As a small business, you may be feeling overwhelmed with the threat of cybersecurity breaches. After all, the number of small businesses attacked by ransomware, phishing scams, malicious email attachments, and hacker attacks continues to grow year by year.
Additionally, with the increase of employees working from home, cyber-attackers act more brazenly if your remote staff aren’t using the right protection.
This is why you should have a plan, and work with a multi-layered security approach to cyber-defense.
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What is Multi-Layered Security?
Multi-layered security is the method of using multiple defense mechanisms to protect valuable information and data. If one layer fails, the others step in to prevent a breach or loss of data. This type of plan is also referred to as “defense in depth” or DID.
A multi-layered security approach contains three crucial elements: perimeter defense, proactive monitoring, and security training. These can also be combined with other layers to increase your data’s safety and protection.
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Perimeter Defense
Having a strong perimeter defense means stopping malicious cyber-attacks before they ever reach your front door, so-to-speak. This begins with a firewall, utilized through software, a hardware appliance, or cloud-based solution, depending on your company’s preference and specific needs.
For certain cyber threats, having a strong perimeter defense isn’t enough. Consider managed IT services like those from CMIT Solutions of Richardson . We’ll provide managed firewall, active network management, and periodic inspections to make sure everything’s safe and secure.
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Proactive Monitoring
A sports team with solid defense is good, but that alone won’t score them any points. The same goes for cybersecurity. The next level in your DID plan is proactive monitoring. This means taking steps to add spam protection, antiviral software, anti malware, and DNS filtering.
Security Training
The third level, and arguably the most important level, is to ensure your staff undergoes security training. Your team is your first line of defense, so making certain everyone is on the same page when it comes to security protocol and data protection is crucial. Teach best practices for cybersecurity and ensure that those working remotely are following specific precautions to protect their data as well.
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Additional Elements of Layered Security
The more layers you add to your multi-layered security plan make it increasingly difficult for malicious cyber threats to infiltrate and breach your data.
Additional security layers can include:
- Firewall
- Software patch management
- Multi-factor authentication
- Web content filtering
- Email monitoring
- Encryption
- Password policy
- Disaster recovery planning
Contact CMIT Solutions of Richardson Today!
Interested in learning more about how managed IT services like those provided by CMIT Solutions of Richardson can help protect your business? Contact us today to get a quote and find out your cybersecurity risk exposure.
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