4 IT Solutions To Fortify Your Cybersecurity

In the 21st century, a company’s most valuable assets aren’t necessarily its products but instead its sensitive data. With the average cost of a U.S. data breach well over $9M, network security and business data protection should be the top priority for every CEO and CIO.  

Whether you realize it or not, you’re in an arms race with hackers. They’re looking for ways to bypass the fortress around your customer data and IT infrastructure, and it’s up to you to stay one step ahead.  

No company is 100% safe from cyberattacks, regardless of its size or industry. However, there are proactive steps you can take to fortify your security.  

Read on to find out what proactive and effective cybersecurity looks like in 2023, including how Evolv I.T. is leveraging secure business IT solutions to give its clients the upper hand. 

The components of an effective cybersecurity plan for companies 

Cybercriminals focus on the digital perimeter of your business, looking for weaknesses they can exploit. To protect your company, you must implement an effective business data protection plan that optimizes four main areas: the awareness of your employees, your company’s ability to detect and respond to threats in real time, the security of your cloud infrastructure, and the protection of endpoint devices.  

In business, data security is not only fortified for cybercriminals, but it also takes employee and client vulnerabilities into account. 

1. Employee training and awareness 

Phishing emails, texts, and phone calls are a pervasive threat faced by all companies. According to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigation report, 36% of all data breaches involved phishing.  

An attacker can infect an entire network just by tricking one employee into clicking on a malicious attachment or link. Your organization’s network security depends on every team member being trained to recognize the signs of phishing attack.  

It is equally important that everyone understands the threat of ransomware, which has surged in frequency to 1.7 million attacks per day, costing victims approximately $265 billion per year by 2031.  

Cybersecurity reports overwhelmingly show that employees are the greatest risk to a company's business and customer data  – but they can also be your greatest asset. Awareness training and good security policies make early detection and response possible. 

2. The Zero Trust Security Model 

The Zero Trust Security Model assumes that any individual, device, or service that tries to access company resources cannot be automatically trusted. Users, no matter how many times they may have been previously authenticated, are re-verified each time they seek access. 

To guard your organization against sophisticated threats, you should implement a business data protection plan that is based on a well-managed Zero Trust Security Model. A comprehensive Zero Trust Security Model includes: 

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Similar to multi-factor authentication, IAM lets you authenticate and authorize users and devices based on their unique identity, a robust solution that stops cybercriminals. 
• Micro-segmentation: Attackers move laterally, increasing the potential damage of a breach. However, if your network is divided into smaller, isolated segments, you can thwart their ability to move around, limiting the impact of a breach. 
• Continuous monitoring: Cybersecurity is a 365/24/7 job. Immediately detecting and responding to potential threats can mean the difference between a business that thrives and one that is brought down. 
• Least privilege access: Users and devices should always be granted the minimum level of access they need in order to perform their tasks. When they no longer need access to business assets, an administrator should revoke their privileges. 

3. The Importance of Cloud Security 

45% of breaches are based in the cloud, which provides on-demand availability for computer system resources and data. It’s important to remember that the Cloud comes with its own unique security challenges, which you must address in order to protect your company’s data and applications. It is of the utmost importance that both your cloud infrastructure and data migration are handled by experts. 

Your cybersecurity plan should, at a minimum, include Cloud-native security tools that protect Cloud environments, the ability to encrypt data to ensure its confidentiality, strict access controls and identity management for Cloud users, and security awareness training. 

For example, most hardware firewalls don’t fully support cloud technology. In most cases, you can only configure traditional firewalls to accept or deny all traffic between your on-premises equipment and your cloud provider. This simply isn’t good enough. 

To truly maximize your organization’s cloud security posture, you need to segment your cloud-native infrastructure the way you would segment a physical network. Instead of traditional hardware firewalls, you’ll need to deploy cloud-native software firewalls that can enforce robust security policies between different cloud segments.  

4. Endpoint Security 

Key to mitigating cyber risks is the incorporation of a remote or hybrid model, which ensures your team’s work laptops, smartphones, and tablets are secured. Remember that because of the increasing number of phishing attacks and other threats, safeguarding each device with business IT solutions is crucial. 

Secure, automated patch management is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to improve endpoint security. Hackers pay close attention when manufacturers and developers release security patches, because patch changelogs tell them exactly what vulnerabilities to look for in unpatched versions. 

Endpoint detection and response solutions are another high-impact investment every organization should make. Your company can use these solutions to quickly respond to and contain cyber threats in real-time. This lets you remotely wipe a device that is lost or otherwise compromised and help ensure your company’s data is safe. 

The good news for companies concerned about cybersecurity: Evolv I.T.’s end-to-end solutions 

Optimizing your network security and business data protection can be done more efficiently with the help of an IT Managed Service Provider (MSP). As a leading MSP, Evolv I.T. fortifies cybersecurity by analyzing an incredible amount of data, identifying patterns, and responding to threats in real-time.  

We leverage our technology solutions to proactively monitor and anticipate risks, 24/7/365, ensuring your company is always protected. We build cybersecurity and natural disaster and backup recovery into your technology infrastructure to help plan for the unplanned.  

We also enable employees to become valuable partners in cybersecurity. Through our Employee Security Awareness Training, teams are educated on common phishing scams as well as overall safety to help prevent breaches.  

We strengthen a business’ remote work security, ensuring that each device is safe and secure. Additionally, we implement security alerts throughout the company's infrastructure to make it easier for employees to flag suspicious activities for the Evolv I.T. team to address. 

Crucially, we offer a 15-minute service and support guarantee: all tickets are reviewed and prioritized by our help desk engineers within 15 minutes of being received. There is a reason we have a 99.8% customer approval rating - our business IT solutions give your systems airtight 24/7/365 protection. When it comes to cybersecurity, every second counts.  

At Evolv I.T., we focus on preparation, anticipation, and response so that when an attacker probes your company’s cyber-boundaries, they find a fortress with no weaknesses. Effective network security will force cybercriminals to simply move on, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to concentrate on what really matters: growing your business empowered by our high-tech solutions and planning.