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May 23, 2019
At a time when most business is done on computers, not paper, and so much private information is stored in organizational networks, it is important to ensure that security within an organization is of high quality. You don’t want to leave yourself, customers, or even other companies vulnerable to cyber attacks that could cause major damage.
In a recent podcast on the Journal of Accountancy, cyber-security expert Mike Foster discusses steps that organizations can take to improve their cyber protection. Some of the key take-aways from the podcast include:
Why Keeping Security Patches Up-to-date is Important
Security patches are a great thing, but they also can be used to attack organizations that are slow to install them. Mike suggests these three steps for IT departments to follow when a new patch is released:
However, Mike warns about dragging the process out for too long, because attackers like to use these patches to prey upon organizations who delay in installation. Mike talks about three important days of the month for attackers:
How to check the quality of your third-party IT provider
Many firms choose to hire a third-party IT provider, but checks should still be done to ensure they are taking the steps to secure information. Organizations often hire auditors to check on their third-party providers, who find issues including but not limited to:
Are smaller firms at a lower risk?
Many small firms believe they are safe because they don’t have vital information to steal, but attackers aren’t always looking to stealing information from the networks they attack. Mike discusses why, even as a small firm, being protected is important for you and for others, because:
Lastly, Mike also discusses the importance of using application whitelisting, limiting user permissions, and installing the four critical security patches. If you would like to learn more to see if your organization is taking all the right precautions, follow the link to listen to the podcast: