Are You Protecting Your Business with these 5 Key IT Security Policies?

How well is your business secured? At the very least, you’re bound to have a lock on your business’ doors, with additional locks protecting different rooms, desk drawers, and other resources, right? Of course… otherwise, you’re leaving your business vulnerable to all kinds of crime.

You need to have the same prepared for the digital side of your business as well, in the form of written policies. Let’s go over five of the security policies you absolutely need.

5 Essential Security Policies for Every Business

Acceptable Use Policy

You need a policy that explains how company technology can be used—and, critically, how it is not to be used, regarding company hardware, networks, or Internet access. What are you permitting your employees to use this technology for? Can they use it for personal use, like social media scrolling? How are they to go about getting software improved and installed, rather than installing it themselves? These policies outline the procedures for managing these considerations.

Password Policy

While passwords are the standard security measure, these passwords need to be sufficiently strong to keep your business protected. A password policy mandates that password hygiene is observed—with minimum length and complexity requirements—and that these passwords are never repeated. Password management tools are useful for maintaining the integrity of your passwords, so it's helpful to select one to use as your company standard.

Data Handling Policy

This policy considers all of your data and classifies it based on its sensitivity, then establishes rules for how each piece is to be handled, from storage to accessibility and sharing. It helps determine whether various pieces of data should be saved and shared, and if so, how.

Remote Access Policy

Remote and hybrid work are here to stay, making it essential to have a remote access policy typed up to tell your team how they are to connect to the company office from elsewhere, using a virtual private network (or VPN) and avoiding public Wi-Fi.

Incident Response Plan

Let’s say you do encounter a security incident. The worst thing you can do is panic, which is why it is so important to have an incident response plan prepared to lead you through such events. This plan defines who must be notified, how a threat should be contained, and what communications to share with customers and employees. Having this plan in place before you need it can help ensure you continue to have a business.

The Right Policies are Critical for Your Continued Success

It is essential to remember that these policies are designed to protect your team and your company, not restrict what your team members can do. By putting these safeguards in place, security becomes less of a vague concept and more of an actionable strategy.

That said, writing these policies can be a complicated drag. Suffolk Computer Consultants can help! We help businesses around New York with IT needs of all kinds, and we can help you design policies that effectively protect your business while being adjusted to its needs.

Give us a call at 631-905-9617 to learn more about what we can do to help.