Why Prevention and Protection Should Both Be Part of Your Business Security
You know you want to keep your company safe. As a smart business owner, however, you also understand the value of a job well-done.
For modern companies, security threats originate from all fronts. Is there a way to fight back no matter what angle the attack comes from? It could all come down to how well you understand the differences and similarities between protection and prevention. Here’s how to put them both to good use.
Prevention and Protection Aren’t the Same Things
Prevention is the act of assessing a hazard in advance and taking steps designed to lower its chances of happening. Protection is safeguarding your company against threats you know you’ll have to face or are currently facing.
It all starts with the office, and the first steps should always be prevention. Do you have security cameras installed? When employees know there are security cameras installed, they will think twice before attempting to peak at company files, other computers, or attempt to access others accounts, not to mention visit sites that can compromise the security of your companies network. IT attacks, for example, commonly rely on unsecured hardware as starting points. These examples illustrate one universal truth: Protection and prevention are both critical to smart security strategies.
Security Ideas to Live By
The business world offers many pointers on how protection and prevention ought to work. It also provides countless examples of what can go wrong if you fall short.
Different Security Burdens for Different Businesses
According to a Verizon study 58 percent of the 53,000 security incidents that occurred in the first few months of 2018 happened to small businesses. Firms in accommodation, public administration, retail, finance and healthcare experienced the most incidents.
The Verizon report found that the majority of hackers used stolen credentials. This doesn’t mean, however, that stronger password requirements will solve all of your problems. Your prevention and protection actions should reflect the increased hazards that you might face as a result of your size or chosen industry. Factors like your network architectures, IT hardware manufacturers and choice of third-party payment services make huge differences.
Your Business Model Matters
Considering using specialized equipment to keep your company afloat? Be careful.
Most organizations carry unique vulnerabilities. For example, restaurants, convenient stores, gas stations, retailers and other enterprises that use cash transactions are constant breach victims. Understanding how mission-critical systems expose you to danger is key to recognizing risk factors. In other words, your business decisions should also inform your prevention and protection choices.
Protection and Prevention Go Hand-in-hand
You can’t succeed with protection alone, and no prevention strategy is perfect. For your company to thrive, you need to take a proactive approach to both security aspects.
Smart prevention practices may include
- Physically securing business facilities,
- Restricting access to sensitive information,
- Transmitting data using secure standards,
- Updating security systems more regularly, or
- Performing regular auditing and governance to understand your evolving weaknesses.
You might protect your business by
- Using environmental sensors to stay abreast of natural disasters,
- Surveilling your company,
- Hiring an emergency response team,
- Installing an alarm system, or
- Creating network firewalls to block hacks.
Which options are best for your company?
Strong security means researching the risks, continually updating your perspective on threats and diligently improving your defenses. Having an experienced partner definitely helps, especially since you’re trying to concentrate on operating an enterprise. Learn more about effective prevention and protection by talking to an Invision Security expert today.