Cyberthreats are more sophisticated and damaging than ever before, putting businesses of all sizes at risk. From stolen data to crippling ransomware, a single breach can cost your company money, time, and even its reputation. But here's the good news—many of these attacks can be prevented with the right proactive IT strategies in place.
Keep reading to learn how you can set up your team for success with these practical and effective IT strategies.
Train Employees to Recognize Social Engineering Attacks
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the same is true of your organization's security. No matter how robust your IT infrastructure is, hackers know your employees may unknowingly expose your systems through human error. This is where social engineering attacks come into play.
Social engineering attacks prey on human psychology by tricking your employees into revealing sensitive information or granting unauthorized access. This could be as simple as someone clicking a link in a convincing phishing email or sharing their password over the phone to someone posing as IT support.
How can you combat this?
- Educate your team: Host regular training sessions to explain the common tactics cybercriminals use, such as phishing, baiting, and pretexting. For example, employees should know not to open attachments or links in unfamiliar emails.
- Simulated phishing tests: Run fake phishing campaigns within your organization to test staff responses. Provide immediate feedback and reward those who report suspicious activity. (PSA—this is also great for team morale!)
- Create a “When in Doubt” rule: Encourage employees to verify unusual emails, messages, or requests with their managers or IT team.
The more prepared your employees are, the less vulnerable your business will be.
Limit IT Access To Only the Necessities
Do all of your employees need access to your entire system? Probably not. The Principle of Least Privilege suggests that every user, device, or program only gets access to the resources absolutely necessary for their work—nothing more.
Why? The more individuals have access, the greater the risk of an unintentional or malicious breach. For instance, your marketing team doesn’t need admin rights to your accounting software. By limiting access, you limit the potential points of entry for cybercriminals.
Steps to implement this strategy:
- Set up role-based access controls (RBAC): Clearly define roles and permissions for each employee group. Finance can access financial software, marketing can access social media tools, and so on.
- Monitor admin privileges: Only IT professionals or key leadership should hold admin rights, and they should even use them sparingly.
- Prevent privilege creep: Regularly review and adjust access rights as roles evolve. For example, an employee who moves from development to customer service should not have access to the IT servers.
Using POLP reduces risk and increases accountability. Every action is traceable to the individuals authorized to take it.
Tighten Offboarding Processes to Prevent Internal Sabotage
You need a plan to protect your systems when employees leave your company. A disgruntled former employee can quickly become a vulnerability, especially if they retain access to sensitive accounts or systems.
Sound far-fetched? Unfortunately, it’s not. There have been countless cases of ex-employees sabotaging their former employers’ systems by deleting data, planting malware, or stealing intellectual property.
Here’s how to create a rock-solid offboarding process:
- Instant Access Revocation: The moment an employee leaves (planned or otherwise), their access to email accounts, software, networks, and physical devices should be revoked.
- Retrieve Company Assets: Collect company devices (laptops, phones, etc.) immediately and inspect them for unauthorized downloads or malware.
- Exit Interviews with IT Follow-ups: Coordinate with your IT team to cross-reference access logs and audit every account for potential security gaps.
- Clear Communication: Ensure transparency during the process—employees should understand that revoking access is a matter of policy, not personal mistrust.
Test & Audit Your Systems with “Secret Shoppers”
How confident are you in your company’s cybersecurity? If you’re not regularly testing your defenses, you may not spot the gaps until it’s too late. That’s why audits, penetration testing, and even sending “secret shoppers” into your systems are game-changers.
What’s involved?
- System Audits: Conduct regular audits of your networks, firewalls, and software to ensure they’re up-to-date and secure.
- Penetration Testing: Known as “ethical hacking,” penetration testing involves hiring security experts to attempt to breach your systems and identify your vulnerabilities.
- Employee Testing: You can test your employees' vigilance by simulating real-world attacks, such as phishing emails or social engineering calls. For example, a “fake” IT caller can ask for sensitive data and see how your employees respond.
- Reward Vigilance: When employees pass the test, recognize and reward them. It reinforces positive behaviors and keeps security at the forefront of the mind.
These proactive measures help you stay one step ahead of cybercriminals and foster a security-focused culture in your organization.
