Security Is a Shared Responsibility
It’s Time for a Security-First Mentality
Let’s face it, cyber security is a pain. Remembering passwords and having to change them every few months seems like a complete waste of time. How many different combinations of your children’s middle names can you think of in a year or two? And phishing? Why does every email need to be scrutinized? Firewalls may restrict traffic, but the rumor around the office is that they make the internet really slow. Do we really need them on all the time? Your company is tiny compared to a Fortune 500 company, and your internet presence is relatively small, so why would we be a target for hackers? Why would they waste time on a little fish? You keep some customer financial data, but all of that is kept secure, right?
It’s misconceptions like these that open your company up to a mountain of risk.
Yes, you must change your passwords.
Yes, all emails need to be analyzed—even ones that seem to come from an internal source—because it only takes one email to introduce a virus or ransomware.
Firewalls are there to protect your networks, not make life harder.
It doesn’t matter what size your company is, where it’s located geographically, or what industry you identify with. If your business stores data of any kind, it’s a target. With cybercriminals growing more sophisticated, you will always be a target.
It’s time for all businesses to approach technology with a security-first mentality. Unfortunately, there are organizations that still resist security measures because they think it is expensive, pointless, annoying, and unnecessary.
As a business, you have a responsibility to keep your data, your customers, and your vendors safe. When you submit to laziness and overconfidence, the cyber terrorists win.
It may seem like we’re saying this to be dramatic or catchy, but at SBT Partners, we are serious about cyber security. Security is at the forefront of everything we do, and as our technology partner, we make sure it’s at the forefront for our clients as well. In today’s technology-driven world, security isn’t optional—it’s required.
Scared Safe
It’s easy to scare you by explaining what happens when you get hacked, but most business owners already know the grim reality that 60% of small to medium businesses (SMB) fail to completely recover from a single data breach. We could spend our time explaining why two-factor authentication and cyber security awareness training are mandatory for doing business today—they defeat the two most popular ways hackers use to access your data.
However, this blog is intended to drive home the most important concept of all. It is a powerful weapon you can wield to protect your business, it doesn’t cost a single penny, and it’s an idea that is as old as business itself: partnership.
Complete Cyber Security Means Shared Goals
For cyber security to truly function as it should, a complete partnership is required between IT provider and client. When the provider makes a suggestion or develops a plan to respond to recent advances in cybercrime, it’s in the client’s best interest to meet them halfway.
Let’s look at multi-factor authentication (MFA) as an example. It’s a hassle to carry around a key fob, submit to a retinal scan, or point out all the palm trees in a picture every time you want to log into the system. But an effective security system has to authenticate a user’s identity to grant access to private, secure information. MFA is a common security measure that MSPs try to implement, but some clients are reluctant to use it because of the inconvenience. The truth is that MFA stops 99% of hacks, and all it needs to work is the user accessing a secondary device and taking a quick extra step.
Modern Workplaces Require Modern Cyber Security
Managed service providers have always adapted to customer needs, but it’s important to understand that clients have a responsibility for their own security as well. Our job at SBT is to keep our clients aware of what needs to change. This is the foundation of our role as your MSP, but change can’t happen without partnership.
At SBT, we work to establish a complete, professional relationship with all of our clients—one that’s based on trust and shared outcomes. We know how to prevent your company from being hacked, and it’s in our best interest to provide every ounce of our experience and expertise to keep you safe. There should be no question that the recommendations we make are necessary and are made with your business’s best interests in mind.
This is the SBT Partnership. Visit our site to learn more about us, read about how we operate, meet the masterminds behind the most comprehensive security strategies available for your business, and see for yourself what a modern, secure workplace looks like.
