Managed IT Services Blog

To think that IT security is only a problem reserved for large enterprises is to put your business at a serious disadvantage. In fact, more and more small to medium-sized organizations are investing more in IT security because they understand that they are at risk. According to the 2018 State of Cybersecurity in Small and Medium Size Businesses study published by Ponemon, 67 percent of respondents experienced a cyberattack in the year 2018, and 58 percent of those attacks resulted in a data breach. 

 IT security remains a challenge for organizations of all sizes, but there are steps you can take to reduce the risks. Adhering to these three key IT security strategy pillars is the first step you should take. 

Since the early days of the computer virus, cybersecurity professionals have developed new ways to address the threat landscape. However, just as the good guys find new ways to defend against these attacks, the threat actors responsible are also evolving their methods to bypass these security controls. 

Recently, one of our clients expressed concern because they noticed that personal information was showing on users’ profile cards in Office 365. This information included users’ home addresses and personal phone numbers, among other information. 

There was a time when it took small businesses a great deal of convincing that they needed to take network security seriously. Today, thinking about security is critical for all Boston businesses, regardless of size. The data behind this speaks for itself—Small Business Trends reports that:

• 43 percent of all cyberattacks target small businesses.
• 60 percent of companies go out of business six months after a successful attack.
• 48 percent of data breaches occur as the result of malicious intent; the remainder is due to human error or system failure. 

When the global average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million dollars, you can be assured that businesses take notice. This number alone should be enough to convince anyone to take networking security seriously. However, cost savings and an untarnished reputation aren’t the only advantages that networking security brings to your business.

Microsoft recently noted the findings of the "Organizational Security & Compliance Practices in Office 365," a 37-page report conducted by CollabTalk LLC and the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. Key takeaways from this paper are:

When it comes to cloud infrastructure services, Amazon Web Services (AWS) still reigns at the top of the list for cloud infrastructure services with more than 30 percent of the market share. By comparison, the second-most popular cloud service, Microsoft Azure, comes in at approximately 15 percent.

The idea of threats to data security often conjures up thoughts of large companies plastered across the national news because thousands of records were compromised at the hands of a malicious hacker. Unfortunately, this often provides smaller organizations with a false sense of security; they start to believe that the bad guys are only after the large companies with a lot of money at stake.

IBM’s SecurityIntelligence reported some frightening statistics regarding data breaches in 2018. Although the time it takes to detect a data breach is down from years to 196 days, the cost of a breach has increased. On average, the cost of a compromised record is up to $148. This is tough news for most organizations to deal with, and experts expect the number of records compromised per breach to increase, as well.

These reasons alone make it more important than ever for organizations to stay informed about the latest trends in IT security. Considering the damage that can be done to the reputation of a business that is the victim of cybercrime, you have more reason than ever to understand what the threat landscape looks like for this year.

Cybersecurity is one of the main business concerns of the 21st century. Consumers, businesses, and employees are all driven by the internet and can access anything at any time. This 24/7 access can cause problems from external sources, such as hackers.

However, internal security threats open an organization to a breach. Here are a few tips for businesses to protect themselves from internal security threats.