System security has become a top priority for companies in recent years. In fact according to a survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute; 70% of organizations believe that their Security Risks grew considerably due mainly to the increase in number and sophistication of threats.
An even more frightening fact is that an analysis made by ZD net shows that it takes an average company 6 months to detect a security breach. This means that attackers have a fairly long period to achieve their goals once they enter a system.
But what are the factors that allow these unauthorized intrusions?
Simple, bad password management, the use of outdated security tools or the lack of a robust data protection strategy; these are just a few of the elements that can put your IT environment at serious risk.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to reduce the vulnerabilities in your systems, we invite you to continue reading this article we’ve prepared for you today.
What do we mean by Security Risk?
Security risks are nothing more than the likelihood that a computer threat will turn into a real event that will result in a loss for the company.
We normally associate security risks with attacks from viruses or other malicious elements, however, this is a fairly limited perception of what can represent a “risk” to a system.
It is correct to say that a company is exposed to a security risk when it is vulnerable to attacks that may affect it:
Availability
When a corporate system is exposed to an attack that may disrupt its normal functions, then we can state that there is truly a security risk.
The neutralization of information and communication systems is generally the main risk for many companies and accounts for almost half of all losses due to computer disasters. That’s why availability dangers are often a major concern for IT teams.
Confidentiality
Electronic systems have facilitated exponentially the exchange of data between individuals and systems. This capacity has a very practical and positive side, but for companies it represents a risk factor.
This is mainly due to the fact that many systems manage huge amounts of sensitive data. Their disclosure to third parties can have very damaging consequences, for example, it can affect the reliability of the organization or even cause the company to face legal problems.
3 factors that increase security risks
#1 Absence of a secure data backup
Data represents one of the most important resources companies have. However, in many organizations they do not seem to give the importance deserved to the creation of an information backup system.
This is a serious mistake, as it makes it extremely difficult to implement any resilience plan in the event of an attack involving data loss.
To avoid exposing the company to this type of risk, it is necessary to create automatic backups that allow the restoration of vital information before it is compromised. In this case, maintaining a backup also means creating encrypted copies and protecting the physical integrity of the storage unit.
#2 Misinformed users
More specialized hackers only need a small gateway to get into a system. Unfortunately, in most cases this door is opened by the users. In fact, 84% of computer security incidents are human related. Whether inadvertently or intentionally, the risk is real.
This means that it is not enough to implement a strategy of control of privileges, it is also necessary to inform employees about best practices in security. In this way they can be more attentive to identify and report any irregularities they can perceive.
#3 Low investment
The real-time protection of all the company’s assets requires advancing solutions with regular updates. Companies that decide to use free security tools put their systems at high risk, since they limit the possibility of detecting unexpected threat intrusions in advance.
Paid-for tools offer the latest technology and add functionality that goes beyond traditional solutions such as Behavior Monitoring.
Remember, antivirus, firewall, vulnerability detection tools are all useful, but only if they are updated and configured correctly. If you want the best advice to select and get the most out of your software solution your best option is GB Advisors.
We have highly trained professionals, ready to help you at all times. Do not hesitate to contact us. We help you to carry out all your projects successfully.
