Information of any organization is of utmost importance. With increased dependency on the internet and more technologically advanced ways of operation, the risk posed to this data has also increased. It is, therefore, a must for every business to take steps to protect the data. Cybersecurity is to be handled with more attention. For any business, all the data involved is very sensitive since it contains details of clients and when exposed they become responsible. This is more so in the case of a healthcare sector where HIPAA Compliance help is also involved. The following are some tips to help with cybersecurity in an organization.
Installing anti-virus software:
Viruses are the easy way hackers find their way into the servers of any company. There may be many undetected risks and these may damage the entire system all of a sudden. This can also happen with the latest security updates. Any source USB drives, or emails, or CDs connected to the organization’s PC which is infected but not known previously can also affect the system. Tested anti-virus software is the need of the organization then. It is not a one-time installation. This has to be kept up to date with renewals every year so that it stays updated with the latest malware and other viruses. So the major threats can be handled by maintaining an anti-virus solution.
Firewall:
A business should have a firewall installed to protect its data from intrusions. This plays a preventive role in the sense it does not allow the entry of any virus or other malicious data. When entry itself is prevented, the safety is more. A firewall can be hardware or software. It looks into the messages entering the system and decides whether it is virus-free or not. If it doubts the safety of the message, it can be thrown into spam right away. A hardware firewall should be used for a LAN. This needs the assistance of a specialist in the field so that it can be configured and implemented correctly.
Maintenance of operating system:
Over time a lot of information gets accumulated in the operating system and needs to be cleared. Otherwise, there may be an underlying threat in itself. Old data if required should be archived or else deleted as per the documentation policy of the company. Any software that you do not use anymore should be completely uninstalled so that no traces are lying. Also in an organization, many employees leave from time to time. It is very important that their system access is disabled and also their user accounts should be cleared. Data access should be completely prevented else it can lead to misuse.
Access to protected information:
There is a lot of protected data in an organization and access to these should be restricted. A list of people with access along with their user names is to be maintained. Access control should be taken care of centrally. Based on the role of the employee, their access is to be determined. If there is any access without permission it is to be considered a breach and reported appropriately.
