In our ever-expanding age of digital transformation, information security and compliance are critical for businesses of all sizes to protect their customers' data, guard against cyberattacks, and remain compliant with regulatory requirements.
SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) infamously struggle with adopting policies and being prepared to respond to cyber-security incidents when they occur. The apparent logic here is because SMBs usually need more funding to invest in dedicated personnel who can respond to incidents and need access to the same level of technology as larger organizations.
When one stops to think about this for a moment, it's scary to consider that many of the apps or technologies we interact with every week likely fall into the bucket of SMBs with limited ability to make your data their top priority. The purpose of this article is not to scare you away from small businesses or to put any group of companies on blast. It is instead a reminder of the responsibility of all of us, as IT and business professionals, to recognize the data we are handling and ensure we build and configure our systems as securely as possible.
One of the most crucial steps businesses of any size can take will be implementing policies relevant to the organization and capable of being followed. Information Security policies are essential for businesses of all sizes and are generally a foundational step for establishing many other programs. Policies Establish clear guidelines and boundaries and help protect organizations from loss or harm caused by unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of confidential or sensitive data. A security policy outlines the standards and procedures an organization implements to ensure its data and resources are adequately protected. In addition to protecting the company's physical and digital assets, a security policy will increase customer confidence in the business.
To all my colleagues and professionals reading this; review and update your security policies, make sure they are relevant, and if your company does not have something in place, there is no better time to get started than now.