Almost every business today will be impacted by a cyber incident of some kind. You may not see the event coming, but your business can be permanently damaged by an incident such as a malicious attack, the loss of valuable data or intellectual property, and fraud. What’s more, these incidents come with a hefty price tag for recovery and resolution – many companies face losses in the millions.”
Importance of cybersecurity for businesses
- It is said that a good business model is the strongest security system. Many businesses are now focusing on preventing the loss of data, not just trying to recover it once they have lost it. This can reduce costs and improve profitability.
- Threats are evolving and growing in number, so investing in good security tools is vital.
- Data loss due to poor security is a huge risk for businesses, financially and reputationally.
- Many businesses now see cybersecurity as an insurance policy – spending money to prevent a potential loss rather than trying to recover from the loss. Cyber security is a growing concern for businesses because the threat of cyber attacks is constantly evolving and can be financially devastating.
- Data breaches are not just limited to computers and IT systems, but can also occur with physical devices such as mobile phones and tablets.
What have managed IT services?
Managed IT services also known as Managed IT, are a range of services that provide IT for business needs, such as computer and software system configuration and management. Managed IT includes such elements as:
- provisioning;
- maintenance;
- security;
- data backups and recovery;
- disaster recovery (cloud-based)
- management.Managed IT services help manage technology to provide security and continuity for businesses to keep them safe from cyber threats.
Common types of cyber threats
- Cyber attacks – External attackers break into a business’s computer or network, steal or destroy data and cause damage to the business.
- Cyber espionage – Businesses can be hacked to gain information and steal intellectual property.
- Malware attacks – Malware is malicious software, sometimes known as a Trojan horse, that can be installed on a device.
- Denial of service attacks – A DoS attack is an attempt to render any resource unavailable for use by its intended customers.
- Smartphone and tablet viruses – There are plenty of these out there, and they target your contact lists too! Make sure your smartphone or tablet has anti-virus protection installed.
- viPhiware – phishing scams are emails that look like they are from legitimate businesses and ‘phishing targets’ who are asked to click on a link or download an attachment.
Cyber threats can impact businesses by ensuring that insider attacks are not limited to external attacks. There is a huge cost of lost sensitive data, compliance issues, and fines if business secrets are stolen due to internal cyber threats. Staying informed about cybersecurity risks is important, but this doesn’t mean you have to become an expert. Searching for the latest cyber security threats is a good place to start – there are plenty of websites and blogs that cover this topic. You can get ideas about what kind of security tools will work best for your business if you follow the news relating to cyber risk.
Security Services Offered by Managed IT Services Providers
- Security Assessment
– The assessment is done on the company’s information systems and its vulnerabilities.
- Risk Analysis
– The companies involved assess their risk level based on their IT systems, network, and data status.
- Protection against Security Threats
– The organization assigns the roles of personnel to ensure the security of their IT systems and network.
- Management of Security Threats
– This service is provided to manage, diagnose and monitor the threats against IT systems.
- Incident Response
– This service is given to manage and respond to security incidents that originate from external sources.
Benefits of Managed IT Services for Cybersecurity
- Managed IT services help prevent online fraud.
- Cyber security is a growing concern for businesses because the threat of cyber attacks is constantly evolving. Cybersecurity can be financially devastating for many organizations, which is why many businesses are investing in these services to increase the protection of their company’s data.
- There are many platforms that can manage your company’s technology and this would help you keep track of your systems while ensuring that they are secure and functioning at all times.
- Managed IT services help companies protect against cyber security threats by keeping the software up to date and performing regular scans.
- Managed IT services can link your organization to the latest system and network security tools that allow you to take preventative measures against cyber attacks.
- The cost of managed IT services is minimal when compared with the amount of money companies lose each year due to cyber attacks.
Future Trends in Cybersecurity
- There is an increasing need for threat identification, due to the rapid evolution of threats and the ever-growing number of new attack vectors.
- Security analytics and machine learning-driven automated response to advanced cyber threats will become more commonplace, especially as it becomes easier to implement simple, effective security measures in all environments (cloud, hybrid, or otherwise).
- The risk posed by the Internet of Things on industrial control systems will continue to grow, and so will the need for improved threat protection by more fully integrating physical and cyber security.
- The concept of “insider threat” will continue to evolve as more employees take their devices and data home with them (the BYOD trend), which opens up new opportunities for hackers to have direct access to company systems from outside the organization.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is one of many pressing IT needs businesses face today, especially as the virtual world becomes more deeply intertwined with the real one. But there’s no need to approach it in a piecemeal fashion. By choosing a managed IT provider with deep security expertise, businesses can gain access to the tools and expertise that will best secure their entire network. Using our cybersecurity criteria, make sure you choose a managed IT services provider that meets all these requirements and more.
