Who Needs To Be Involved In Network Security? Simple: Everyone

Network security is an important part of keeping both your business and your staff away from online threats, but it’s not enough to implement the best, most comprehensive solutions on the market. There are a surprising number of facets to network security, and in order to optimize protection against online threats, you’ll need to know all of them. Thankfully, you don’t have to do this alone.

By educating your staff on how to act under precarious situations, you’re giving them valuable knowledge that can help them protect your business, even when management isn’t watching. First, let’s examine the role that your business’ IT department plays in its security. You can then augment security with both employee education and outsourced assistance.

Your Internal IT Department
Your IT department is generally your first line of defense against threats to your business infrastructure. They monitor your network for any signs of danger, as well as install patches and security updates to eliminate known problems on your network. But what if you don’t have an IT department? Small businesses often forego an internal IT department for the sake of saving a few bucks, or simply because they can’t afford it in the first place. In this situation, your employees wind up doing most of the technology maintenance, but this can be a dangerous gamble. Who knows if their maintenance is performed correctly? Plus, it’s just more time that’s taken away from productive employees.

Your Employees
Even with an internal IT department and security solutions, your technology can only handle so much. Training your employees on how to identify dangerous situations can help you prevent them from doing something foolish, like downloading the wrong attachment or clicking on the wrong link. Furthermore, educate them on proper password protocol and ensure that they use complex passwords at every opportunity. This includes using both upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Also, be sure to inform your employees of how to identify suspicious messages, and above all else, encourage them to tell IT about anything that looks out of place.

What You Do
Even without an internal IT department, there are ways for you to get more done with the limited resources at your disposal. Instead of going out of your way to do all the IT work yourself, use the assets that you would spend in labor on this and use them to acquire outsourced work. Often, it’s much cheaper than hiring an in-house IT department, and you get the assistance of trained IT professionals without dipping into your limited time and resources. It’s the best way to approach IT, as your internal team can focus on doing their jobs without the interruption of technology troubles.

Does your business need IT security? Washington Works can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 301-571-5040.