Evaluating an IT security strategy – what you need to know

Many companies take an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach when evaluating an IT security strategy.

If there haven’t been any major issues so far, why should there be in the near future?

The trouble is that as technology continues to evolve, the range of threats a business must prepare for continues to grow too.

We’ve picked out three key reasons why it’s essential to continually be evaluating an IT security strategy.

1. Generation Y

Generation Y, Millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000…. Whatever you want to call them, they are changing the way staff interact with each other and with the outside world.

Generation Y have grown up with computers and the Internet so interacting online has been second nature to them since an early age.

The advantage this brings is digital fluency. The disadvantage, though, is the risk of complacency and carelessness as many Millennials are comfortable with sharing sensitive information online.

Human error can be the hardest to predict and the potential loss of market-sensitive information over social networks can prove extremely costly.

Workplaces need an IT security strategy with Generation Y in mind.

 2. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

It’s been estimated that 95% of companies allow employees to work using their own smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches in the office.

On the one hand, this can help keep workers happy, since many enjoy the freedom and flexibility of using their own devices.

On the other hand, when staff connect their personal technology to the office network, in order to access email accounts and IT servers, it becomes much more difficult to monitor and maintain cyber security.

Your business should be evaluating an IT strategy to ensure measures are in place to detect threats from ‘alien’ hardware and software.

3. The Internet of Things (IoT)

The rise of IoT – smart devices interacting with each other over the internet – is gradually rendering old IT security obsolete and has made regularly evaluating an IT security strategy essential.

Traditional policies are often not sophisticated enough to guarantee the safety of the network, with so many different devices connected to the servers.

IoT is also bringing a wider range of operating systems into the office, further complicating security considerations.

The rise of smartphones and smartwatches has brought systems which used to have low market penetration, such as Linux, into offices where previously only Windows and Mac were present.

Evaluating an IT security strategy – a summary

With all these different factors emerging and technology constantly evolving, an IT security strategy must roll with the times too.

There are many other modern cyber threats we could discuss, of course.

If you would like to know more about what to consider when evaluating an IT security strategy or IT support in general, please contact our team and we’ll be only too happy to help.