Data security is one of the key elements of your business. There are continually increasing threats to your IT network, and the more you can do as a business to protect your digital footprint, the more you can protect your business as a whole.
When it comes to data security, Microsoft is a clear expert, and they have offered some invaluable hints that help businesses maintain strong cybersecurity. The software giant has offered several strategies to combat data security breaches, and these are some of the key things they have suggested:
Invest in Cloud Infrastructure
Better investment in cloud services can make all the difference when it comes to improving data security and protecting sensitive information in your business. The cloud has solved numerous issues for businesses, including the need to scale on demand, but greatly decreasing security risks that come with sharing data remotely is a main advantage.
About switching to the cloud for security purposes, Microsoft supports the transition, provided your IT partner has the right tools. Microsoft says, “Cloud storage providers understand how a single security breach can result in a massive lack of trust. Thus, the most reputable providers have created many systems and controls to keep your content safe, secure and private.”
According to experts, Microsoft itself is even investing increasingly large sums in cloud computing. “Microsoft is spending heavily on building out its cloud computing business, both for its own software like Office 365, and for the IaaS and PaaS services offered through Azure. . . . Microsoft is certainly spending far more on capital expenditures than it has historically, but it’s likely to be money well spent.” Businesses who do the same are likely to reap the same benefits, especially when it comes to security.
Partner with an IT Services Company
Another critical way to protect your digital data is to ensure you have experts that can strategize, implement, and manage your cybersecurity according to your unique needs. While many businesses don’t have the budget to support a fully-staffed in-house IT team, many outsource their IT to an IT services company who can oversee each change and development made to their infrastructure, as well as maintain security.
Microsoft also supports outsourcing your IT to a Managed Service Provider, indicating, “For more than 20 years, large enterprises have relied on managed services businesses to manage information and customer workloads. . . . Adopting managed services is also an efficient way to stay up-to-date on technology, get access to necessary skills, and address a range of
issues related to cost, quality of service, and risk.”
The need for expert guidance exists in every business, whether enterprise or SMB, as the threat of cyber crime has never been more prevalent. A reliable IT services provider can ensure you have the level of support you need to maintain high cybersecurity standards.
Train Your Employees
Setting up stronger passwords, multi-factor authentication, and firewalls are all part of an overarching strategy to secure your infrastructure. But without the proper training, your employees will still be the number one cause of security breaches. Your business lives and dies on how secure and reliable it is, so training your employees is a critical aspect of maintaining data security.
Microsoft details, “Nearly one in three security breaches starts with a phishing attack costing the affected organization an average of USD1.4 million. Even after security training, employees still click on phishing links at an average rate of 20 – 30 percent. With the rise in people working from home, new forms, such as consent phishing, have cropped up to take advantage of new vulnerabilities. Direct your resources to where the people in your organization can see the risk is real, and you’ll generate positive engagement.”
There is a lot to think about when trying to improve your IT security, but Microsoft presents some excellent ideas that will help you to achieve this. IT security breaches can be catastrophic to businesses, so taking these actions to improve your business’s cybersecurity is one step closer to eliminating these risks within your organization.
