In today’s world, you can’t take cybersecurity too seriously and you can’t have policies that are too strict. Cybercrime is constantly rising and is a major concern for everyone, including individuals, small businesses, and large corporations. However, businesses have the most to lose in a security incident since client or customer data are usually involved. If you’ve been wondering how to further secure your business and enhance your cybersecurity, here are some security elements you don’t want to skip.

1. Utilize log analysis

 Log analysis will help enhance your defense against cybersecurity threats. Log analysis is the process of reviewing an activity log generated by an application or computer system that details errors, bugs, and security threats.

If you’ve never reviewed the logs generated by your operating system or software applications, you’ve been missing out on opportunities to secure your business.

Log files document the following timestamped information: 

• Error reports
• File requests
• File transfers
• Sign-in and sign-out requests
• Error reports

Log analysis will help your IT security team detect anomalies and security threats. This information will also help your IT security team audit a system or application if you experience a data breach or other security incident. Now is the perfect time to integrate log analysis into your security protocol. 

2. Implement device control

Device control is a security strategy that only allows users to access a system, network, or application from a specific, pre-approved device. For instance, a user will need to log into an application with a username and password, but if they’re not using an approved device their login will fail. You can also encrypt all data transfers to USB or storage devices to make sure it’s unreadable if it gets stolen.

When you implement device control, you add multiple layers of protection to your company’s security. Your access rules can be highly specific. For instance, you can define access rules by group, and only allow a certain group of users to access an application from a company laptop during business hours.

The main benefit of using device control is that you won’t have to worry much if anyone’s login credentials are stolen. If a hacker gets ahold of login credentials, they won’t be able to use them without access to the approved device.

3. Be strategic when terminating an employee

When you terminate an employee, it’s critical to be strategic about removing their access to your company network and accounts. Leaving them with any access is a bad idea. If a terminated employee wants to get revenge, they might delete important company files or perform some other type of sabotage.

The best way to handle a termination is to have your IT team cut off their access to company accounts while they’re in the exit interview. During their exit interview, you’ll want to collect all devices like tablets, smartphones, or laptops you’ve issued to them.

Some companies struggle with this because they use shared accounts. Also, employees use their own devices and sometimes even their personal email accounts. If this applies to your business, now is the time to start assigning individual logins. Require everyone to use a company email account for communication.

4. Discourage password sharing

Employees sharing passwords puts your company at risk for several reasons:

• When sharing passwords over email, a hacked email exposes your company’s login information.
• A terminated employee might be asking a coworker to use their login credentials in order to sabotage the company. If the coworker doesn’t know the employee has been terminated, sharing their credentials could mean disaster.
• You won’t be able to trace issues to the right user. If credentials are shared between coworkers, you’ll never know who was trying to access areas that are off-limits or other actions recorded by your applications. If one of your employees is trying to get further into your network than they’re allowed, you’ll have to hold everyone responsible, but you still won’t know who was responsible.

To discourage credential sharing, have a policy against sharing login information and make sure it gets enforced.

5. Hire an IT security professional

It goes without saying that an IT security pro will benefit your organization. Hire a pro to do what they do best – secure your networks and applications. A security expert will help you build a strong security posture based on your resources, limitations, and budget.

Prioritize cybersecurity

Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, so it’s important to stay on top of your IT security game. You can’t prevent every security incident, but you can prevent some. If you haven’t already implemented these five security elements, now is the perfect time to enhance your cybersecurity.

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