The need for information has always been crucial to business operations. And where information is now widely accessible and easier to source online, the risk of cyberattacks on the web becomes a pressing matter. The increasing diversity in attack vectors and emerging trends have invaded the web, making it a prime place for malicious actors to house cybercrime. From inappropriate content to illegal trackers and malvertising waiting to poach your data, it is becoming more difficult for small and medium businesses to take the necessary security measures. However, if there’s one solution we’d recommend, it’s adopting web protection as part of a multi-layered security policy.
For small businesses, a ransomware attack can easily end in bankruptcy. For a medium-sized company, the same can still hugely impact your annual profits. In both cases, the consequences of such an attack mean a matter of serious hardship and survival. Therefore, the consequences of ignoring your business web security cannot be overstated.
So, where it feels like there may be limited security options, we step in to share our expert guidance on how to protect your business infrastructure from cyberattacks. This guide covers web access policies, why these are important and how they can be paired with a robust web protection solution to help protect your business and its employees.
Protect your IT infrastructure with a web access policy
First and foremost, your business must have strong web access policies in place specific to your operations. The ideal policy will strike a balance between upholding security standards and allowing your employees access to the information they need to do their jobs.
What is a web access policy?
Your web access policy outlines the rules and restrictions for using your internet resources. By establishing access controls for web usage, you can help protect your IT infrastructure and your employees.
Using a web access policy can also encourage greater productivity as it eliminates the temptation for employees to visit non-work-related sites. It further prevents accidental viewing of inappropriate and potentially malicious sites, which can threaten your security. You want to ensure your employees are being productive, so drafting a web access policy will help outline exactly what is essential for work.
Flexibility is key
Keep in mind that your web access policy must be flexible. This means you cannot restrict sites which some employees may need to access to carry out legitimate work. While certain websites could be banned under one company’s web policy, it may not be the same for yours.
For example, marketing executives would need to use social media websites as part of their job role. Similarly, purchasing staff would regularly access e-commerce sites to do their daily work. You may also choose to also have policies to allow staff internet access outside normal working hours, however during working hours internet use is restricted.
Finding a web protection solution
Web protection solutions work in tandem with your web access policy to maintain safe and efficient internet use in the workplace. Essentially, your chosen web protection will enforce policies by offering a range of tools including content filters, continuous monitoring and more.
However, a robust web protection solution needs to go beyond simply blocking your users from visiting inappropriate sites. The most common form of device compromise occurs from malware-infested websites. In fact, many malicious sites are designed to immediately infect the computers which visit them. But simply restricting access won’t address the whole issue as hackers also compromise legitimate websites to spread malware.
So, consider the kind of web protection tools you may need to employ to uphold security best practices. This could be real-time alerts of potential web threats, or monitoring of web data sharing to prevent leaks. You may also want features like web usage reporting and analytics to ensure compliance and track productivity.
What should a web protection solution include?
When seeking web protection solutions from your IT support provider, ensure they:
- Protect your business and users by securing against websites spreading malware, phishing, proxies, adware, botnets, spyware and spam.
- Apply a granular range of time-based browsing rules and web content filtering policies.
- Monitor user’s web activity even if no content filtering policies are in place.
- Monitor internet bandwidth usage and alert when devices exceed it.
- Protect your business from legal liabilities.
- Schedule access so employees can use non-work sites during out-of-office hours or at lunchtime.
- Use whitelists and blacklists to override category based filters.
- Provide comprehensive and easy to understand reporting functionality.
Protect your business and your employees
A web protection policy protects your IT infrastructure, while protecting your employees and customer data too. Without the appropriate policies and solutions, there is no clear way to maintain standards for the use of the internet during working hours. So, alongside the security issues you could face, your organisation would have no way of regulating internet usage or tracking productivity.
Implementing web access and protection measures is an investment in security. It can help prevent employees wasting time surfing the net and reduce the risk of accidental data leakage. The consequences could be lost productivity, compromised devices and hardware, or in more severe cases, lost revenue and reputational damage.
If a security issue leads to a visit to court, it could have financial consequences for a company. It is a much more costly exercise to recover from a financial attack or security breach than to prevent them. So, don’t wait until the last minute to take the appropriate web protection security measures.
If you are seeking web protection solutions, or require guidance with drafting your web access policy, take a look at some of our London-based IT security services. And, if you have any further questions on this topic, feel free to reach out to the cybersecurity experts at totality services today.