Cybersecurity. Everyone talks about it. Everyone thinks they know it is.
Most are wrong.
Businesses across Toronto think they are secure.
Many are not.
So, with all this confusion surrounding cybersecurity, it’s essential for business leaders like you to take a step back and take the time to understand the topic of cybersecurity. This guide to cybersecurity services in Toronto will help you do just that.
What Is Cybersecurity? A Definition.
Cybersecurity is the processes, practices, and technologies that go into a strategic framework tailored to protect your cloud assets, local data, computers, computer applications, and network from individuals with the intent to steal or do other harm.
Why Is Cybersecurity So Important?
In today’s business, everything is online. A global market nearly forces you to utilize all the tools of business technology just to stay competitive.
Each megabyte of data, workload, and communication that you move into the digital space represents a risk to you and your company. Sure, a cybersecurity professional can mitigate that risk, but the truth is that nothing online is 100% secure.
Just look at the stories of the past year.
- Equifax was breached, and the private information of 8,000 Canadians was stolen.
- Bell Canada was hacked and exposed the personal data of 1,700 customers.
- Nissan Canada Finance had a breach that exposed 1,130,000 financial records of customers.
- ca/Sun Media Corp. was hacked, and 1,000,000 records were stolen.
- Ontario Progressive Conservative Party suffered a breach that exposed 1,000,000 files.
These are just a few of the high-profile hacks of Canadian business and governmental organizations in 2017.
What these few examples don’t show is the hundreds of small to mid-size businesses that are targeted by cyber-criminals each day in Canada.
The criminals aren’t going to stop.
That makes combating cybercrime a part of doing business in a digital age.
What tactics do criminals use to infiltrate your business, do damage, steal your proprietary information, and co-opt your customer’s identities?
- Spyware
- Adware
- Ransomware
- Trojan Horses
- Phishing Emails
- Malware
- Hacking
- Social Engineering
- Physical Unauthorized Entry
These are just a few of the ways that cyber-criminals take advantage of Toronto businesses. By taking the steps outlined in this guide to cybersecurity services in Toronto, you can fortify your business against these criminals.
What Should You Be Looking For In An IT Support Team Offering Cybersecurity Services In Toronto?
As is apparent from the high-profile cyber-intrusions and theft of millions of confidential client records over the past year, you can’t leave your company’s cybersecurity to just anyone. You need a professional.
So, what should you be looking for in a company that offers cybersecurity services in Toronto?
- Look for a company that knows how to assess risk.
Not every company has the same risk profile. Because of this fact, the IT security company that you work with shouldn’t treat your security with a cookie-cutter approach. If they come in and just start putting things in place without assessing your entire IT infrastructure first, they’re not the right company.
A full security assessment includes: mapping your systems and analyzing the data flow, identifying potential threat vectors (where a threat could come from), determining the pain (impact) a potential threat could inflict, assessing the security controls that are in place, and rating the potential of a successful attack based on information gathered.
- Look for a company that will help you implement or maintain robust identification protocols.
Whether it’s physical access to the server room or electronic access to specific workstations, both physical and electronic access must be addressed in your cybersecurity identification strategy. If your IT security person is only concerned with regular password changes, they aren’t up to the job. They need to be helping you think through things about secure network access for visitors, two-factor authentication, photo-ID badges, and a dozen more critical identification considerations.
- Look for a company that will help you set up data privacy policies that work for your existing processes and strengthen your data security.
We live in a time when an antivirus program and home-version cloud backup isn’t enough – even for the smallest of companies. Why? Because small companies are subject to the same privacy laws – and related penalties – as the bigger companies. People count on you to safeguard the information they give you about themselves. Good companies offering cybersecurity services in Toronto will walk you through the challenging choices of offsite storage and backup, encryption, paper shredding, hardware disposal, legislative compliance assessment, and compartmentalized authorized access protocols.
- Look for a company that has a holistic approach to disaster recovery.
Disaster recovery is your failsafe. If something goes wrong with your physical or electronic security and you lose access to your operational data – as in the case of ransomware, your disaster recovery plan will help your company survive. It’s not enough to back up your data to a local server or a hard drive. You need a plan in place for what you will do if you lose access to your in-house IT systems for days or weeks.
- Look for a company that will maintain/monitor your IT security and responds quickly to anomalies.
Whatever you do, don’t fall for the idea of a “set it and forget it” IT security. Toronto businesses need cybersecurity technicians that provide continual security oversight and immediate response to even the smallest indication of a security issue. Companies that offer this kind of continuous IT security care are called managed IT services providers. For an easily-budgeted monthly payment, they will maintain your company’s IT environment and monitor it against the unwanted disruptive activity.
- Look for a company that does cybersecurity training for employees.
Unfortunately, employees are often the most significant cybersecurity vulnerability in a business. Cybersecurity services in Toronto should include training to help employees spot things like adware and phishing attempts. Also, the training should consist of instruction on your company’s physical security measures related to data and expectations surrounding the IT security protocols established with your cybersecurity consultant.
- Look for a company that understands legislative compliance.
You are aware that Canada has laws governing privacy, business email, and confidential data. If the cybersecurity services company in Toronto that you are exploring doesn’t actively pursue bringing your company in line with current legislation, they aren’t the company that will be able to help you with legislative compliance as your company grows. Start on the right foot with an IT security services provider that sees compliance as a high priority.
Cybersecurity for companies like yours in Toronto is serious business. The OnServe team of IT security professionals wants to equip you with a secure, dependable IT environment that is tailored to your internal processes. We do this by leveraging our three cybersecurity-driven offerings.
- Secure IT
- Dealing with vulnerabilities
- Improving defenses
- Standing on guard
- Meeting compliance standards
- Back IT
- Creating a recovery plan
- Backing up your entire system
- Ensuring the plan’s success – monitoring
- Mobilize IT
- Making mobile work simple
- Leveraging mobile versatility
- Relying on robust security protocols
Let us help you secure your business against cybercrime! Contact the OnServe team now at (613) 634-8125
OnServe delivers cybersecurity services in Toronto and throughout southern Ontario.