Each year, cyber-attacks and data hacks cost small and medium-sized businesses over $2 million a year. While most of these attacks are perpetrated by outside sources, there are instances when the employees a business employs will be responsible for a data breach. This is why monitoring and restricting the access your team has to certain sensitive information is important.
For most business owners, coming up with comprehensive access management policies is a bit overwhelming. It is hard to tell what information team members, vendors and third-parties will need to do their jobs.
If you are struggling with the development of these policies, take a look at the tips below.
Start By Limiting the Number of Administrators on Your Network
The biggest mistake most business owners make when it comes to access management is giving too many people administrator privileges.
Having too many network administrators can lead to disaster in the future. Before granting a team member administrator level access to the network, you need to consider a few important things.
A person with administrator-level access to your network should be properly trained on how to secure and store sensitive data. Making sure the administrators on your network have separate accounts they use for daily tasks is also a good idea.
By having these separate accounts, administrators can avoid leaving windows open that may contain highly sensitive information. Taking the time to truly assess whether or not a person really needs administrator level access to your network is vital.
Document All Activity on Your Network
Accountability is one of the key ingredients of a successful access management strategy. In order to hold your team accountable for data security mistakes, you will need to thoroughly document all activity on your network. Having information about password and audit policies, changes in network topology and details on backup procedures is essential.
With this information, you can assess whether or not your team is making an effort to properly protect sensitive data. If you notice problems with how your employees are handling data, you need to call attention to them immediately. Letting these issues slip through the cracks will only lead to bigger problems in the future.
Iron-Clad Password Rules are Important
The passwords your employees use to access information on your network will need to be changed on a regular basis. Having rules in place about how often passwords need to be changed is very important. Failing to advise your team on the importance of iron-clad passwords can come back to haunt you in the future.
When setting these rules, be sure to set a minimum password length. You may also want to require special characters and upper and lowercase letters in these passwords.
The higher the complexity of the passwords used on your network, the harder it will be for hackers to figure them out. The time and energy you invest in developing a password policy will pay off due to the increased security it can provide your network.
Backing Up the Information on Your Network
Properly preparing for ransomware attacks or a network crash is also something you need to take seriously. All of the work you do to prepare an adequate access management strategy will be in vain is a cloud-based backup is not put in place.
The last thing you want to do is lose all of the sensitive and valuable information on your network due to a lack of preparation.
The best way to get advice on establishing a backup plan or developing an access management policy is by consulting with IT professionals. These professionals will have no problem helping you protect the sensitive information on your network.
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