Being PCI compliant means you are not only protecting your company’s confidential information, but your customers’ information as well. Data breaches happen every day across the globe, but the major ones happen when a company isn’t current on their security software or may have some holes to make it easier for cyber criminals to access.
Using the best IT management solutions can be vital in keeping your business running. It’s especially important for small and midsize businesses to keep PCI compliance at the forefront of their minds, because a data breach could bury them. Here are some quick tips for PCI survival.
Run Frequent Tests
The best proactive IT management strategy any business can incorporate is running frequent vulnerability and penetration tests. Security software updates are almost always needed, so these tests can identify whether you need to update yours or if there are other areas needing attention. Identifying these risks will allow you to fix them before a hacker finds them.
Monitor Network Access
You need to know who has access to what components of your network at all times. Restricting certain access to employees who don’t need it is also important. If a data breach were to occur, you need to know whose account was compromised so you know how much data is available to the cyber criminal. Tracking and monitoring all access to your network is one of the top IT management solutions any company can implement.
Implement Training and Education Programs
Even though everyone knows they should have strong passwords, the reality is many employees would prefer convenience over security. This is why holding regular training and education programs can be essential in protecting your company’s sensitive information. These programs wouldn’t have to be held weekly or monthly, but quarterly or bi-annually would be sufficient in most cases. Make sure your employees understand the potential risks and consequences of every decision they make, whether it’s choosing a password or seeing how a cyber criminal could attack the network.
Be Proactive
Having a proactive IT management strategy could save your business. You never want to think about having a data breach, but planning for one, should it occur, is important. The best managed security services providers can help you by running tests outside of business hours and patching up any holes without disrupting workflow. And if a minor attack occurs overnight, you may wake up the next morning without even knowing it occurred because the provider already prevented the damage from happening.
At Single Point of Contact, we help companies develop a proactive IT management strategy that works best for them. We will provide the highest level of service around the clock, so you’ll never have to worry about waking up to a nightmare. Be sure to contact us to see how we can help protect your business.
