If a company's leaders are unable to clearly understand the technology or talk about it with an IT professional, this puts them at a disadvantage in the digital future. Business Planning and Analysis Running a business is complex. However, implementing the right technology within your company can help it grow faster and be more competitive. You must be familiar with the technology your company uses and be the driver of innovation within your organization. Here are some key definitions to get you started:
Ensure that an organization has correctly scaled its software, services, and hardware. A tool that companies use to map their financial future. It incorporates a budget or financial forecast and is used to help map different scenarios that a company may encounter. The lifespan of the equipment your company purchases. Each computer, server, monitor, etc. has an estimated time to function normally. The lifespan of the software that the company uses, generally dictated by the company that wrote the software and for how long they will continue to provide support, updates, and security patches for the software. Hardware and software have expiration dates and must be updated and maintained regularly. Defining the right policies and procedures within your business will lead to a proactive approach to executing it, rather than being reactive.
Internal Cyber Security and Protection against Internal Threats The biggest threat to an organization's security is internal—its employees and their behavior toward technology is its biggest risk. Helping your employees identify activities that could harm the organization will be your best line of defense against outside hackers. Good security starts with good policy. The management of your company must be involved in defining the company's security policy and be the best example of behavior.
No company is too small to implement good security. The threats of harm to a small business, even an individual entrepreneur, are today too great to ignore. Know that security protection requires layers. Each software, security device, or training program has a specific target or type of attack that will be prevented. These different systems must work in harmony with each other to provide the protection you need. There's no single system to protect against every threat. What worked for security yesterday won't work today or tomorrow. All policies, systems, and implementations must be constantly monitored and updated.
External cybersecurity and infrastructure threats from outside the organization Hackers are constantly trying to find vulnerabilities in corporate networks. Firewalls have advanced over the years. It's essential to keep your firewall up to date and all security protections active. Mobile devices make it much more difficult to secure the network perimeter because it's constantly changing and growing. A great first step in protecting your business data is to ensure that all mobile devices have full device encryption enabled by default.
The servers receive their names because they “serve” the network and the users. Its job is to provide functionality for network users to do their jobs. Some examples of server roles include file services, authentication and security, database systems, remote access, and web services. For these servers to provide their functionality to users outside the internal network, a port must be opened in the network's firewall to allow access to the server. This could lead to additional security vulnerabilities. Review open ports periodically to ensure that only essential access is allowed. Additionally, in today's security environment, it's essential that all your systems are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by security professionals.
Your IT professionals must be proactive rather than just reactive to security issues. This can be done with separate security professionals monitoring and testing your systems.
Finally, cloud environments require extra care to protect your data and systems. Be sure to work with your providers and systems to understand their responsibilities and guarantees.
There's no way to guarantee 100% uptime for all your systems. Discuss with your internal IT team and all your vendors what their guaranteed uptime is.
Hackers have several tools to cause interruptions to their systems, especially if they have a large network of bots that can attack your network. They can be used to bring down businesses and service providers. It's critical that leaders implement tools to prevent and mitigate these attacks. Network equipment, such as firewalls, switches, printers, and other devices connected to the network, need to be updated, as do workstations and servers.
Physical Security Physical security equipment is just as important as cybersecurity. Servers and critical equipment must be purchased and maintained to high standards. Servers must have redundant power supplies and physical storage. Warranties on servers and critical network equipment must be maintained throughout the equipment's lifecycle.
Organizations must expect (and prepare for) to fail periodically. Make sure you have enough battery or power generated to keep critical equipment online during power outages. Remember, servers and network equipment generate heat year-round and must have environmental systems separate from the rest of the building.
Building security and access control specialists can help companies correctly size security systems. Cameras and other surveillance equipment are good deterrents from theft and physical harm. Surveillance equipment must be separated from the rest of the network to prevent cyber threats from the equipment to the rest of the network.
Network design and business continuity Companies rely on the Internet to carry out operations. All internet connections will have downtime. That's why filling out redundant connections can help prevent interruptions in business operation. Having a redundant internet service is also a cheap insurance policy. It's important to remember that choosing the right internet service for your business requires some additional analysis and questioning from the service provider. Both cyber liability insurance and employee theft insurance are essential for business operations.
When implementing a business continuity solution, it's critical to test it regularly. To do this, your IT team must create a procedure to ensure two things:
Successful backup or data replication Test system failure recovery The IT team must receive notification of the success and failure of each data replication job. Successful replication must be reviewed periodically to ensure that the reports are accurate and any flaws are resolved immediately.
Business Accounting Systems Choosing the right integrated system is important to ensure adequate accounting procedures and financial reporting. Advanced accounting systems, such as ERP systems, can allow for easier management of financial information in growing organizations.
The company's leadership must regularly review three important reports to show the health of the business: the profit and loss statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Dashboards allow managers to quickly view data and track metrics within the organization. Each employee must know and be able to monitor a key metric for which they are responsible. To prevent fraud and protect the company's finances, it is essential to establish two-factor accounting protocols.
Laws and Compliance Every business is governed by complex compliance laws and regulations. Implementing a written safety plan is a requirement for most government regulations. Most companies are covered by some type of organizational or governmental rule to protect PII or other sensitive information. Good cybersecurity policies are the basis for compliance. Laws are constantly updated and amended. Compliance often requires hiring experts to help you develop your programs. Having third-party reviews is critical to ensuring compliance with the written security program.
Documentation, Policies, and Procedures In business, a lack of documentation is death. Writing documentation can be a difficult task, but it ensures that common knowledge exists outside the employees' minds. Increased documentation of the main processes and procedures the value of the business. A corporate password management system can reduce the risk of credential theft.
Storing passwords in a web browser is dangerous because they can be accessed by any software running on the computer. All companies have intellectual property that requires protection. The use of process flow diagrams makes following a process easier to train and understand. A process flow diagram is a graphical sequential representation of a process or procedure, including its operations, schedules, options, and members.
Digital success can improve your business, take you beyond the competition, and lead you to long-term financial and business security.
Get in touch with TATICCA Allinial Global Brazil , which provides integrated auditing, accounting, tax, corporate finance, financial advisory, risk advisory, technology, business consulting and training services. For more information, visit www.taticca.com.br or email taticca@taticca.com.br. Our company has professionals with extensive experience in the market and has certified methodologies for carrying out activities.
