implement a cyber security awareness program.

An IT department comes with a few risks if its employees are not adequately experienced, but there are ways to mitigate them. Data breaches, downtime, and employee productivity loss are all potential risks that you need to be aware of. However, by having a plan in place, testing the plan, ?and communicating with your employees, you can help minimize the impact of these risks.

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