For small businesses, it is important to have robust cyber security protection. If you’re looking to improve your cyber security posture, there are many steps you can take.

Granted, no company will ever be in a perfect place with cyber security, because as soon as you think you are, a new vulnerability will arise. Therefore, implementing and updating cyber security solutions should be part of your ongoing business operations.

If you are just getting started and are ready to take action, here are some steps you can take to improve your cyber security posture.

Perform a Cyber Security Risk Assessment

The first step to improving your cyber security posture is understanding the current state of your network. A risk assessment is a great place to start. The assessment will help you understand the overall strength of your controls, and identify the vulnerabilities that exist.

Risk assessments are often done with a third-party software or through an organization who uses such tools to provide you with this valuable information.

Prioritize Your Risk

Now that you know your risk, you can prioritize them within your organization. This should be a holistic effort, not just an IT decision.

Prioritizing your risk will help you build a roadmap to improving your security posture. In addition, it will help you set standards and priorities for future risks.

Assess and Patch Vulnerabilities

Since you now have a roadmap of which vulnerabilities to prioritize, it is time to correct the known issues. In addition to fixing current issues, businesses should implement preventative measures to protect against future threats. Being proactive and adhering to the latest cyber security best practices can ensure companies remain protected against known and unknown threats.

Implement Automated Cybersecurity Solutions

With the number of applications businesses use and the amount of data they store, it is impossible for administrators to stay on top every threat. Leveraging technology such as automated cybersecurity solutions allow organizations to monitor the network through a single pane of glass and give time back to IT teams.

This automation allows security professionals to focus their efforts on high-risk threats and not be distracted by noise. This may also help you stay ahead of threats in the future and instantly improve your security posture.

Educate Your Employees

Every employee is a gatekeeper into your network. By educating your staff, you are empowering them to understand the basics of cyber security.

Through programs such as security awareness training, employees will recognize the importance of every individual’s role in working proactively to minimize and prevent incidents. As threats and vulnerabilities are constantly changing and new Zero-day vulnerabilities are popping up every day, it is critical to constantly assess and optimize your training program.

With proper training and implementation, your small business can maintain a robust security posture.

Have an Incident Response Plan

An incident response plan will outline how threats will be handled and what steps need to be taken after a breach. It will also develop a communication pipeline. This will allow the team to quickly respond to cyber security incidents and and contain any impact of the breach.

Once a plan is in place, testing its effectiveness will allow your team refine and strengthen the plan over time.

Rinse and Repeat

Cyber security is not a set-it-and-forget-it aspect of a business. Instead, it must be evaluated, tested, and improved upon on a regular basis.

As technology is evolving, so are the threats and vulnerabilities. In order to maintain and constantly improve your cyber security posture, it should be a part of an ongoing process.

Where to Start

Many small businesses want to implement cyber security measures, but aren’t sure where to start. As an experienced managed service provider, ISOCNET can help. We offer free risk assessments for small to medium-sized businesses, as well as free consultations for those looking to learn more about cyber security solutions.

Reach out today to begin strengthening your security posture.