How Are Businesses Improving Their IT Security?
In 2023, it is more important than ever for all businesses with an online presence to take meaningful steps to ensure that their IT security is the strongest it can be. It is recognized that there are an estimated 2,200 cyberattacks every day around the world. A successful cyberattack can be devastating to any business as it takes time and money to resolve the damage and/or loss of data that has occurred. In addition to these threats from cybercrime, it is also important to understand that a business will lose a significant amount of reputation after a cyber-attack, which can negatively impact brand image and future customer loyalty. In short, all businesses must take all relevant steps to protect themselves from cybercrime. In this article, three different ways in which this can be achieved will be explored in detail.
Use of Microservices
With the advent of cloud computing, online servers, and applications, early cloud-based systems were monolithic. This meant that these systems were extremely large and comprised several different programs or services in one overarching package. The main problem with this setup was that older component programs often became obsolete over time or needed significant updates. This would involve updating the main parts of the system instead of the component itself. In some circumstances, due to the time needed to upgrade whole systems, component applications that had become outdated were simply left. This created a weak point in the security of the overall architecture and could increase the risk of a successful cyber attack. Today, the leading businesses use microservices that comprise separate applications and services. By building online systems this way, the components can be individually updated or modified far more quickly and easily which helps to keep security protocols up to date for all parts of the online infrastructure.
Password Management Systems
Whilst all employees are aware of the need to create complex passwords when accessing systems, it is estimated that 1 in 5 staff use weak passwords and 1 in 14 staff use those that are considered to be extremely weak. This creates an “open door” for hackers, even if they possess relatively basic skills and knowledge in this field. Thankfully, many businesses are now opting to use password management systems for their corporate IT to circumvent this problem. You can find some of the most reliable password management systems in 2023 here.
Constant Updates
As a final example, companies that seek to ensure that their systems remain as safe as possible from intrusion must ensure that all applications and systems have the latest firmware and updates. This is vitally important as many applications contain improved security features when they receive an update. Often, these are created in response to new or emerging cyber security threats. Put simply, applications or programs that do not benefit from the latest updates are far more likely to be at risk of becoming compromised than those that have been updated. All business managers and leaders should take steps to ensure that there is a regular schedule of checking and updating their applications in response to the latest versions.
Check the comment section for additional information, or share what you know or ask a question about this article, by clicking the 'View or Write Comment' button below.
Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.