Security audit primer: Simple steps to protect your business

Security audit primer: Simple steps to protect your business

Strong, sustainable businesses always have a vested interest in cybersafety. These leaders also understand the critical role security audits play in creating a security-centered workplace.

Knowing where your company stands can reveal vulnerabilities before a hacker does. It also shows you were to fill knowledge gaps among your staff so they don’t unintentionally facilitate a breach.

This high-level look breaks down where to start and which tools can help you simplify the process of conducting an internal security audit.


Review your tech assets

This proactive starter task helps you create a snapshot of your most valuable business assets. It’s the first step to keeping them protected, even as cyberthreats continue to spike.

Remember to list out not only the physical devices and equipment you own, but identify repositories of sensitive data like customer and employee info, too. Include a review of your network architecture and most recent security management policies and procedures to see where updates are needed.


Assess your employees’ knowledge level

Rather than put your staff on the spot by outright testing their security savvy, try conducting a conversational group interview or sending out an anonymous survey instead. Make it clear this won’t impact their job performance, and that it’s simply a benchmark to see what the focus of any subsequent training should be.

To put them further at ease, acknowledge that cybersecurity threats and best practices change often, especially in a post-COVID environment. Assure your team that they’re not expected to know it all, but you do want to get them the support they need. It’s the only way to create a unified line of defense against incessant cyberattemps and build a culture of security.


Use Lenovo’s Premier Support to fill in any gaps

Not all organizations have the time or internal resources to get their staff up to speed. In fact, 67% of businesses report they don’t even have the capacity to adequately address routine PC issues, muchless launch and lead a full-scale cybersecurity initiative.

That’s when strategic SMBs step-up their tech support and outsource to reputable leaders like Lenovo Pro. Their Premier Support provides your businesses with a dedicated technical account manager and advanced-level technicians capable of procuring parts and completing next-business-day repairs. Be it hardware issues or software snafus, your staff is always supported by a 24/7 IT team.


Streamline your IT deployments with Microsoft Autopilot

Of course, the simplest way to set yourself up for a successful audit is to automate from the outset. While there’s no one-off event that can completely secure your tech for the long term, Windows Autopilot does do a lot of legwork for you.

This collection of technologies is used to set up and pre-configure new devices prior to shipping. It delivers a read-to-use device and relieves pressure from overworked IT teams in the process. Microsoft Autopilot even helps with change overs, making it quick and easy to reset, repurpose, and recover existing devices for assignment to new users.

Simplify your IT team’s task list by:

  • Automatically applying settings and policies, installing apps and ensuring the most recent edition of Windows 10 is in use.
  • Maintaining custom images, including drivers, policies, and apps, for every model without continually checking for patches
  • Auto-enrolling devices into MDM services, such as Microsoft Intune
  • Restricting the Administrator account creation
  • Creating and auto-assigning devices to configuration groups based on a device’s profile
  • Customizing OOBE content specific to the organization

A security audit doesn’t have to take over your life, but it does have to get done if you want to get ahead of cyberthreats. Remember, this essential layer of protection could be the only thing that stands between a hacker and your sensitive data.

 

Content created and provided by ONEAFFINITI.