Five IT security risks SMEs should be aware of

Five IT security risks SMEs should be aware of was originally posted on Nimbus CS

Has your in-house IT representative has it all covered? In an ideal world, the person that you entrust to take care of the IT needs within your SME should be able to juggle the daily demands of servicing your employees' requests, managing your infrastructure, and keeping abreast of the latest security developments. In reality, security is often the area that becomes neglected due to time constraints, so as an IT support company which specialises in providing services to SMEs, we wanted to highlight some current security concerns that have the potential to affect your business: 1. Increase in malware sophistication 'Why me?' is unfortunately the attitude that many business owners take when it comes to cyber threats, but every day attacks become more cunning, it's appears that cyber attacks are now big business, with companies being held to ransom for £1000's 2. Password vulnerability While it may sound straight forward, managing passwords is a challenge that should be taken seriously by SMEs. The recent Market Pulse Survey (https://www.sailpoint.com/news/marketpulsesurvey-passwords) highlighted that 56% of employees admit to reusing their passwords for different applications. You need a password policy that protects your data. 3. The cloud Following on from the passwords, if you are wary of which hands your data falls into, you should be careful when considering how your company uses the cloud. It may be worth looking into using a private or hybrid cloud service model, in order to give you more control over who has access. 4. PCI-DSS compliance If you are an SME that deals with online transactions, and that services large companies including corporations, you may be required to meet compliance with the PCI-DSS guidelines set out by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council. You can read more about the standards here (https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pci_security/maintaining_payment_security). 5. Network exposure Your network is probably the single most important part of your IT infrastructure, and it could be at risk if you do not carry out the right security updates on a regular basis. If a vulnerability is taken advantage of, it could mean that your data becomes exposed, or that you suffer a period of downtime. Protecting your network should always be a top priority. We hope this gives you a starting point when assessing your company's security. Please don't wait until the horse has bolted, we see it regularly. If you'd like to talk it over just call Nimbus and have a chat.