Start 2019 off right with these resolutions to secure your company’s data, increase customer trust, and reduce risks of business closures due to unexpected events. In order to make successful year-long resolutions, break up bigger goals into manageable steps each month and ensure those mini-goals are measurable.

Resolution #1: Be Responsible With Customer and Proprietary Data

Your customers trust your business to safeguard their confidential data including credit card information, contact information, and private customer details. Here are a few measurable steps to take in Q1 towards this resolution.

 

  • January. Enroll your employees in cybersecurity training. arielMIS offers cybersecurity training to help your employees handle data safely and reduce the risks of social engineering to hack your computer systems.
  • February. Review and refresh your security policies. Assess any incidents from the past year that would have been prevented with an updated security policy, then document the new policies and communicate them to employees.  
  • March. Implement improved email security and assist your employees in being responsible by offering easy-to-use mail encryption and automated suspicious activity monitoring for Office 365. With MailProtector, your employees can easily encrypt sensitive data by putting the subject line in brackets “[..]” to automatically encrypt the email message. This easy to use tool protects the data from being intercepted during its journey along the network and protects your business from liability that occurs with loss of that data. Cloud App Security for Office 365 automatically monitors suspicious behavior in your Office 365 Tenant, including email, and can alert or suspend an account acting in unusual ways. If you’re not already on Office 365, let us demonstrate how migrating can help your email security.

Resolution #2: Be Prepared for the Unexpected

The term “disaster” can refer to floods, fires, ransomware, or anything that significantly disrupts your business from normal operations. This year, resolve to stay open for business regardless of natural disasters or hacking attempts. Here’s what to do in the first quarter of 2019:

  • January. Inventory which software applications and data is necessary to keep your business running in the event of a disaster. Write it down, including who has access to those systems and how to reach them.
  • February. Backup your critical data on a regular schedule. Check what is being backed up against your list from January and add any missing data to your backup plan. Use protected offsite data storage and cloud-based backup plans so that your company can still get important files even if a disaster affects your physical office building.
  • March. Implement a Business Continuity Plan so that your employees know what to do in an emergency.

 

Contact us to find out how arielMIS can help your business secure your systems.

arielMIS is a Managed Service Provider (MSP) providing businessCARE™ IT services designed to keep you and your employees productive and safe. Contact Us if you're interested in learning more about our services.