Three Common Types Of Data Loss and How to Prevent

There are plenty of reasons why security should be a top priority for IT, especially if an organization competes in the digital age including the risk of data loss.

These unsavory security incidents can cause productivity at work to stop, whether it’s due to user error, a rogue employee, or a global security threat. While it is not something that anyone wants to admit, these situations are increasingly common.

How can you prepare for these “uh-oh” moments? Understanding what could happen is the first step. This will help you prepare for what’s next and how to solve it. Let’s look at three possible ways your data could be lost and how you can prevent it from happening:

Data Loss Basics

Scenario 1 – Your colleague spills coffee on his laptop just before a big presentation.

Clumsiness with coffee at work is one of the easiest mistakes, and almost a right of passage. Unsaved files can be lost if you spill coffee or any other beverage. If you add high-pressure situations like those before a presentation, the anxiety of recovering your files can lead to panic. This can make it difficult to find secure ways to retrieve your data.

It is crucial to be able to seamlessly integrate files between multiple operating systems and devices, even if there are errors. This allows you to quickly replace a phone, tablet, or computer that has gone down. Real-time backup capabilities can be added to reduce the stress associated with losing important files. You’ll always have access without the need to search for it again.

Scenario 2 – An employee accidentally triggers a ransomware infection.

Everybody, from small businesses to large corporations, and even individuals, needs to be concerned about these persistent attacks. These ransomware threats are more common than you might think. They often appear in the form phishing emails, so one click could result in both your business being shut down and others. Ransomware is on the rise and won’t stop. Everyone’s data is at risk. Ransomware is a growing threat to data security. Businesses are often forced to pay ransom in order to get their data back. Businesses are losing customers and revenue every minute, as they experience downtime while this all is going on.

How can you prepare for the digital data thieves? You can educate your employees about how to spot these emails. Your best defense is to be able to do a mass rollback of files to the time before the ransomware infection occurred. Also, make sure that this data is accessible across multiple devices so that you can continue business as usual. You might be thinking that you are immune to this and it won’t happen. Murphy’s Law states that anything can go wrong, and ransomware is no exception.

Scenario 3 – A soon-to be ex-employee is about take confidential company data with him on his way out.

Employees leaving the company pose a variety of cybersecurity risks, including the inability to recover all data from company devices and the loss of access to passwords. It can be difficult to determine who has access to which data, as almost half of employees share log-ins with their coworkers. Ex-employees can cause a lot damage to companies and even share confidential information with competitors, which could lead to your company being forced out of business. This goes well beyond intellectual property. A former employee can expose financial information or private information of coworkers and alter documents remotely, leaving your company in no better shape.

Companies can take steps to address these potential problems, whether they are intentional or not. They also have full control over who has access to corporate information. Employees will be unable to store corporate information on their personal devices if a standard is established and enforced. You can also give IT support administrators full access to users, policies, files, sharing activities, and end-user content. They can also adjust permissions at a fine level. This will allow you to have peace of mind for the employee’s last days.

To keep your business running smoothly, you must be able to backup your data in any situation that could cause downtime. Unexpected downtime can be stressful. However, having the right protocols in place for grabbing files from any device and ensuring that they are deleted immediately is a way to increase security at work.

Let SpartanTec, Inc. now if you want to protect and manage critical business data so that you can prevent or recover from any IT incident.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Charleston, SC 29407
843-418-4792
https://manageditservicescharleston.com/

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence

What is Fourth-Party Risk?

Each company has its parts outsourced to several suppliers. These suppliers then outsource their operations. This is called fourth-party risk. Supplier suppliers pose a risk to your company. Digital transformation has reached the supply chain. Organizations, particularly those in financial services and banking, now deal with more third parties than ever. Gartner research has shown that 60% of organizations deal with over 1,000 third parties, which means cybersecurity is as important now as ever.

Although an organization might have good cybersecurity practices, vendors may not. This program, which is offered by a third party risk management company, helps to reduce the digital risks that come with this ever-growing attack vector.

It is important to keep in mind that the fourth party to your organization’s attack surface should also be considered and included into your cybersecurity risk management processes.

Click here to learn more about fourth-party risks and how to manage them.

What is a Fourth Party, exactly?

Your organization’s vendors are fourth parties. Organizations rarely have direct contact with vendors or third-party vendors.

Your information security team is still just as responsible as for third-party risks management (TPRM).

The System and Organization Control (SOC), reports of your vendor can help you identify the fourth party in your organization. To ensure that fourth parties are properly vetted, it is essential that third parties have a strong vendor risk management program.

What is the importance of Fourth-Party Risk?

All risk within your organization’s supply chain or ecosystem is yours. Although third parties are often more closely connected to your company than fourth parties it is just as important to monitor the suppliers, subcontractors and service providers of your vendors.

A fourth party can suffer a data breach if they are associated with another party, but this is not enough protection.

No matter where the breach occurred, your organization is responsible for comprehensive attack surface management. Your organization remains responsible for any reputational, financial or regulatory consequences that a third party might have on your company.

Important to remember that an organization can have up to 1,000 third-party relationships. This number increases exponentially when fourth party are added. IT Security teams need to recognize the significant impact fourth parties have on an organization’s attack vectors.

Does fourth-party vendors threaten your business?

You may not know who your fourth-party vendors are or if they have a contract with you. Your organization may not be aware of the cybersecurity risk management procedures your fourth party has in place because there is no documentation.

Your organization could be at risk if one of your vendors is affected by a security incident. You won’t know the business continuity plan of the fourth party, if any.

If your vendor is affected by a cyberattack, data breach, or any other security incident, it will have a direct impact on your organization’s operations.

Worse, if any third-party vendor has access, you could also be compromised in the case of a security breach. Your organization may also be unable to comply with regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS.

Other than cybersecurity risk, there are other possible risks that fourth-party vendors could pose.

• Operational risk
• Compliance, legal, regulatory and compliance risk
• Reputational risk
• Financial risk
• Strategic risk

This is the first step in mitigating these risks.

Cybersecurity Tips: What do you need to know about your fourth-party vendors?

Prioritize identifying the vendors of your critical vendors. These fourth parties pose the greatest operational and cybersecurity risk to your company, particularly if they are critical to your vendors.

Your organization will be able to respond appropriately during a security incident if it understands the services they provide.

Also, you need to make sure that vendors are able to communicate with vendors in a way that is transparent and effective.

Identify Fourth-Party risks in your supply chain

It is important to identify your organization’s most crucial fourth parties. You also need to determine who your mutual vendors are. Many vendors will have Amazon or Microsoft services as a common fourth party.

These vendors might not be a significant risk to your company on their own. The combination of vendors experiencing business disruptions due to security incidents from a third party is a cause for concern.

Should Vendor assessments include fourth parties?

It is likely that your organization has many fourth-party relationships. This would make it difficult to evaluate independently.

Third parties must be responsible for conducting risk assessments. They should also have a third-party risk management system in place.

A defined TPRM program will ensure that your vendors do their due diligence. It also tracks your fourth parties using appropriate cybersecurity metrics.

Monitoring Fourth-Party risk

Your organization should concentrate its efforts on the most relevant fourth parties in order to monitor fourth-party risks effectively. This will allow you to create a manageable program for fourth-party risks. Fourth-party monitoring methods that rely heavily upon third-party reporting are not very effective.

These reports may not be always accurate, and communication lapses could prevent the flow of current information.

Concentration risk in your supply chains is the best way to achieve this. Concentration risk is identified by identifying the most critical areas of fourth-party risk exposure.

This should include:

• Each fourth party’s security rating.
• The total number products that your vendors use.
• What percentage of your vendors use the fourth party?
• How to manage and evaluate fourth-party risks

Your third-party vendors must work closely with you in order to successfully manage and assess your fourth party. It can be difficult to scale your security team with a growing vendor base.

Automating vendor risk management automation can improve your organization’s vendor risk assessment speed and provide a complete view of concentration risks in your supply chain. You should also consider securing managed IT services.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now if you need the help of experts to help your business.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Charleston, SC 29407
843-418-4792
https://manageditservicescharleston.com/

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence

Five Essential Factors Every Small Business Owner Should Know About Managed IT Services

Small business owners are increasingly dependent on IT and turning to managed services providers for the best IT infrastructure, software, and support they require to succeed. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners don’t understand the benefits of managed IT services and how they can help propel their business forward. These five facts will help you make informed decisions about when and how to use managed IT services.

Managed IT Services Reduce Time

Small businesses don’t have the budget to pay a full-time IT specialist. This means that IT issues are often handled by regular employees. It can take several hours, if not days, to fix serious IT problems because the average employee isn’t an IT expert. It is easy for employees to make mistakes that lead to downtime, security breaches, or other serious issues.

A managed service provider can save you time as they can avoid many IT problems. Managed IT services are based on the highest quality equipment. Experts monitor this equipment to make sure it is running smoothly at all times. Most managed service providers offer a 99.9% guarantee on uptime. Small business owners can count on expert assistance for immediate recovery if something goes wrong. This allows staff to focus on other important tasks such as customer service, sales, and advertising, which will allow your business to grow.

Managed IT Services Can Save You Money

Working with an IT service provider third-party can actually help you save money. It all depends on the IT service provider used and what services purchased, but most companies who use an MSP save considerable money. Recent statistics show that small businesses can cut their IT costs up to 40% by using managed service providers.

Managed IT service providers can be so cost-effective for several reasons:

• Small businesses who use an MSP do not need to invest in equipment or maintain it. The IT service provider will take care of this expense.
• MSPs save small business owners money by not having to hire additional employees. This allows them to spend less on benefits and salaries.
• Scaled IT services are offered by IT service providers, allowing business owners to adjust their IT spending according to their budget and needs.

Managed IT Services Increase Security for Businesses

Many small-business owners are now aware that they are prime targets of cybercriminals, contrary to popular belief. Small businesses are less likely than large corporations to have strong security. Hackers target them frequently to steal customer and business data, or hold files hostage for ransom.

Small businesses now have the option to get top-of-the-line security at an affordable price through a third party IT support provider. IT service providers employ the most current security procedures and programs to safeguard company files against unauthorized intrusion. Many also offer training for employees to prevent common cyber crimes like phishing or malware attacks.

Get help from experts

The technology of IT is constantly improving. Software and hardware that were up-to-date a few years back are no longer relevant. Most small business owners don’t have the time or ability to keep up with technological changes in their industry. IT service providers have the ability and time to keep up with the latest developments, as well as invest in new equipment to offer the best service possible to clients.

IT service providers are trained to help you with any IT problem. Your IT service provider can provide immediate assistance if you have any issues with your computer, such as downtime or difficulty accessing files. Many MSPs offer 24/7 support to make sure you have the assistance you need when you need it.

Take Advantage of Customized Services

Small business owners have many options when it comes to choosing the right IT service provider. This makes it easy for anyone to choose the one that suits their needs and budget. Managed service providers can even specialize in providing IT services for niche industries like healthcare.

Flexible service options are also offered by managed service providers. The business owner has the option to: A managed service provider can be hired on a temporary basis

A managed service provider can be hired to manage periodic tasks, such as customer service online during holidays and/or training employees on IT security and management. You can delegate some IT tasks to an IT service provider, while still managing other IT-related tasks in-house

All IT-related work should be outsourced to an IT service provider

Managed service providers can be a great value. MSPs have a lot to offer small businesses. They can help them save money, improve efficiency, and provide better customer service than ever before. If you are a small business owner looking to grow your business, it is worth considering the benefits of partnering with an IT service provider. Then do some research to find the right managed service provider for you.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now if you want to know more about managed IT services and how it can help your business.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Charleston, SC 29407
843-418-4792
https://manageditservicescharleston.com/

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence