As an IT professional, cybersecurity is the thing most likely to keep you awake at night. You must consider two basic elements as part of your cybersecurity plan:
- Prevention: The first pillar of cybersecurity is technology that you can deploy to prevent bad actors from penetrating your network and stealing or damaging your data. This technology includes firewalls that block unwelcome access, antivirus programs that detect malicious software, patch management tools that keep your software up to date, and antispam programs that keep suspicious email from reaching your users’ inboxes.
The most important part of the prevention pillar is the human firewall. Technology can only go so far in preventing successful cyber attacks. Most successful attacks are the result of users opening email attachments or clicking web links that they should have known were dangerous. Thus, in addition to providing technology to prevent attacks, you also need to make sure your users know how to spot and avoid suspicious email attachments and web links.
- Recovery: The second pillar of cybersecurity is necessary because the first pillar isn’t always successful. Successful cyber attacks are inevitable, so you need to have technology and plans in place to quickly recover from them when you do.
