Top 6 IT Security Problems Businesses Experience

Most businesses suffer IT security problems, many are not reported but they still exist. We post our top 6 IT Security problems businesses experience.

Hamilton Systems has had to assist many of our prospective clients in getting adequate security in place, often they weren’t aware of any weaknesses or their previous support didn’t understand or enforce security policies.

Many smart businesses have hired us to turn their security around, IT Security problems can be a financial burden or be catastrophic, don’t be caught without the right security in place.

Will you be impacted if someone attempts to breach your security?

Our Top 6 IT Security Issues

NO Backups Or Failure To Restore

It is quite a shock when you realise how many companies out there are either not doing any backup at all or they never even tested their data.

On the web all we see is a call to action for people to get a backup but what then? Hamilton Systems has come across this many times, companies get a backup and then never test to see if the data is accessible.

Create regularly scheduled tasks to verify that the backups are taking place and also check the integrity of the data, the risk to businesses to do anything else is too great.

Bad Passwords

The most common password we come across is ‘Password123’.

Imagine storing the most important data that could literally put you out of business under Password123.

If they don’t use Password123 then they often use a variation of a child or the name of a grandchild, with a change in numbers at the end.

Other bad passwords can include using the same password for a personal account or using the same password for every account.

The danger of doing this can put your business at risk, consider the personal computer of an employee gets hacked or has a virus meaning passwords are stolen.

This can mean an employee can become the key to your companies data being stolen. Protect your company from being exposed or Ransomed by a single employee holding the keys to your company. We recently published an article about what we saw online.

Weak Security Policies

Companies and in-home users can lack policies and procedures to secure their data.

Consider implementing encryption for portable devices and memory sticks, without such protection your data can be accessed by anyone should it be lost or stolen.

The data stored on devices is usually worth much more than the physical device itself,

implementing barriers such as encryption, passwords, and making use of 2FA, Facial and fingerprint recognition can make all the difference.

You can also add passwords to documents to make sure your documents are kept safe and secure.

Insufficient Staff Training

Staff often either lack appropriate training to make them aware of the dangers or display an element of ignorance.

Companies can spend as much money as they like securing their system but then staff can come along and display important passwords written on post-it notes.

It reminds me of a BBC video I saw (I will post a link if I find it).

They were talking about issues with security and there had been a device left behind so there were security concerns, in the background, there was a computer with a post-it note for a username and password.

This shows the lack of care staff often takes, I simply believe it is a lack of understanding of the dangers it can show.

We visit many offices and often see staff leaving their desks for a while and screens unlocked, yes computers often will lock themselves after a set period of time but this amount of time can be different in many businesses.

It only takes a few seconds for someone to damage or steals data from a machine.

Operating In A Reactive State

IT Security should consistently be tested, hackers will consistently try to break into systems so it makes sense that you do the same with your own.

As hackers continually evolve and find new weaknesses. We need to keep up with plugging security holes. If we wait until after security is breached.

This leads to higher costs, longer downtime, and possible public embarrassment. We need to be more proactive such as applying security patches, finding and fixing security holes, and being proactive to new threats.

Waiting too long can increase costs and in some cases be critical to a business.

Using The Wrong Products

You meet with a Salesman and are caught in a whirlwind being romanced and suddenly you find that you don’t feel the same level of comfort,

something is off or clunky about your experience.

All these things are possible and do happen even to IT companies, we are romanced and promised solutions all the time and we do a test but not many succeed to remain in use.

Where IT Security is concerned we have to consider if we are using the right products,

can they offer the level of security you need? Do they have the right features? You have to answer these questions for yourself.

Looking to make your business more secure? Take our 57 Minute Data Security Challenge and increase your security today.

If any of the information given in this article has given you cause for concern, or if you are requiring any help to secure your IT systems call us on 01423 438953 or book an appointment.